Tech Noir

Its time for 2012 Oscar nominations!

2012-01-25T00:33:00.000-05:00

After several months off from this blog, I have decided to come back and try to continue this experiment more regularly than has been used of late. Recently had some terrifc changes in my life and things are moving in a much better direction now. Hopefully I can use that momentum to keep this blog going and continue my love of movies and that includes writing and reading about them. What better day to return to the blog than the one where the nominations for Oscar are announced. Now I have wrestled with the idea of the Oscars and what they mean to me and I think I can honestly say while I enjoy the specatacle of the Oscar awards show ultimately it is a meaningless thing even for film fans. Being someone who loves movies I do that mostly subjectively and we all have our favorites and least favorites or we downright hate a movie (although filmctritic Hulk says never to HATE a movie). Judging movies in a competitive form like the Oscars do really is a fool's game. How can someone say this movie is better than that one? It is all subjective. And I suppose if you see the Academy as a collective with a single thought or purpose this is just another person with an opinion. A large, televised opinion, but opinion none the less.

So with that in mind, here are the list of nomninees for 2012.

BEST PICTURE
"War Horse"
"The Artist"
"Moneyball"
"The Descendants"
"The Tree of Life"
"Midnight in Paris"
"The Help"
"Hugo"
"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"

I have seen 3 out of these 9. I need to do some catching up. As it is , Midnight in Paris is my favorite of the given nominees. And probably my personal favorite of the year. Looking forward to the Artist as that looks like a love letter to a bygone era if ever there was one. The Artist and Hugo are both movies that love movies and the Academy LOVES that. They like to give awards to movies that celebrate themselves. So it could go either way for that. My money is on the Artist.

And a big 'WTF?' to Stephen Daldry and his movies. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close looks like typical Oscar bait. What is so special about this guys movies? His movies ALWAYS get nominated. Why? Nothing he has made is anything more than masturbatory Oscar pablum. No, I havent seen it. And yes I will see it at some point, but come on already.

Notable abscensces from this list:

Melancholia
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Contagion
Young Adult
Beginners
HannaBridesmaids (comedies get no love from Oscar)

And NOTHING for Andy Serkis? The Academy is going to have to face facts soon and realize that motion capture acting IS acting. And some do it better than others. And then there is Andy Serkis. Andy is a true artist pushing the performance into the future. From his Gollum to Kong and now Caesar in Rise of the Apes, Andy is truly making art with each one of his performances. Now the question is where does that recognition fit into an award? I admit for all the credit I give Andy you also have to recognize the digital efx artist who put the visuals onto what Andy brings them. Regardless Andy needs to get recognized sooner or later for sure.

LEAD ACTOR
Demián Bichir, "A Better Life"
George Clooney, "The Descendants"
Jean Dujardin, "The Artist"
Gary Oldman, "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy "
Brad Pitt, "Moneyball"

I think this is Oldman's year. At least I hope so.

LEAD ACTRESS
Glenn Close, "Albert Nobbs"
Viola Davis, "The Help"
Rooney Mara, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo "
Meryl Streep, "The Iron Lady"
Michelle Williams, "My Week With Marilyn"

Rooney was great in the decent adaptation of GWTDT. Michelle Williams also did a nice job as Marilyn but the movie was just ok. At this point Meryl should just be retired from being nominated as it just takes away from someone else who may deserve the attention. Yeah Meryl is ALWAYS great, we get it. Thanks Academy. I'm not sure who will take it at this point.

BEST DIRECTOR
Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"
Alexander Payne, "The Descendants"
Martin Scorsese, "Hugo"
Woody Allen, "Midnight in Paris"
Terrence Malick, "The Tree of Life"

Thank God Stephen Daldry didnt make it on here. My money is on Hazanavicius. Feel like the Artist is the one to beat right now. But that could change in a months time. Malick did some great things in the impressionistic Tree of Life. But I think that film is too much for the Academy voter. Scorsese still could pull this out.

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Kenneth Branagh in "My Week with Marilyn"
Jonah Hill in "Moneyball"
Nick Nolte in "Warrior"
Christopher Plummer in "Beginners"
Max von Sydow in "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"

This is Christopher Plummer's year to win. Sorry Nick. And yes you can now refer to Jonah Hill as an "oscar nominated" actor.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Bérénice Bejo in "The Artist"
Jessica Chastain in "The Help"
Melissa McCarthy in "Bridesmaids"
Janet McTeer in "Albert Nobbs"
Octavia Spencer in "The Help"

I have not seen Berenice in the Artist yet and I can already tell from the ads she will probably make me fall in love with her. All the other ladies in this group did some terrific work and Jessica Chastain seemed to be in dozens of films this year. I think Melissa McCarthy as funny as she was is a novelty nomination unfortunately. The two Help noms might cancel each other out which could allow Janet Mcteer or Bejo grab the award.

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
"A Cat in Paris" Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
"Chico & Rita" Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
"Kung Fu Panda 2" Jennifer Yuh Nelson
"Puss in Boots" Chris Miller
"Rango" Gore Verbinski

Have not seen any of these and where is Tin Tin?? And sorry Pixar, I love you to death but the Academy is right, Cars 2 is not awards material.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
"Bullhead" Belgium
"Footnote" Israel
"In Darkness" Poland
"Monsieur Lazhar" Canada
"A Separation" Iran

Another group I have not seen any of yet. But A Separation has the heat for the award.

DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)
"Hell and Back Again" Danfung Dennis and Mike Lerner"
"If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front" Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman
"Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory" Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
"Pina" Wim Wenders and Gian-Piero Ringel
"Undefeated" TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Richard Middlemas

DOCUMENTARY (SHORT SUBJECT)
"The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement" Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin
"God Is the Bigger Elvis" Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson
"Incident in New Baghdad"James Spione
"Saving Face" Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
"The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom" Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
"Dimanche/Sunday" Patrick Doyon
"The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
"La Luna" Enrico Casarosa
"A Morning Stroll" Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe
"Wild Life" Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby

SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
"Pentecost" Peter McDonald and Eimear O'Kane
"Raju" Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren
"The Shore" Terry George and Oorlagh George
"Time Freak" Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
"Tuba Atlantic" Hallvar WitzøAgain, lost on all of these.

Will do some research and hopefully see a few before the big night.

ART DIRECTION
"The Artist" Production Design: Laurence Bennett; Set Decoration: Robert Gould
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
"Hugo" Production Design: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
"Midnight in Paris" Production Design: Anne Seibel; Set Decoration: Hélène Dubreuil
"War Horse" Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales

Artist or Hugo, but War Horse could be the, uh, dark horse here.

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Guillaume Schiffman, "The Artist"
Jeff Cronenweth, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
Robert Richardson, "Hugo"
Emmanuel Lubezki, "The Tree of Life"
Janusz Kaminski, "War Horse"

GWTDT had some great cinematography as Fincher/Cronenweth always has. Tree of Life is another beauty. But I think Hugo or the Artist will get it.

COSTUME DESIGN
Lisy Christl, "Anonymous"
Mark Bridges, "The Artist"
Sandy Powell, "Hugo"
Michael O'Connor, "Jane Eyre"
Arianne Phillips, "W.E"

All period pieces for costume design as usual. In case you didnt know, W.E. is Madonna's film about the American woman who married the King that abdicated the throne before World War II (which you may recall the story in King's Speech last year) Anonymous is Roland Emmerich's movie that was pushed for Oscar contention. Seriously. Try not to laugh too hard. Well this is the nod it got. This category could go anywhere and it usually does. Ill say Hugo or the Artist.

FILM EDITING
"The Artist" Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
"The Descendants" Kevin Tent
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
"Hugo" Thelma Schoonmaker
"Moneyball" Christopher Tellefsen

Technical awards... I'm not sure. Has Thelma won before? She could take it for Hugo. Though GWTDT was nicely edited too.

MAKEUP
"Albert Nobbs" Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng"The Iron Lady" Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland

Iron Lady and Albert Nobbs both movies about women who have to act like men. Will that nom cancel the two out? I havent seen the HP movie as I gave up on that series a long time ago.

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)
"The Adventures of Tintin" John Williams
"The Artist" Ludovic Bource
"Hugo" Howard Shore
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" Alberto Iglesias
"War Horse" John Williams
Another double nom here this time for Williams. Could go any direction. I have no idea.

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)
"Man or Muppet" from "The Muppets" Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
"Real in Rio" from "Rio" Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown Lyric by Siedah Garrett

What the fuck is with 2 noms only? Is that a waste of a category or what? They should dump this category if thats the case. If not then, Muppets please.

SOUND EDITING
"Drive" Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Ren Klyce
"Hugo" Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon" Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
"War Horse" Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom

War Horse could take it away from Hugo.

Trick 'r Treat, Happy Halloween!

2011-10-13T00:16:00.004-04:00

A new short ad featuring Sam in a quick cameo. Fans of the movie Trick 'r treat should enjoy this.

Ad from British TV for a Stanley Kubrick marathon

2011-10-10T11:00:00.001-04:00

See the world thru the eyes of the master. Fans of the shining and Kubrick in general should get a kick out of this behind the scenes recreation:

Lynch

2011-09-26T11:01:00.002-04:00

I found this online and just liked the way it looked. David Lynch and Isabella Rosselini, unknown date, but I assume early to mid 80's around the time of filming Blue Velvet, from the looks of them.

July 4th, greetings from Overlook Hotel

2011-07-05T09:20:00.000-04:00

BTS - AWIL

2011-07-04T10:20:00.000-04:00

Just a quick note, from the AICN BTS series...

Rick Baker using the head of the werewolf like a hand puppet. Awesome.

Raiders of the Lost Ark turns 30!

2011-06-13T13:35:00.002-04:00

Originally Released June 12th, 1981!

My favorite movie of all time. Period. Never ever could be bored with watching it and I have seen it countless times. I just watched it again last night. Still amazing , exciting and brilliant!

This is a perfect movie.

New Super 8 poster

2011-06-08T16:36:00.000-04:00

This harkens back to the 80's and Drew Struzan's work. I have not confirmed whether it was actually Struzan who made this. It sure looks close if it is not him.

I love this kind of poster.

I wish they would do this more often. Now off to see the movie...

May 25th 1977

2011-05-27T12:45:00.000-04:00

It is the anniversary of the release of a little film called Star Wars.

I just wanted to mark the occasion as the date of May 25th for me has always meant the kick off of the summer movie season. Though now they have creeped that start back into late April now. I still prefer this date, largely due to Lucas' and Spielberg's use of it over the years to release high profile blockbusters.

ESB was also released on this date in 1980

Followed by Return of the Jedi in 1983

Vincent Price's 100th Birthday !

2011-05-27T12:38:00.000-04:00

Happy birthday to you Vincent, wish you were still with us!

Last Man on Earth

Theater of Blood

The Tingler

Christopher Nolan's early work

2011-05-25T11:47:00.000-04:00

Chris Nolan's first short feature Doodlebug is featured below.

It is a Twilight Zone like story about a man and his elusive prey. You can see Nolan's use of mirror logic where the story turns in on itself and wraps around almost like reflecting a mirror back onto itself. In this case it's more literally than figuratively. A precursor to his screenplays that flip ideas of time, memory and dreamlike states in on themselves.

Green with Envy

2011-05-25T11:03:00.001-04:00

Don't ask questions, just watch this trailer!

And this one too:

Jerry Bruckheimer Pitch meeting

2011-05-20T15:05:00.000-04:00

This amusing parody of what it must be like to sit in on weekly pitch meetings for the staff at Jerry Bruckheimer's office. This is funny and sad all at once. Sad mostly because there is probably some truth to the ridiculousness of coming up with "blockbuster" movie ideas. Meetings like this are the death of film. How many movies have come from this kind of thing?

Also don't forget to check out the Tim Burton pitch meeting here

The Dark Knight Rises, begins!

2011-05-20T13:19:00.001-04:00

Well here we go! The beginning of another year long adventure of leaks, spoilers and news from the making of the new Batman movie. Anticipation is running high and if the viral campaign for TDK was any indication of what to expect, TDKR will probably beat that tenfold.

WB announced the film has begun shooting in a press release this week. Which is odd since I thought the filming started in April. Maybe it did and they delayed the PR in order to have some materials go online this week to coincide with the announcement. The movie is being shot on 3 continents and some of that filming has already happened in India.

The good news is Nolan is shooting in IMAX for a LOT more sequences. If you saw TDK in the IMAX presentation it seriously blows away any 3D film (except Avatar). I would like more films to be made 2D and filmed in IMAX rather than shot regular and post converted to 3D. I am not a 3D hater mind you, I just think IMAX presentation is the way to go. It feels cleaner and looks better. Unless you get James Cameron to film every 3D movie to come out then I can be on board fully with 3D.

Here is a comparison of IMAX frame and a 35mm frame:

You can see from the size of the frame the IMAX is larger and has more room for clarity of image information when projected. It really was a stunner to see TDK sequences in IMAX as they felt 3D without really being 3D.

Official website is up:
http://www.thedarkknightrises.com/

Nothing on it but a blank screen and some chanting. The viral campaign is heating up online as this twitter page has been spotted: http://twitter.com/#!/thefirerises

Also leaked this week was a picture of Tom Hardy as Bane:

Already looks 100x better than the 1997 version of Bane from Batman & Robin! *shudder*

And for the record, here is the press release:

PRODUCTION BEGINS ON “THE DARK KNIGHT RISES”

Filming will take place on three continents, with an all-star cast
working under the direction of Christopher Nolan.

BURBANK, CA, May 19, 2011 – Principal photography has begun on Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ “The Dark Knight Rises,” the epic conclusion to filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy.

Leading an all-star international cast, Oscar^® winner Christian Bale (“The Fighter”) again plays the dual role of Bruce Wayne/Batman.

The film also stars Anne Hathaway, as Selina Kyle; Tom Hardy, as Bane; Oscar^®winner Marion Cotillard (“La Vie en Rose”), as Miranda Tate; and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, as John Blake.

Returning to the main cast, Oscar^® winner Michael Caine (“The Cider House Rules”) plays Alfred; Gary Oldman is Commissioner Gordon; and Oscar^® winner Morgan Freeman (“Million Dollar Baby”) reprises the role of Lucius Fox.

In helming “The Dark Knight Rises,” Christopher Nolan is utilizing IMAX^® cameras even more extensively than he did on “The Dark Knight,” which had marked the first time ever that a major feature film was partially shot with IMAX^® cameras. The results were so spectacular that the director wanted to expand the use of the large-format cameras for this film.

The screenplay for “The Dark Knight Rises” is written by Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan, story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer. The film is being produced by Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Charles Roven, who previously teamed on “Batman Begins” and the record-breaking blockbuster “The Dark Knight.” The executive producers are Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan, Kevin De La Noy and Thomas Tull, with Jordan Goldberg serving as co-producer. “The Dark Knight” is based upon characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by Bob Kane.

Behind the scenes, “The Dark Knight Rises” reunites the director with several of his longtime collaborators, all of whom worked together on the “The Dark Knight.” The creative team includes director of photography Wally Pfister, who recently won an Oscar^® for his work on Nolan’s “Inception”; production designer Nathan Crowley; editor Lee Smith; and Oscar^®-winning costume designer Lindy Hemming (“Topsy-Turvy”). In addition, Paul Franklin and Chris Corbould, who both won Oscars^® for the effects in “Inception,” will supervise the visual and special effects, respectively. The music will be composed by Oscar^® winner Hans Zimmer (“The Lion King”).

The locations for “The Dark Knight Rises” span three continents and include the American cities of Pittsburgh, New York and Los Angeles, as well as sites in India, England and Scotland.

“The Dark Knight Rises” is a presentation of Warner Bros. Pictures, in association with Legendary Pictures. Slated for release on July 20, 2012, the film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

thanks to collider for the PR info and imax scan

The best news that happened this week! QT edition!

2011-05-06T16:47:00.002-04:00

No, not THAT story. (Though that story is fucking awesome)

Give up?

This:

QT's finished his latest script and turned it in this week to the studio! That's his scribble above! Not much is known about it but this synopsis has made the rounds on the intarwebs:

Django is a freed slave, who, under the tutelage of a German bounty hunter (played by Christopher Waltz the evil Nazi officer in Inglorious Basterds) becomes a bad-ass bounty hunter himself, and after assisting Waltz in taking down some bad guys for profit, is helped by Waltz in tracking down his slave wife and liberating her from an evil plantation owner. And that doesn’t even half begin to cover it! This film deals with racism as I’ve rarely seen it handled in a Hollywood film. While it’s 100 percent pure popcorn and revenge flick, it is pure genius in the way it takes on the evil slave owning south. Think of what he did with the Nazis in Inglorious and you’ll get a sense of what he’s doing with slave owners and slave overseers in this one.

Rumored to be 366 pages (or 166 depending on the source) it is a spaghetti western styled epic that tackles subjects like the slave trade and racism in post civil war America. The title "Django" is taken from a 1960's film with Franco Nero about a coffin toting (with a gatling gun inside) gunslinger who makes his way across the west.

Much in the style of the Eastwood/Leone films of the same period, Django is said to be one of the very first of the genre. It is a good film as I finally caught up with it a a few years ago. Like other spaghetti western classics, it is violent and action packed. It also spawned numerous sequels in name only. Due to odd copyright laws the title was allowed to be co-opted by other film makers to tell their own Django stories. I think Nero only appeared in 2 official Django films and he is said to be approached about being a part of this one. Knowing Tarantino this will not be a remake or a sequel much in the way Inglourious Basterds was not a remake of the 70's film of the same name. It strikes me as simply a jumping off point for him to riff on the post civil war south, American racism, slave history and play around with the western genre. Much like he did for Nazi's, I imagine his slave trade owners will be spared no mercy.

Any week that has a new Tarantino script ready to go is a good week for me. I can not wait to see what he does with this material.

Side note:
Tarantino also appeared in this Takeshi Miike movie Sukiyaki Western Django , a movie I still need to catch up with. I heard the U.S. version is cut by 20 minutes, anyone verify this?

Rise of the Planet of the Apes - teaser trailer

2011-04-14T09:52:00.001-04:00

Oh does this look good.

Weta effects and Andy Serkis doing the mo-capture for the apes. I am unfamiliar with the director but from this early trailer so far the look of the films is good. It seems Fox wants to continue to cash in on this franchise and I wonder how Burton's film fits in with the mythology of this film. Or is it ignored as I assume most people wish to do with the 2001 remake. I have to say one of the best parts of the Burton version was Tim Roth's General Thade character. That character was done with prosthetic make up (like the classics)and for the most part it was very convincing and a scary performance.

This makes me want to go pull out all my Planet of the Apes dvd's and watch them again. It's cool they moved the release date up to August, originally this was an end of the year film.

Have a look for yourself:

The First Avenger

2011-03-24T13:47:00.000-04:00

I gotta admit there are so many comic book characters getting their own movies even I am almost to the point of burnout with the genre. Origin stories are becoming a bit of a bore and I am not sure how many of these secondary characters can hold their own films. Thor, Green Lantern and rebooted X-men are coming up just to name a few. I read a lot of comics back in the day but I missed the boat on a lot of titles like the ones mentioned. I mostly stuck with things like Batman, Spider-man and Superman and I went with DC more than Marvel titles, mostly.

Now comes a preview for the highly anticipated Captain America. Another comic I never read but this movie I have been looking forward to. Mostly I think it is because I like the setting of WWII era Cap'n. I like the mix of fantasy elements within that historical period. I guess you could chalk that up to my love of Raiders of the Lost Ark which mixed those elements so well. Joe Johnston is a real workman like director and has made some fine films like Rocketeer, Jurassic Park 3 and October Sky. Last year he finished the Wolfman remake which he came in on after many , many problems with production and turned in an ok movie. I think this material suits him better like Rocketeer as he is mixing the history with a fantasy element and so far it looks great in the clip below.

Captain America will be on my must see summer movie list for sure. Have a look for yourself. And Thanks to the studio for not giving everything away already.

My favorite Elizabeth Taylor movie

2011-03-23T13:59:00.002-04:00

Elizabeth Taylor died today at the age of 79.

Ms. Taylor was someone I would say I never was a "fan" of but I respected her history and place in Hollywood. I came of age well after her best years on screen and mostly knew her from being a celebrity who hawked perfume and got married a few too many times in and around the 1980's.

Although, one my favorite films of all time also is one of her best roles she ever took on:

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

This movie is a tour de force performance from her and Richard Burton is not overlooked in that sentiment to be sure. This movie really knocked me out when I found it on cable one night in the 90's. The places these two go in this film are unsettling to say the least. Taylor lays herself bare and goes for the throat giving Burton a run for his money. She prowls the screen like a caged animal waiting for her chance to strike out at Burton. And oh boy when she does, look out! Taylor goes for broke here. But her character and Burton's character are so broken as it is that their wicked games strike you as something these two do normally to each other. And then thats when the sadness hits you.

One can only assume the nature of the performance was linked to their own stormy personal life. I can safely say it is a horror movie but a horror that is all too real. Too painful to watch. When two people like this know each other so well they can do a lot of damage to each other.

The movie is so beautifully directed you feel like you are sitting in the living room with these two maniacs and you keep hoping the time has come for you to leave their home. But instead of leaving you find yourself with one more drink in your hand and another round of twisted psychological games playing out in front of you. You realize you should have left hours ago and instead you only stay for more pain.

The one thing I can surmise from this movie is Taylor and Burton must have known a lot of pain and or sadness in their life to make this performance ring so true. I hope Elizabeth found some comfort in her waning years. But for me she always be remembered in this haunting and sad role.

I can not recommend this movie enough if you have not seen it. But be warned you may wish you never set foot in their house.

TDK -BTS

2011-03-23T11:02:00.000-04:00

Today's Behind The Scenes photo courtesy of AICN.

Nothing much to say about it other than seeing the creation of a very iconic moment in the film. I just like seeing images like this. Candid shots of people putting things into place and the creation of art. I wonder what it's like to stand there next to two people dressed as characters like this. It must be surreal.

This scene is where everything turns on Batman and the Joker reveals that he is in control of all the chaos and his plan of anarchy is working .

Too well.

New short film - "Blinky"

2011-03-22T20:05:00.000-04:00

Blinky just wants to be your friend.

Really.

No problem.

Blinky™ from Ruairi Robinson on Vimeo.

Super 8 new trailer!

2011-03-11T15:45:00.001-05:00

Over the weekend I went to see the Adjustment Bureau , which was pretty good btw and afterwards I was complaining about the quality of movie previews these days. I saw a bunch of previews I can't even remember what they were and I just kept thinking about how horribly put together they are. Aside from giving away EVERYTHING in a film the ads now have all the same beats. They start with jarring images and sounds or music, are over edited and hyperstylized then go quiet and end with a final jump cut of some kind as if screaming out to be remembered by you. Boring, boring boring. Trailers used to be one of my absolute favorite parts about going to the movies. The ability to see just about any movie trailers whenever you want combined with this lack of quality now has kind of taken the sparkle off that shine.

Take for instance this trailer for the Lincoln Lawyer , a film and book I know NOTHING about story wise. Watch this and try not to fall asleep:

Now from what reviews I've read, this is a GOOD movie. Though you wouldn't know it from the trailer. It is so generic and so lifeless due to the over used modern style of editing a preview these days mostly that involves hitting you over the head with so much sound and fury which is just meaningless. I was convinced I do not want to see it from watching that preview alone. Hell , it took me a while to even remember it played in front of the movie I just saw. One other trailer was for Transformers 3, which starts out interesting and then you realize it's a god damn Transformers movie and lose all interest.The others I can not even remember. Good job to the ad agency's within the studios. You got me to tune out from one of my favorite parts of going to a movie.

Now I know it may be unfair to pick on Lincoln Lawyer with this next comparison, as they are completely two different movies but I think it's typical of what many trailers seem to suffer from now. Potentially good movies are ruined by generic advertising that appeals to the A.D.D. addled American public's attention span.

Take a look at this classic trailer from Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind:

Or this his other classic Sci fi alien film:

Or his horror movie he "produced" :

Those previews fill you with wonder and make you want to see the films. They don't spoon feed it to you. Ok some of the narration on the E.T. one maybe a little over the top but ultimately it works. And yes these are from a completely diffrent era from today but you know what that style can still work. I have proof now.

This morning J.J. Abrams released the trailer for his new summer movie, Super 8. And it looks wonderful. No surprise it has Spielberg's name and Amblin' logo on it. It is a throwback to his earlier era of filmmaking and trailers for sure. Watching this I was immediately back to being a 12 year old kid and remembering what it was like to go the movies and be surprised. This movie looks like a mash up of a lot of 70's and 80's movies. I think you will take from it what you bring to it. E.T., Raiders, Jaws, so , so many come to mind. Some folks I have read think its like Goonies(sorry not a fan of that one), I think more like Explorers.

Anyhow, here is the trailer for what is now my #1 anticipated film of the summer. Thank you J.J. for keeping some magic alive for those of us who remember what it was like when movies were special and felt like real events to be a part of.

Reasons to be cheerful part 3: This movie

2011-03-07T13:22:00.000-05:00

Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll
Dir: Mat Whitecross
UK 2010

I did not know much about I an Dury other than a couple of songs. I knew he had one of those unique voices that you can not forget. This movie is a complete look at a man's life who challenges began with a fight against polio and it's crippling effects from an early age and who went on to be one of the founders of a burgeoning punk scene in the U.K.

Andy Serkis lives and breathes this role as Ian Dury and when you realize Andy has been kicking around doing mostly digital work like playing Gollum in the LOTR series, you wonder why he has not been given more roles to play where you can really see him. I did not know where Serkis ended and Dury began , the transition in performance is that complete. I have to check and see if the music was lip synced or not, I could not tell. He gives Dury that distinct gravely voice and nails it perfectly.

This is one of the best music bio pics of recent times, one that gives you the full measure of the man and allows room for his story to be told. If you like music, post punk, punk or otherwise take a look at this movie. It is on demand on Netflix streaming right now.

An here is the real Ian Dury performing the song of the film's title:

Andy Talks playing Ian on UK radio, he even slips into the Gollum voice.

Zack Snyder chooses a MILF for Superman's mom

2011-03-04T14:09:00.001-05:00

This week it was annouced Diane Lane would play Superman's adopted earth mom in Zack Snyder's version of Superman.

You pretty much can't get any hotter of an actress than Ms. Lane to play Ma Kent. This woman gets better and better with age. I love this bit of casting, a complete surprise for me.

And with Superman's dad possibly being played by Kevin Costner, well this seems like a winning bit of casting already. Costner has the "aw shucks" Midwestern appeal that would be needed to play Superman's earthly father. I hope they decide not to kill him off like Donner's version did. I think Clark could benefit from having his parents around to help guide him here on earth and in his role as Superman.

I look forward to seeing what Mr. Snyder does with his version of Superman. I think he is on the right track so far.

Star Wars 3D Conversion coming next year, Phantom Menace 1st.

2011-03-04T13:01:00.001-05:00

Big fucking deal.

Lucas has decided the dead horse was not beaten enough.

Is it me or does this look similar?

2011-02-24T09:19:00.000-05:00

Recently while going thru some films,internet searches and books about Sam Peckinpah, I came across pictures of the late iconic director like this one below. As I looked it felt eerily familiar. Like I had the look before somewhere else on film

When I see this picture of Sam Peckinpah, I was immediately reminded of this look Robert Shaw had in JAWS:

Was Shaw using Peckinpah as a template for Quint's style of look? The men and the character seemed to share some similar qualities looks wise and personality wise, the least of which is a hard living and hard drinking lifestyle. Or maybe bandannas were just de rigueur back then and it is complete coincidence. I do not recall hearing or reading anything about Shaw using Sam as some kind of reference for the character, but maybe, just maybe Shaw and Spielberg were up to something with that as a sort of movie maker 'in joke'?

Any of you Jaws lovers wish to comment and let me know, feel free to comment below.

Black Swan Digital FX reel

2011-01-27T15:47:00.002-05:00

When digital effects are used right you can hardly tell they are there. Most of the times in movies you can see when a digital effect has been done poorly and it takes you right out of the movie. When it is done correctly it is seamless and the audience really should not suspect anything has been altered and the film was made without much digital post production work to the visuals.

With a film like Black Swan I knew there was a lot of digital effects work going on, I just did not know how much. It is quite ingenious the way they used it on the film doing everything from animating swan wings, actor's head replacements and even cleaning up the dance floor so it looks better. The video below is about 4 minutes long and gives you a nice overview of the work that went into making the movie, digitally.

Also, spoiler warnings , as if you have not seen the movie, this gives away a lot of it.

This is a nice 5 minute BTS featurette, check it out:

Also check out this from the NY times , an interview with the costume designers who worked on Black Swan:

TDK Rises with Catwoman and Bane

2011-01-26T15:28:00.005-05:00

Big news recently about the new Batman movie and I am pleased with the choice of for Catowman. Anne Hathaway sure is a beauty and anxious to see what Nolan does with the character. I am assuming she will be Catwoman and not just Selena Kyle. Some fanboys are up in arms about it but those are the same people who thought Heath Ledger was a poor choice for the Joker and look how that turned out.

As for Tom Hardy as Bane (not Hugo Strange as was rumored on the net recently), well I do not know much about the character and when he was used in the dreadful Batman and Robin movie, well the less said the better. But I am sure the director knows what he is doing and again I look forward to seeing him tackle this character and not make him so cartoonish as the previous incarnation did. How will this 'roided up monster fit into the new Batman movie mythos?

Curious he did not go with Riddler or Penguin at all. I believe he stated a long time ago those characters would not make it into the movies. Nice to see some change up there. Also the movie is said to wrap up the Ras Al Ghoul storyline with the introduction of the daughter Talia as well. But anything can happen, the movie is stil a long way off. I think shooting begins in the springtime.

Warner Bros Press release:

BURBANK, CA, January 19, 2011 – Warner Bros. Pictures announced today that Anne Hathaway has been cast as Selina Kyle in Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight Rises.” She will be starring alongside Christian Bale, who returns in the title role of Bruce Wayne/Batman.
Christopher Nolan stated, “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Anne Hathaway, who will be a fantastic addition to our ensemble as we complete our story.”
In addition, Tom Hardy has been set to play Bane. Nolan said, “I am delighted to be working with Tom again and excited to watch him bring to life our new interpretation of one of Batman’s most formidable enemies.”
Nolan will direct the film from a screenplay he wrote with Jonathan Nolan, from a story by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer. Nolan will also produce the film with his longtime producing partner, Emma Thomas, and Charles Roven.
“The Dark Knight Rises” is slated for release on July 20, 2012. The film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Oscar nominations 2011

2011-01-25T09:33:00.051-05:00

The Oscars were announced today and with what amounted to a great big "meh" from me as I looked through the list of nominees, I could only think one thing after many years spent watching award shows:

I just really do not care all that much.

And yes, I know I am not the first to bitch about this.

I am beginning to agree with the idea that art should not be relegated to a contest of "who's best". You can not do that with movies. When the whole process of "winning" comes down to politics and who spent more on advertising to get the most attention you just really have to say, what's the point? So many good a decent films get overlooked year after year by the awards season. And other films get honors really above their stature. Does anyone really think that Shakespeare in Love is the best picture of 1998 over Saving Private Ryan? It all came down to politics and who knew who and who could grease the most wheels to get the votes. It's really pathetic. Art shouldn't be relegated to that lowest common denominator form of competition like American Idol.

Oscars in particular suffer from a form of same old same old when it comes to nominees. Instead of taking more chances on the "new" they fall back into old tropes , tired old formulas we have seen again and again in movies. Take for instance 1994, Forrest Gump and Pulp Fiction were both up for best picture. Now I like both films but Forrest Gump has the easier way about it that appeals exactly to what the Academy wants: sentimental, historical and sweet. Pulp Fiction was dark , edgy and new. I was glad it was even nominated but it didn't stand a chance. Of the two films, guess which one I watch more often?

Just a couple of years ago one of the Best Picture nominees was a film called The Reader. I do not know of anyone who talks about that film or really remember it. That it took away a spot from something else in the nominee list is kind of a shame. Look, I saw it , it's a competent film, well made and played. I have not watched it since my original viewing. But again it fits the bill for Academy voters; historical subject matter, based on a true story and also had the twist involving nazi's and someone with a disability. How could the Academy NOT nominate it?

I wish the award shows would really focus on the art and celebrate the filmmakers who make some of the best movies instead of just glossing over the same old things. I wish it was not such a publicity push and the company that spends the most advertising for the award is the one to most likely get it. I wish they would celebrate the new young filmmaker with a unique voice. Or celebrate someone well within the system like Christopher Nolan , who manages to straddle the line between art and commerce with his genre and mind bending summer blockbusters. Just try to encourage more of the original voice in film. Big and small.

This year for Oscar bait we have the King's Speech and we should see if it sweeps. Now I have not seen the film and I am sure it is a fine piece of filmmaking , but if there ever was Oscar bait, this film is it. Historical, British, World War II era, deals with a person who has a handicap and no doubt is probably audience rousing by the end of it. I'm sure the studio is in full push for the sweeping of all the categories for this movie.

With all that being said, I will be watching the show after all. The Oscar telecast is usually fun especially when they pull some wacky thing out like interpretive dance to illustrate best song nominees. And if they have a good host, well you can usually get a good chuckle or two from that. I just want it to be more about films and less about money and politics. But I know the realities, money trumps everything. So I write this on my little blog and understand it will not change anytime soon.

.

BEST ACTOR
Javier Bardem, Biutiful
Jeff Bridges, True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
James Franco, 127 Hours

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christian Bale, The Fighter
John Hawkes, Winter’s Bone
Jeremy Renner, The Town
Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right
Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech

BEST ACTRESS
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter, The King’s Speech
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom

BEST ANIMATED FILM
How to Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist
Toy Story 3

BEST ART DIRECTION
Alice in Wonderland — Robert Stromberg, Karen O’Hara
Happy Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 1 — Stuart Craig, Stephenie McMillan
Inception — Guy Hendrix Dyas, Larry Dias, Doug Mowat
The King’s Speech — Eve Stewart, Judy Farr
True Grit — Jess Gonchor, Nancy Haigh

BEST DIRECTOR
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
Joel & Ethan Coen, True Grit
David Fincher, The Social Network
Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech
David O. Russell, The Fighter

BEST PICTURE
127 Hours
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King’s Speech
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter’s Bone

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Hors la Loi (Outside the Law) (Algeria)
Incendies (Canada)
In a Better World (Denmark)
Dogtooth (Greece)
Biutiful (Mexico)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg, The Kids Are All Right
Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson, The Fighter
Mike Leigh, Another Year
Christopher Nolan, Inception
David Seidler, The King’s Speech

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Michael Arndt, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich, Toy Story 3
Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy, 127 Hours
Joel & Ethan Coen, True Grit
Debra Granik and Anne Roselini, Winter’s Bone
Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Black Swan
Inception
The King’s Speech
The Social Network
True Grit

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Alice in Wonderland
I Am Love
The King’s Speech
The Tempest
True Grit

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Gasland
Inside Job
Restrepo
Waste Land

BEST EDITING
127 Hours
Black Swan
The Fighter
The King’s Speech
The Social Network

BEST MAKEUP
Barney’s Version
The Way Back
The Wolfman

BEST SCORE
127 Hours
How to Train Your Dragon
Inception
The King’s Speech
The Social Network

BEST SONG
“Coming Home,” Country Strong
“I See the Light,” Tangled
“If I Rise,” 127 Hours
“We Belong Together,” Toy Story 3

BEST SOUND EDITING
Inception
Toy Story 3
TRON: Legacy
True Grit
Unstoppable

BEST SOUND MIXING
Inception
The King’s Speech
Salt
The Social Network
True Grit

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Alice in Wonderland
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 1
Hereafter
Inception
Iron Man 2

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Killing in the Name
Poster Girl
Strangers No More
Sun Come Up
The Warriors of Qiugang

BEST ANIMATED SHORT
Day & Night
The Gruffalo
Let’s Pollute
The Lost Thing
Madagascar, Carnet de Voyage (Madagascar, a Journey Diary)

BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT
The Confession
The Crush
God of Love
Na Wewe
Wish 143

Pee Wee's night out - SNL Digital Short

2011-01-18T13:05:00.000-05:00

2010 is the year Pee Wee Herman made it back to us!

He updated his old tv show and brought it to the stage in L.A. and on Broadway. I had the fortune of being able to go see him in NYC and lemme tell you, it was worth it. Recently I had introduced Pee Wee to my nieces and nephew and I think they liked him pretty good. I showed them his films Pee Wee's Big Adventure and Big Top Pee Wee as it had been a long time since I saw both films and I really got a kick out of seeing them again. I had almost forgotten how much fun he is to watch and am so glad he seems to be making such a big comeback. Word is Judd Apatow is working on a new film for him to star in. Would be fun to see Pee Wee play around with the Apatow crew regulars like Seth Rogan and Jason Segal. Nothing is set in stone yet, so we have to wait and see what develops.

In the meantime HBO has taped the Broadway show for television later this year and SNL's Andy Samberg took Pee Wee on during his stay and made a hilarious (albeit too short!) clip featuring the two of them enjoying a night on the town in NYC.

Welcome back Pee Wee! We missed you!

Undercity

2011-01-05T14:33:00.002-05:00

Ever wonder what the city looks like underneath the streets? What is it like to have to really avoid the third rail?

I've stood at the platforms of NYC subways and looked down into the blackness of the tunnels and wondered what is it like to walk through there. How much space would you have if a train came by? What else is below and what kind of things would I find? To be honest, it would be too frightening to traipse through the tunnels without any kind of help or official guide. But here in the video below, a couple of urban spelunkers take the subways and sewers on for themselves and have a look at the underbelly of a city. This is one of the most fascinating and interesting videos I have seen on the web of late. While what the men in the video were doing is completely illegal , they were not out to do harm, but instead are just having a look at some forgotten urban history. This is something I think we probably need to examine and decide as a culture if this is something worthy of preservation. To see the craftmanship and look of the tunnels and sewers that were made over a couple of centuries is something to behold. They take some pretty big risks in this movie and it pays off. The look of it alone is beautiful.

Check this related NY Times article.

Also have a look at Andrew Wonder's Vimeo page

UNDERCITY from Andrew Wonder on Vimeo.

Behind the scenes pic of the day from AICN, EFNY edition!

2010-12-05T12:10:00.000-05:00

Over on Aint it Cool, they run the behind the scenes pic of the day articles and it really has become one of my favorite things to find online now. Some pictures are really simple, some are classic moments that you get a look at from a different angle. And some are just strangely iconic and you can't figure out why you have not seen it sooner.

Today's picture is from the making of Escape from New York, only it's not the obvious subject, yes it is New York but not Kurt or Donald Pleasance. Instead we see Carpenter catching a shot of NYC, with the Twin Towers in the distance. Doubly haunting now to see them in this picture and in the movie itself.

I love that it is a slightly foggy (lol, get it?) look in the distance and Carpenter is caught so candidly, you can just see he must of been enjoying this moment , making a film he wanted to see. A now classic and iconic film, Escape From New York.

Fight Club remade, now with old people!

2010-12-01T15:52:00.000-05:00

Greg Nicotero's UMTA

2010-10-20T12:00:00.000-04:00

Halloween is almost here!

To honor the occaison AMC has been running this is a great short feature by special effects wiz, Greg Nicotero.

This is a nice throwback to the old school monsters of days gone by. The idea is that the monsters are real and they have their own talent agency that handles all aspects of their creative development. Look for lots of fun cameo's from creatures across the spectrum of horror.

True Grit - Coen Bros. latest movie and also a remake

2010-09-28T13:43:00.005-04:00

These days we kind of roll our eyes at the idea of a remake. A long time ago it was a novel concept now everyone is doing it with every film you can think of. While most remakes are just standard fare that Hollywood puts out just to make a couple bucks, every once in a while you find a creative force behind a remake and it turns it into so much more than what the source material was. Case in point: David Cronenberg's remake of The Fly elevated the material so much so and made it his own that both films are worthy on their own terms. Two different sets of experiences to tell the same story. When you have as strong a force as Cronenberg behind material like that it is no wonder the end product becomes something that can stand on it's own.
Now here we are with another remake. This time it is a John Wayne western. The Coen brothers are tackling True Grit and are said to have gone back to the source material of the book and not so much the movie. This teaser trailer shows already that this film looks to be amazing. The Coen brother are surely auteur's of film and each movie they make is different from the last. They have their own voice, humor and style and you get the sense of it no matter what the film is. I feel really lucky as a fan that they work as much as they do putting out new films almost every year. No Country for Old Men is one of my new favorites from them. I just love the beats they take and the fact that sometimes they go right past those tired old movie cliche's and turn them and their audience on their heads. When you watch a Coen bros. movie, you just do not know what you may get from it. I love that.
Now I'll admit I have yet to see the original film with John Wayne, but it is sitting on my dvd shelf and I will be cracking that case open soon. It's a film I always meant to catch up with and slowly but surely I have been going back to fill in those gaps as a film fan. I look forward to being able to see both versions.
Jeff Bridges steps into Wayne's Rooster Cogburn character who is an alcoholic who helps a little girl find her dad. Bridges looks like he may have stepped out of the Crazy Heart role and moved right into this. He is aging in such a way that it lends itself to this kind of shaggy performance. This December he will be in Tron Legacy, the sci-fi film sequel to the 1982 cult movie and now this. That's quite a flip. Bridges is truly one of the best actors of our time and won that long deserved Oscar for a life's worth of amazing work. Wonder if he can get another Oscar nod from this. Have a look below at the trailer.

This is the longer trailer, that came out this week, 10/3/10

Toy Grit?

Harrison Ford interviewed back in 1977 and the best Star Wars film since 1983

2010-09-15T14:31:00.000-04:00

I love these old TV interviews a sort of time capsule capturing a moment of a sort of innocence. Way before anyone including the actors had any idea of the zeitgeist they were stepping into being a part of Star Wars, it is an informative little clip. It features Harrison way before he even put on the fedora for Indiana Jones and chased replicants in Blade Runner.

Bobbie Wygant Interviews Harrison Ford for Star Wars 1977 from Atombomb.tv on Vimeo.
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/07/may-the-force-of-nostalgia-be-with-you/

Here is a fan made animation about the further adventures of Han Solo. It has a nice look , sounds good and quite frankly more entertaining than the last 3 movies were. Plus it has a nice gag at the end. If you have a pair of the old red/blue 3D glasses it should be better in 3D. Good stuff, have a look:

The Solo Adventures...

The Solo Adventures from Daniel Smith on Vimeo.

Here is a video advertisement for a new book about the making of Empire Strikes Back. The book looks terrific and it follows the other line of making of Star Wars and Indiana Jones books. I look forward to getting my hands on this soon.

2001 Alternate main titles by Alex North

2010-09-08T12:51:00.000-04:00

Stanley Kubrick hired a composer to produce original music for 2001: A Space Oddessy, here is what it would have been like without the classical music we already know associated with the film:

Behind the scenes pic of the day on AICN

2010-09-03T14:52:00.001-04:00

'Aint it cool news' is running an awesome series called "The Behind the scenes pic of the day"

This picture below is just one more in the series and it is really great. I do not recall ever seeing this particular picture from ESB. As it is the 30th anniversary of the film this year we will be getting a great new book coming out in October. It should be filled with all kinds of things like this. I love seeing Gary Kurtz hands on with the filmmaking process as he was essentially a producer on the films he could have just kept off to the side, but that's not what he was about. Kurtz was one of the main driving forces behind the original sucess of Star Wars and helped to keep Lucas inline from cramming too many of his dumb ideas into the first two movies. Kurtz later left the series before Return of the Jedi over some of these creative differences.

You can read an amazing interview with Kurtz here in the L.A. Times. In it he talks about why he left and what changes he wanted to make to end the series. Too bad Lucas is such a dope he let him walk away.

Anyhow check out this great photo below, I just love that this is such an iconic film and here we see people in that moment, completely unaware (or possibly hyper-aware as Gary is a smart man) of how classic this will become. Kurtz has such a strong decisive look about him. He knew what he wanted from the story and he knew he would not make it dumb or talk down to the audience. This was Star Wars in it's heday, when we were just scratching the surface of what was to come for this pop culture juggernaut.

And here is another one from a few weeks ago, yes that is David Prowse without the helmet on as Vader in the most revealing and iconic moment of the film. Note the light saber in his hands that is not glowing, just a stick basically that will come to life in post production. Just amazing stuff to be able to see.

Be sure to check out the other photos in the series so far, plenty of amazing images have come through in the short time it has been online.

A new image from the Fright Night remake

2010-09-02T14:21:00.000-04:00

The movie is currently in production and shooting in and around Las Vegas.

I am really trying to not be all "IT AINT LIKE IT USED TO BE SO THEREFORE THIS SUCKS" about it.

I am keeping an open mind. Sometimes that is hard to do.

My problem is I am no fan of Criss Angel stuff, so immediately I am turned off by it.

But how can a character like Peter Vincent a 'b-movie' actor in the vein of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee's Hammer films days who now is hosting a late night horror show resonate with kids today?

It cant now.

Diffrent time and place.

I will go see this remake just like any other remake I've seen in the past. I only hope that it is good and true to the material as best it can be.

Though nothing beats Roddy McDowell. He was a terrific actor and his Peter Vincent was so much more real and human because of what he brought to it. He elevated the material from just B movie schlock to help make it a real classic that can withstand viewings 25 years later.

AMC's Walking Dead Preview...

2010-08-24T12:56:00.000-04:00

The books are fantastic and Frank Darabont is overseeing this adaptation. Now here is a nice long look at what the series is going to be like. Too bad they are waiting till Halloween to start it, to me it should be run in October with episodes leading up to a Halloween finale or some kind of big episode. Anyways, it's amazing the chances AMC is taking with a series like this. Mad Men and now this, two reasons to tune in Sunday nights.

Have a look:

Skyline trailer doesn't suck. Or maybe it does...

2010-08-11T10:43:00.000-04:00

I have made no bones about how I feel when it comes to the Strauss Bros. and their lousy take on Aliens Vs. Predators. That movie was utter dreck and the boys showed they had minimal skills outside of the effects work they were mostly known for. I thought for sure these guys would go back to directing effects work only and it seems for the most part that's what they have done.

But now they are back with a splashy new film, for the most part it's an original work, aside from the basic elements of the alien invasion story tropes. The new film Skyline, hits with dire warning about alien life showing us Stephen Hawking is on record saying if an alien race visited us, it would not end well for us. The film then runs with this premise. I'll be honest, alien invasion films are some of my favorite kinds of movies. The last big sucessful one, Independence Day, was ok, but not really rewatchable because of how dumbed down it is after you get past all the pretty destruction scenes.Cloverfield was a nice mix of hand held and old Godzilla style thrills. District 9 last year was one of the best, tho a slightly different take on the material going for more sociological subtext. War of the Worlds is the best, the classic and the Spielberg remake. I like them both for different reasons. Coming up in the next year or two we have a few more alien themed films including Battle for Los Angeles, Oren Peli's Area 51, J.J. Abrams' Super 8 and Michael Bay's untitled alien invasion film.

Thats a lot of aliens!

I will go on record right now and tip my hat to the Strauss boys and the marketing department. The trailer is good. Very good. I need to see if the film can back up the promise. If it is as shitty as AvP, it wouldn't surprise me. Let's just say they have me curious. I want to see more. Prove me wrong that you aren't the hacks I thought you were. I'll be here waiting.

Have a look for yourself:

skyline
Uploaded by blankytwo. - Full seasons and entire episodes online.

A new reason to be afraid of the dark...

2010-08-03T14:56:00.001-04:00

Guillermo Del Toro is producing this remake of a 1970's TV movie of all things. I have never seen the original but from what I have heard it has a cult following of people who remember it and found it to be pretty scary. Seems to be comparable to Trilogy of Terror an anthology that featured that crazy Zuni fetish doll chasing Karen Black around her house.

The film is about a family (Katie Holmes, Guy Pearce) who moves into a new home where some kind of nasty creatures seem to live within.

This trailer is notable since it is trying to do what it sets out to do, namely sell a scary movie. Lots of darkness and use of sound creeps the viewer out effectively. This is a nice throwback kind of ad where they have not spoiled the whole thing for you months before it is even released. The movie opens next January. Have a look for yourself:

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark in HD

Trailer Park Movies | MySpace Video

Sucker Punch - Trailer online

2010-07-27T22:20:00.011-04:00

Darren Aronofsky

Christopher Nolan

Zack Snyder

These are 3 directors who have come of age in the first decade of the 21st century and have helped shape and define a cinematic landscape. All three are unique and undeniably qualified film makers who can work with budgets large and small. Nolan in particular is able to tap into the most mainstream box office success with the rebooted Batman series or a film like Inception. Aranofsky likes to work in very personal terms and makes his own lower budgeted ambitious fare like The Fountain and more recently found critical success with The Wrestler.

Of the three the one that surprises me the most is Snyder. He started out like a lot of other directors making ads and videos and graduated to feature films with his version of Dawn of the Dead in 2004. A remake that infuriated (running zombies anyone?) and surprised a lot of hardcore fans of the Romero original. I found it to be a worthy update, the first 15 minutes alone are pure genius and the rest of the film copies the DotD formula and updates the story nicely. Snyder tweaked the material enough to pay homage and make it new all at once.

His next film 300, his take on the Frank Miller graphic novel redefined modern digital film making and blew audiences away with it's depictions of almost superman-like warriors who take on an army of thousands. His use of CGI enabled background gave the film an other worldly look and took what Lucas did with Star Wars and upped the ante quite bit. Mixing violence and modern music to tell an ancient story for the 21st century viewer. While I like the film, I am not a huge fan of it and find myself a little overwhelmed by so much CGI. But this is the way of filmmaking now and to be honest Snyder is damn good at what he does.

His next movie was Watchmen, an adaptation of the notoriously "unfilmable" Alan Moore graphic novel from 1986. He made a slavishly faithful version of the story, one I felt was under received by critics and unfortunately most audiences did not seem to connect with the deconstruction of the superhero mythos much. While the film is flawed I found it to contain enough faithfulness to the original work while adding or changing sequences to make it his own thing. Again his work with CGI , in this case Dr. Manhattan who was a size changing, blue skinned, completely naked character managed to make it work and not seem so ridiculous in the alternative world of these deranged "costumed heros". The film went on to make a decent box office gross and is truly one of the few good or near great filmed adaptations of Alan Moore's work. (Ironically enough Moore has removed his name from this project entirely out of spite due to the bastardization of his previous works as film adaptations)

Which brings us to Sucker Punch, Snyder's first truly original movie that is not sourced from anything else but his own imagination. not much is known about the story so far, but if you look at the trailer you will see a lot of his CGI work here on hand. The movie focuses on the adventures of a particular girl who seems to be held prisoner somewhere. Featuring dragons, samurai swords, musical numbers and nazi inspired villains. Snyder himself has said this film is basically "Alice in Wonderland with guns". I have not heard much about the film until today when I saw this and all I can say is wow, this looks like something interesting. The movie so far also resembles the underrated Sky Captain movie from a few years back. I will definitely be following this film until it comes out next March.

Trailer:

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

Bugs Bunny is 70 today!

2010-07-27T19:55:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday to the wasscally wabbit!

70 years going strong and Bugs have never looked better! I must've watched all these cartoons over and over like ever other kid who grew up in the 70's when they would play them on TV afterschool and on Saturday mornings. I learned so much about pop culture past and present thru the Looney Tunes cartoons. There has never been anything to equal the insane brillance of these animated shorts that were made well before I was born.

His first cartoon was originally released on July 27, 1940!

Here are a couple of favorites below there are too many to put in one post.

Fallin' Hare

Wackiki Wabbit

Bugs Bunny Opera

abracapocus

10 questions about your blog

2010-07-27T11:48:00.001-04:00

Around the blog-o-sphere there is this Meme going around as a way to talk about the owners of various blog's. A lot of the sites I follow seem to have been filling it out and applying it to their own blog. I thought I would share the same on mine here are my responses to the 10 questions.

1: In Ten Words or Less, Describe Your Blog:
It's about movies and what I think about movies.

2: During What Cinematic Era Where you Born?
A: The Classic Horror Era (late 30's to 40's)
B: The Atomic Monster/Nuclear Angst Era (the late 40's through 50's)
C: The Psycho Era ( Early 60's)
D: The Rosemary's Baby Era (Mid to Late 60's)
E: The Exorcism Era (Early to mid 70's)
F: The Halloween Era (Late 70's to Early 80's)
G: The Slasher Era (Mid to late 80's)
H: The Self Referential/Post Modern Era (1990 to 1999)

I was born in 1969, so D: The Rosemary's Baby Era (Mid to Late 60's). Just in time for the possession films to take over!

3: The Carrie Compatibility Question:
Sue Snell or Chris Hargensen, who would you take to the prom?

I did not go to the prom. Can't I take Carrie? Maybe she wouldn't have been so mad then.

4: You have been given an ungodly amount of money, and total control of a major motion picture studio - what would your dream Horror project be?

I would give money to filmmakers with the chops to tell a story. People like Gullermo Del Toro would have free reign to make what they want. I would champion new film making voices and visionaries to bring unique ideas to the screen.

5: What horror film "franchise" that others have embraced, left you cold?

Friday the 13th. I just don't care for it. I have tried many many times to watch them, and they leave me bored. I liked the remake oddly enough, but that's what low expectations will get you.

6: Is Michael Bay the Antichrist?
No, he just makes things blow up real good. I generally do not care for his movies but occasionally he will make a decent one.

7: Dracula, The Wolf Man, The Frankenstein Monster - which one of these classic villains scares you, and why?
None. They do not scare me, if anything I have sympathy for them. None of them want to be monsters, it's just fate made them that way. I think I like Frankenstein the best.

8: Tell me about a scene from a NON HORROR Film that scares the crap out of you:

Probably any scene with Dennis Hopper as Frank Booth in Blue Velvet. I even drink Pabst Blue Ribbon because I do not want to piss him off with that Heineken shit.

9: Baby Jane Hudson invites you over to her house for lunch. What do you bring?

My own packed lunch.

10: So, between you and me, do you have any ulterior motives for blogging? Come, on you can tell me, it will be our little secret, I won't tell a soul.

No ulterior motives, it is just an outlet to keep me connected to film and watching movies. I like thinking about and reading about movies. I love to analyze them and find out what's inside them and how they relate to the world around us. I love to read other people's ideas on movies too.

11: What would you have brought to Rosemary Woodhouse's baby shower?

What every demon baby needs, a set of Living Dead Dolls.

12: Godzilla vs The Cloverfield Monster, who wins?

Godzilla is the king. I love Cloverfield tho, but he is just a pup.

13: If you found out that Rob Zombie was reading your blog, what would you post in hopes that he read it?
Dear Rob, I think you have a lot of talent. I just have not seen it all up there. I think your heart is in the right place and you say all the right things a fan would say. In the end tho, you keep repeating yourself and it is become tiresome, to say the least. Please stop with the white trash characters and glorification of the redneck lifestyle. It really is not cool. At least not the 500th time we saw you do it.

14: What is your favorite NON HORROR FILM, and why?

I have many non horror favorites, but offhand I would say Sex, Lies and Videotape. That was the first movie that opened my eyes to the possibility of film and that anyone could do it.

15: If blogging technology did not exist, what would you be doing?

Watching movies and having the dialogue in my head.

Haunted Mansion to get remade, with GDT at the helm!

2010-07-24T13:13:00.000-04:00

Guillermo Del Toro is writing and producing a new movie based on the Haunted Mansion ride in Walt Disney theme parks. Unlike the previous Eddie Murphy movie this one might actually be good. Del Toro assured the comicon crowd he is "not returning Eddie's calls".

Del Toro is a huge fan of the property and has been dying to get his hands on it to make some kind of film based off the ride. It is said to focus on the hatbox Ghost as seen below in the exclusive comic-con artwork. I wonder if this means it will be an anthology with the ghost as "guide" in the stories much like the creep was in Creepshow. Either way, with Del Toro involved you can damn well bet it will be interesting and probably scary!

New!! Tron Legacy trailer, from Comic-con 2010!

2010-07-22T15:50:00.002-04:00

Just debuted!

I can't believe how amazing it looks to see Jeff Bridges play himself from almost 30 years ago.

Love the look and design and how its updated yet still retains the original styles from Tron in 1982. It's kind of funny to see these designs and think they were kind limited (and a bit cheesy) with what they could get away with in 1982 and see them breathe new life into them in 2010.

This is going to be one hell of a 3D movie I think. IMAX version is the way to go on this.
This is the geek event movie of the year as far as I am concerned!

Thanks to CHUD for the screenshots!

Metropolis opens on Friday in Philadelphia!

2010-07-19T13:02:00.000-04:00

For a limited engagement, the restored cut with footage found in South America comes to the Ritz @ the Bourse. Metropolis is now as complete a cut as we will likely ever see. This definitive version is now the closest to what Fritz Lang intended back in 1927. One of the most influential films of the 20th century, Metropolis is the originator of the way we see science fiction depicted in films today. I have never seen this movie projected on a large movie screen before and am really excited to catch this run of the film.

Also includes the original score as it was back in 1927.

Do your self a favor and do not miss this! It will also be on Blu ray at the end of the year so you have no excuses if you can not make it out to the theater.

http://www.kino.com/metropolis/index.php

Inception

2010-07-18T22:13:00.001-04:00

Just saw it last night.

Christopher Nolan is the best director of the first decade of the 21st century. Part of that rare breed of blockbuster directors who make such dense, interesting movies that demand multiple viewings. Unheard of for major summer releases which usually are just fluff like mental candy, Nolan creates vibrant, realistic worlds with multiple layers of meaning and thought.

In just 10 short years Nolan has put himself in leagues with Kubrick and Spielberg.

Alien Anthology on Blu Ray!

2010-07-16T09:42:00.000-04:00

All I can say is WOW!

They have included all previous documentaries and re-edited the Alien 3 making of from the Quadrilogy. Plus the Burke cocoon death sequence is added as well as screen tests from Alien. Amazing.

Fox is also working on Moulin Rouge on Blu! Can't wait to see what they do with that!

IGN has the details here

And now, here's what's included on each disc:

Disc One: Alien

1979 Theatrical Version
2003 Director's Cut with Ridley Scott Introduction
Audio Commentary by Director Ridley Scott, Writer Dan O'Bannon, Executive Producer Ronald Shusett, Editor Terry Rawlings, Actors Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton and John Hurt
Audio Commentary (for Theatrical Cut only) by Ridley Scott
Final Theatrical Isolated Score by Jerry Goldsmith
Composer's Original Isolated Score by Jerry Goldsmith
Deleted and Extended Scenes
MU-TH-UR Mode Interactive Experience with Weyland-Yutani Datastream

Disc Two: Aliens

1986 Theatrical Version
1991 Special Edition with James Cameron Introduction
Audio Commentary by Director James Cameron, Producer Gale Anne Hurd, Alien Effects Creator Stan Winston, Visual Effects Supervisors Robert Skotak and Dennis Skotak, Miniature Effects Supervisor Pat McClung, Actors Michael Biehn, Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen, Jenette Goldstein, Carrie Henn and Christopher Henn
Final Theatrical Isolated Score by James Horner
Composer's Original Isolated Score by James Horner
Deleted and Extended Scenes
MU-TH-UR Mode Interactive Experience with Weyland-Yutani Datastream

Disc Three: Alien3

1992 Theatrical Version
2003 Special Edition (Restored Workprint Version)
Audio Commentary by Cinematographer Alex Thomson, B.S.C., Editor Terry Rawlings, Alien Effects Designers Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, Jr., Visual Effects Producer Richard Edlund, A.S.C., Actors Paul McGann and Lance Henriksen
Final Theatrical Isolated Score by Elliot Goldenthal
Deleted and Extended Scenes
MU-TH-UR Mode Interactive Experience with Weyland-Yutani Datastream

Disc Four: Alien Resurrection

1997 Theatrical Version
2003 Special Edition with Jean-Pierre Jeunet Introduction
Audio Commentary by Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Editor Herve Schneid, A.C.E., Alien Effects Creators Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, Jr., Visual Effects Supervisor Pitof, Conceptual Artist Sylvain Despretz, Actors Ron Perlman, Dominique Pinon and Leland Orser
Final Theatrical Isolated Score by John Frizzell
Deleted and Extended Scenes
MU-TH-UR Mode Interactive Experience with Weyland-Yutani Datastream

Disc Five: Making The Anthology

In addition to over 12 hours of candid, in-depth documentaries, you now have the ability to go even deeper into Alien Anthology history with nearly five hours of additional video Enhancement Pods created exclusively for this collection, presenting behind-the-scenes footage, raw dailies and interview outtakes from all four films. At topical points in the documentaries, you may access these pods to enhance your experience, or watch them on their own from the separate Enhancement Pod index.

The Beast Within: Making Alien

Star Beast: Developing the Story
The Visualists: Direction and Design
Truckers in Space: Casting
Fear of the Unknown: Shepperton Studios, 1978
The Darkest Reaches: Nostromo and Alien Planet
The Eighth Passenger: Creature Design
Future Tense: Editing and Music
Outward Bound: Visual Effects
A Nightmare Fulfilled: Reaction to the Film
Enhancement Pods

Superior Firepower: Making Aliens

57 Years Later: Continuing the Story
Building Better Worlds: From Concept to Construction
Preparing for Battle: Casting and Characterization
This Time It's War: Pinewood Studios, 1985
The Risk Always Lives: Weapons and Action
Bug Hunt: Creature Design
Beauty and the Bitch: Power Loader vs. Queen Alien
Two Orphans: Sigourney Weaver and Carrie Henn
The Final Countdown: Music, Editing and Sound
The Power of Real Tech: Visual Effects
Aliens Unleashed: Reaction to the Film
Enhancement Pods

Wreckage and Rage: Making Alien3

Development Hell: Concluding the Story
Tales of the Wooden Planet: Vincent Ward's Vision
Stasis Interrupted: David Fincher's Vision
Xeno-Erotic: H.R. Giger's Redesign
The Color of Blood: Pinewood Studios, 1991
Adaptive Organism: Creature Design
The Downward Spiral: Creative Differences
Where the Sun Burns Cold: Fox Studios, L.A. 1992
Optical Fury: Visual Effects
Requiem for a Scream: Music, Editing and Sound
Post-Mortem: Reaction to the Film
Enhancement Pods

One Step Beyond: Making Alien Resurrection

From the Ashes: Reviving the Story
French Twist: Direction and Design
Under the Skin: Casting and Characterization
Death from Below: Fox Studios, Los Angeles, 1996
In the Zone: The Basketball Scene
Unnatural Mutation: Creature Design
Genetic Composition: Music
Virtual Aliens: Computer Generated Imagery
A Matter of Scale: Miniature Photography
Critical Juncture: Reaction to the Film
Enhancement Pods
MU-TH-UR Mode Interactive Experience to Access and Control Enhancement Pods

Disc Six: The Anthology Archives
Alien

Pre-Production
- First Draft Screenplay by Dan O'Bannon
- Ridleygrams: Original Thumbnails and Notes
- Storyboard Archive
- The Art of Alien: Conceptual Art Portfolio
- Sigourney Weaver Screen Tests with Select Director Commentary
- Cast Portrait Gallery
Production
- The Chestbuster: Multi-Angle Sequence with Commentary
- Video Graphics Gallery
- Production Image Galleries
- Continuity Polaroids
- The Sets of Alien
- H.R. Giger's Workshop Gallery
Post-Production and Aftermath
- Additional Deleted Scenes
- Image & Poster Galleries
Experience in Terror
Special Collector's Edition LaserDisc Archive
The Alien Legacy
American Cinematheque: Ridley Scott Q&A
Trailers & TV Spots

Aliens

Pre-Production
- Original Treatment by James Cameron
- Pre-Visualizations: Multi-Angle Videomatics with Commentary
- Storyboard Archive
- The Art of Aliens: Image Galleries
- Cast Portrait Gallery
Production
- Production Image Galleries
- Continuity Polaroids
- Weapons and Vehicles
- Stan Winston's Workshop
- Colonial Marine Helmet Cameras
- Video Graphics Gallery
- Weyland-Yutani Inquest: Nostromo Dossiers
Post-Production and Aftermath
- Deleted Scene: Burke Cocooned
- Deleted Scene Montage
- Image Galleries
- Special Collector's Edition LaserDisc Archive
- Main Title Exploration
- Aliens: Ride at the Speed of Fright
- Trailers & TV Spots

Alien3

Pre-Production
- Storyboard Archive
- The Art of Arceon
- The Art of Fiorina
Production
- Furnace Construction: Time-Lapse Sequence
- EEV Bioscan: Multi-Angle Vignette with Commentary
- Production Image Galleries
- A.D.I.'s Workshop
Post-Production and Aftermath
- Visual Effects Gallery
- Special Shoot: Promotional Photo Archive
Alien3 Advance Featurette
The Making of Alien3 Promotional Featurette
Trailers & TV Spots

Alien Resurrection

Pre-Production
- First Draft Screenplay by Joss Whedon
- Test Footage: A.D.I. Creature Shop with Commentary
- Test Footage: Costumes, Hair and Makeup
- Pre-Visualizations: Multi-Angle Rehearsals
- Storyboard Archive
- The Marc Caro Portfolio: Character Designs
- The Art of Resurrection: Image Galleries
Production
- Production Image Galleries
- A.D.I.'s Workshop
Post-Production and Aftermath
- Visual Effects Gallery
- Special Shoot: Promotional Photo Archive
HBO First Look: The Making of Alien Resurrection
Alien Resurrection Promotional Featurette
Trailers & TV Spots

Anthology

Two Versions of Alien Evolution
The Alien Saga
Patches and Logos Gallery
Aliens 3D Attraction Scripts and Gallery
Aliens in the Basement: The Bob Burns Collection
Parodies
Dark Horse Cover Gallery
Patches and Logos Gallery
MU-TH-UR Mode Interactive Experience

Trailer park round up!

2010-07-15T14:46:00.026-04:00

Lots of new trailers out this week, I've had a look at them and you can see them below.

The Social Network
David Fincher's take on how facebook came into creation. This is our first real look at the footage and damn if he didn't make a movie about the creation of a website ( a mega popular one at that) and make it feel tense and exciting. It contains the trademark Fincher look: dark and moody. Not sure what angle the movie will take in making Zuckerman sympathetic and likable or completely villainous and evil. Either way they are hitting on the concept of the misfit who wants acceptance and love with the the reworked version of "Creep" playing on the soundtrack. This movie is on my must see list for the fall.

Due Date

A road comedy with Zack Galifianakis and Robert Downey Jr. from the makers of The Hangover. Looks funny, some nice bits and Galifianakis makes such for such an oddly likable character. He reminds me of Chris Elliot's kind of goofy, weird personae. Sometimes he can be terribly funny and then walks that edge into creepy uncomfortable. Take it for what it's worth as Downey plays what seems to be the straight man here. I laughed a bit at this trailer.

It's Kind Of A Funny Story

Another Galifianakis role here, this time the story focuses on a sad, depressed teen who enters into some kind of mental ward and the odd folks he encounters. Not sure if it is to be outright funny or dramatic, it is walking a line here in the trailer. Looks like a good movie to me, again Galifianakis plays it on that line but this time seems less broad and going more for poignancy.

Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel

Documentary about the life of Hugh Hefner. Pretty straightforward and Hef is a guy whose life should be examined in a film like this. Love him or hate him Hefner really was one of the driving forces in the sexual revolution. In his day he was a trailblazer for freedom of speech rights.You cannot deny him pushing boundaries of taste and possibly art with his magazine and furthering the argument of what is pornography? I hope this is a complete look at a man who in his 8th decade is still trying to maintain that playboy lifestyle.

Devil
M.Night Shamaylan produces this thriller about a group of people stuck in an elevator with something evil. This is the first of what is supposed to be low budget stories written by M.Night and made by upcoming directors. Given the track record Shamaylan has lately it may be a good thing he is not directing these movie himself. Word is the studio even removed his name from the films advertising but you can clearly see it in this ad. The film was supposed to be out in 2011 but has since moved up to fall of 2010. Could go either way on this. It has some potential and the premise intrigues me.

Machete

The fake trailer from the Grindhouse double feature makes it way to being a real movie. Robert Rodriguez directs Danny Trejo in what looks like a future cult classic. If you have no idea what I am going on about you need to see Planet Terror and Death Proof (unfortunately the theatrical edition of Grindhouse is unavailable on dvd tho it has played on cable) This movie looks like a really good time and I can not wait to see it. Throw back a few drinks and settle down with the Mexican with the MACHETE.

Men, time to take back what is ours...In the Theaters!

2010-07-14T10:14:00.002-04:00

Are you sick of all the crappy chick flicks?

Are you tired of whiny vampires?

Are you man enough to go see a real action movie in the THEATERS?

Well then Expendables is here for you.

This is a pretty amusing tongue in cheek trailer to promote the 80's throwback action film, Expendables. I do not think it is official in any way, just someone's idea of a funny joke. Tho the ad works and it is better than most ads I've seen lately. If you still are hesitant about what Stallone can do may I point you to the last Rambo film with its 80 minutes of non stop violence and action. The movie just plain old kicked ass. Nothing too serious but it did what it set out to do. Make entertaining efficient action movies fun again.

I also have to mention the last Rocky film: Rocky Balboa what a real movie that turned out to be. A fitting cap to the series and probably the best since the first one. I never considered myself a Stallone fan by any means and I have hated more of his films than I have liked. But these last two he made really got me interested in him again. I wonder if he is feeling comfortable with his place in film history and just having some fun with his image while trying to marry that to some decent material and he is over 60 now! He was in the straight to video category for a while and seems to be coming out of that with these mid level success movies. Expendables looks to continue the streak he has going.

I will definitely go see this with some good friends. Looks like a lot of fun.

The dead will walk at San Diego Comic Con...

2010-07-13T14:09:00.001-04:00

It's July which means geek heaven is just days away. Comic Con opens next week in San Diego with all kinds of guests and panels talking about everything from Tron to well, comics! Below is the poster for the Walking Dead panel. I personally can not wait to see this show as I am a big fan of the books. While the Zombie genre has pretty much been exhausted over the last 10 years I still think this show if done right could be a lot of fun.

The 6 episode season starts in October on AMC, home of that other terrific show Mad Men. Frank Darabont is overseeing this production , so it's should be pretty faithful and they promise plenty of zombie gore and action.

Thanks to IGN and Dread Central for posting this.

Old movies houses find new life on main street USA

2010-07-09T11:15:00.003-04:00

These days the idea of a movie theater is one of megaplexes with usually 30 different screens along with IMAX and now dining options as well as drinks to go along with the movie itself. This is big box entertainment. A place where the largest audience can come and spend a lot of money on tickets for largely mainstream titles and concessions. Most of my movie going is done at the local AMC or Regal. I have no problem with it usually and try to go when the crowds are the lightest. Even with the crowds I have rarely had too much trouble aside from the occasional talker or rowdy patron.

The days of the single screen movie house are long since past. But in a lot of smaller communities they do thrive. The few that are around are becoming more of a cultural focal point for the towns they serve. The NYTIMES has a really nice article today about these movie house. I grew up in a mixed time of movie theaters. The old single movie houses were beginning to die off or be cut into double and triple screens. Most of the ones I went to were mini multiplexes. Usually 2-4 screens per theater location. In the late 80's and into the 90's the megaplex as we know it really took off. For me locally there are single screen places like the Newtown Theater in Bucks County, which is still there. I remember going to see National Lampoon's Vacation and having to have my friends mom vouch for us that it was ok for a couple of 15 year old boys to get in to the R rated movie. I have not been to the Newtown theater much lately, last I recall it was sort of uncomfortable and had questionable quality. Though that may have changed in the years since my last visit. What I do like about it, is that it is still there. One screen, one movie plays maybe twice a day. Possibly more on the weekends with a matinee.

The article goes on to suggest that places like this, the single screens on a smaller main street have become the hub of city. With low costs and cheaper concessions it attracts people to a place where they can go to see a movie, their neighbors and just be together. They attribute the movie theater with keeping kids out of trouble and also suggest that drinking problems go down when there is a theater in a small town like this. I never thought about it like that but if it is true it really takes the movie theater and kind of transforms it into something else. I live in a small town in New Jersey and there is no theater here, though it could use one. Lots of little towns like Lambertville, N.J. have shuttered old screens and turned them into storage facilities or knocked them down completely. I would love a small retro theater that could find a way to run current and past movies and have some appeal to the populace in the area enough to become a sort of cultural hub for the towns people. If done properly the theater could attract outsiders as a destination spot for the community.

It is a shame because there is nothing like going into one of these old theaters and walking under that neon light marquee with the titles in that hand placed old block lettering detailing what films are playing and at what times. Walking past the ticket booth (with one ticketseller 'natch) and into the smaller lobbies you see the small concession counter with the real old fashioned popcorn machine. From there usually its two sets of doors to choose to find the right theater. No long hallways or maze like theater lobbies. One or two doors. It couldn't be easier.

A lot of these theaters that do still live on have found a new life in being a "non profit" organization dedicated to the movie going experience. They are trying to bring new films, independent movies or retro features to local neighborhoods. That is a really cool thing. The County Theater in Doylestown Pa., is one of the more successful in the Philly area. That is probably the one I have patronized the most in the last few years. Always a good slection of independent films and some mainstream ones too. just outside the western side of Philly in Phoenixville (home of the Blob and Blobfest) The Colonial offers it's patron a wide variety of retro and current films on it's roster. I have yet to make it out to this one, but will have to soon. First Friday of the month they offer revival house fright flicks. Sounds like a good time!

In order to offset costs for obtaining and running the movies and theaters these organizations offer memberships that allow discounts and freebies. I have always wanted to become a member of one of these theaters and after years of going to some I may just have to pony up some cash to help keep them running. I think it's important to keep these theaters alive. It offers more than just movies, it offers community. I think I will go see what's playing at my local small town movie theater this weekend.

Related articles by Zemanta Old Movie Houses Find Audience in the Plains (nytimes.com)

Mad Max sequel/reboot is not one but TWO movies back to back!

2010-07-03T11:01:00.001-04:00

Mad Max: Fury Road

Mad Max: Furiosa

According to this article on Twitch and AICN.

Tom Hardy has been called in to replace Mel in the role. I do not know much about Tom Hardy but he was one of the good parts of the last Next Gen Trek films where he played the villain. I have to catch up with his other film Bronson and see what the hype is about.

Charlize Theron is still attached as the female lead too from what I have heard. They will be shooting for 9 months for the back to back movies. This sounds like it could potentially be a cool grindhouse kind of double feature when completed.

In the wake of more news about Mel being completely nuts and caught in verbal tirades similar to his last one perhaps it is a good idea he not be attached to the new Max films so fans can focus on whether the new movies are good and not how crazy Mel has become. I am a huge fan of Mel's but that kind of thing makes it hard for me to root for him.

Let Me In - Trailer

2010-07-01T15:23:00.002-04:00

The new trailer for the American remake of Let the Right One In has shown up online today. If you have not seen the original I suggest you do so, immediately. It is a terrific atmospheric, moody meditation on the nature of childhood, immigrants, vampires and violence. Set in the 1980's in a cold Swedish town, a lonely little boy befriends another little girl who has moved into the same apartment complex. She is full of secrets and instantly they find themselves needing each other in more ways than they would ever realize.

This remake is directed by Matt Reeves who did Cloverfield and he has kept the stark snowy setting of the original. This time the story takes place in New Mexico and is also in the 1980's. The trailer is decent looking but over all I have to ask myself why this is even being made. The original is so good you don't need to redo it. But many people won't watch a subtitled film which is a shame. England based Hammer films (yes THAT one) is producing this version.

Have a look for yourself:

The Original:

Summer Movies List - a little late

2010-06-25T15:02:00.002-04:00

Yeah I meant to do this in April or May and just put it off. I figured it was too late to put a list like this together. But as I was perusing my usual sites for info about movies and such I realized something about this summer: It just is one big "meh" as far as movies go. Previously it would be the summer season was one I anticipated due to a lot of fun movies coming out all at once. All kinds of blockbusters and smaller films and a lot of surprises. Last year we had a lot of good ones like Star Trek, Up, Drag me to Hell and District 9. The summer before was Iron Man, The Dark Knight and Hellboy 2. This year in looking over the summer release schedule I am just not finding many things to be that excited about seeing in the movies. Iron Man 2 was ok. Get Him to the Greek was amusing for sure. Nothing so far in summer 2010 has knocked me out or got me wanting to take a day off to see the first showing.

Now some of the reason may be due to ripple effect of the writer's strike a while back and studios are just treading water until the time passes where they can fill the schedule out with bigger films. Also economics have probably forced a lot of films to be cut or reshuffled to other time frames. In any case it certainly feels rather dullsville out in the cinemas of late. With that in mind and the lateness of the timing for this list as we are in the midst of a heat wave at the end of June, I present to you my "whats left of Summer movie must see list"

1. Inception
Chris Nolan's new mind twisting film. I have tried to avoid many descriptions and spoilers for this. It is the most anticipated of the season for me.

2. Predators
Robert Rodriguez tries to bring the series back to life after the dismal AvP's and Predator 2. I think he may pull it off.

3.Toy Story 3
Pixar can do no wrong. It's already got AMAZING word of mouth. It's already out and I should have seen it by now

4. Scott Pilgram Vs. The World
Edgar Wright's new film based off the hit comic book. 'nuff said.

5. Salt
Yeah I should probably roll my eyes at this one, but the trailer looks good. Maybe Angelina can find herself good franchise finally.

6. Expendables
Stallone is on a roll, Rambo and Rocky Balboa were both good movies for diffrent reasons. Now he teams up with a bunch of B-list action stars to make a throw back 80's action film. With Bruce Willis and Arnold in cameo's. Sounds perfect.

7. Cyrus
Duplass' brother's latest comedy with Marisa Tomei and Jonah Hill as a mother and son with an uncomfortably close relationship. John C. Reilly also stars as the mother's suitor and foil for her son. "Please don't fuck my mom" is already catching on.

8. Centurion
Neil Marshall's follow up to Doomsday and the Descent. It takes place in Scotland in 117 A.D. where an invading Roman army is left behind enemy lines and has to make it's way out and back to safety. Marshall is skilled in genre themes and action and this film should have plenty of both.

So that's it. I couldn't even scrape up 10 movies left this summer I want to see. Sure there are some art house/indie films out and others like the re-issue of the uncut Metropolis. But aside from that, pickings are slim.

Predators will knock you on your ass

2010-06-25T10:58:00.001-04:00

New international Predators trailer is out and it's a bloody good ride.

So far there has not been much hype and we are a little less than a month from release. I am not sure why Fox is so low key about this film but what I have seen so far it looks good. I like the nod to Aliens in the title by adding the "s" to Predator. This film is a sequel of sorts for sure but it also looks like a reboot. Gone are the days of huge leading action stars like Schwarzenegger replaced by lean mean muscular, perhaps more thoughtful actors like Adrien Brody and Topher Grace.

In this trailer we get a lot of quick looks at the bloody violence and some of the new creatures like the predator dogs. I kind of wish they had kept the locale a secret so it would be more of a surprise in the film but that was revealed long ago during production and is also given away here. Lots of action to be sure.

Robert Rodriguez and Nimrod Anatal make it look like they have taken what made Predator so good and upped the ante. One has to wonder why it took Fox so long to get something going with this series after the abysmal Predator 2. That movie failed on so many levels where it should have succeeded. And do not even talk about the waste of time AvP movies. Less said the better. Along with Ridley Scott coming back to make 2 more 3D Alien films Fox seems to have woken up to the possibility of not shitting all over it's sci-fi franchises anymore. I want to see where Rodriguez goes with a big time series like this. With his stewardship over it we could have a few more Predator movies to look forward to.

The big question is will audiences respond to it?

My prediction is 75-100 mill box office overall. Will that be enough for it to be considered a success?

David Cronenberg's Black Hole

2010-06-24T16:20:00.000-04:00

No not the Disney sci -fi film from 1979 that IS soon to be remade by another filmmaker.

This is another black hole. An entirely different story.

David Cronenberg is adapting "As She Climbed Across the Table", a novel by Jonathan Letham.

The story centers around two physicists who create a black hole they name 'Lack'.One of the physicists falls in love with the hole.

From the Amazon book description:

Narrator Phillip Engstrand is a university professor who has made a career out of studying academic environments. Engstrand is in love with Alice Coombs, a particle physicist engaged in a bold attempt to replicate the origins of the universe. The result of the experiment is Lack, a very selective black hole that sucks some things into its void--a cat, a pair of socks, a strawberry--and rejects others, namely, a love-struck Alice. As Alice's unrequited obsession with Lack grows, Phillip becomes so desperate to save his beloved from this empty rival that he risks a journey down the metaphysical rabbit hole.

Quite frankly this sounds right up David Cronenberg's alley. I can not wait to see what he does with the visualization of a black hole. Will it look like some sort of psychosexual sci-fi anus? Or will he go more traditional and make it more like something we would imagine we'd see in space? With David you never know what it may be. He is one of my favorite filmmakers around today due to constantly pushing boundries and works with such an economical speed of story telling and direction. David is one of a few big time directors whose visual voice is so unique, so much so, they even can name his style "Cronenbergian"

Cronenberg's work in the "body horror" genre of movies is ground breaking. Lately he has focused on more dramatic stories and left the more "Cronenbergian" aspects and effects behind. Films like History of Violence, Eastern Promises and Spider are all just as violent as any of his earlier works but the difference is his probing of the psychological traumas of these characters. Not so much the outward horror but the inward one seems to be his focus lately. Perhaps he is tired and doesn't feel the need to go over the same ideas as he did in previous movies. I'll admit , I miss that old style of his. But his new place exploring these characters in a more subconscious way is just as interesting and viewers are rewarded when they re-watch his films.

This new story already feels like material ready for his treatment. He always presents such unusual love stories: Dead Ringers was the love of two twins, Crash was about people who loved car accidents, M. Butterfly was about a man who loved a man disguised as a woman and now this will be about someone in love with a great big nothing. How do you even approach that idea? I bet he must have a good handle on what he wants to do with the story if he is taking it on. Cronenberg is a master at adapting someone else's story and making it his own. Who else could take un-filmable stories like Crash and Naked Lunch and give then such treatments that they are now partially owned by him.

Pushing the limits of storytelling in film and audience expectations is what he does best. I think I may have to go pick up a copy of this book to whet my appetite for the film to come. It is early as press just hit the internet about this adaption so some speculation may be occurring as no word on start dates has been given. Like anything on the web, take it with a grain of salt. Tho my feelings about Cronenberg will never waver regardless of when and if this adaptation turns out.

Just a cool behind the scenes photo

2010-06-22T12:01:00.000-04:00

From Raiders of the Lost Ark

There is not much to say, I just came across it today and thought I would share it. I do not recall seeing it before but I bet it's in one of the books I have about the film.

I love seeing the stuntman dressed identically to Harrison standing behind him. And the dolly camera tracks leading to the golden idol. I always want to believe it was a real location but this picture betrays that thought and identifies it more as a studio stage recreation. That's ok too. I love the power of movies.

Fright Night Remake

2010-06-09T16:33:00.004-04:00

Fright Night is a 80's movie I have a lot of fondness for. I saw it when it came out in 1985 and really enjoyed it's twisted humor, sexual subtext and general use of teenagers squaring off against a vampire next door. The movie a lot of fun, especially for Roddy Mcdowell who plays Peter Vincent an aging actor best known for his horror movie roles as a vampire killer and is now relegated to hosting a local late night horror program on TV. Roddy brings a lot of old school charm and a sort of insecure nervousness to the role.

I think with Fright Night, it was the first time I had seen this charismatic kind of vampire. Chris Sarandon, dressed liked he stepped out of GQ magazine looked like the modern 80's yuppie. How could he be a vampire? And what about his faithful manservant who also may have been his lover? These two looked nothing like a vampire and his undead charge may normally look. The movie played with so many ideas: classic horror, virginal teen sex, comedy, Hitchcock's Rear Window and of course vampires/monsters and gore. All wrapped up in a well made monster movie with humor and heart in the right places.

But that was all of 25 years ago. The now classic horror movie Fright Night is entering the remake arena. Fright night is not some untouchable classic like Jaws or The Exorcist (both films feel like they can't be remade, at least to me). It is ripe for remake material. Thanks to the success of Twilight every studio is looking for material to capitalize on that success. Why not Fright Night? Teens and Vampires, right? There is no reason why not to update the story and serve it up to a modern audience. The director and writers are in place already. The casting has been announced and there is a mixed bag of choices here. What is also interesting is the changes they have made to the characters and the setting itself.

The setting has moved from the leafy suburbs to the barren desert towns of Las Vegas, in post economic boom housing tracts that have been abandoned by their foreclosed upon owners. Um, that is a timely topic, ok. Sure it's interesting, but I have to side with the original setting. I am not sure how a bright desert sky will work on Vampires who are killed by light. Perhaps they will sparkle in the light?

Vegas also plays a part since Peter Vincent will have his magic show located there. Again, a horror host on TV seems antiquated now. But I also argue a "Criss Angel" style magician will also be outdated in 20 years. I think there are other avenues they could explore to update Peter Vincent. The charming thing about Peter Vincent was he had no other skills than being an actor , and not a great one at that. As proven when he tries to stick a cross in the face of Jerry but is repelled by his own lack of faith in the icon. They probably should have stuck with him just being an actor working in Vegas. Now as a magician, I'm sure that will be utilized.

Here is the cast:

Colin Farrell- Jerry Dandridge
Toni Collette - Charlie's mom
Anton Yelchin - Charlie Brewster
David Tennant - Peter Vincent
Christopher Mintz-Plasse - Evil Ed

Word around the 'net is that they will make Jerry more like a shark, a throwback to 80's Spielberg/Amblin films. Not sure what that means exactly as Amblin was not around when Jaws was made, but anyhow they want to make him less pretty boy I guess, more menacing. Sarandon played Jerry very polite and dashing, so as not to arouse suspicion amongst his victims. I imagine Colin will go for a more mean, more intense vampire.

The casting choices over all seem fine, Collette and Farrel are both top notch. The mom role will naturally be filled out more in the story. Anton Yelchin was fine in Star Trek and Terminator Salvation. I do not know anything about David Tennat as I do not watch Doctor Who. The most 'controversial choice' seems to be for Evil Ed.

This article on Chud effectively makes the case for why Stephen Geoffrey's Evil Ed was so good. I agree with how he ties the actor's previous work in with the film. It does have that connection, Stephen Geoffreys was an oddball of an actor in looks and charm. He played Ed as a really was a mixed up kid who had a lot of lonliness and sadness to him. He could be seen as a metaphor the closeted gay teen. Jerry Dandridge just hones in on these weaknesses of his. Ed who seems to be into all this vampire stuff doesn't even believe his friend and actually tries to convince him he is mistaken about Jerry being a vampire. Evil Ed is such a great character you feel sorry for him when he gets turned yet you still laugh as he maniacally enjoys this transformation. You can see he really likes his new 'life' as this creature the vampire created. I still laugh when I think about him saying :

" Mmmmmm mmm! His dinner... is in the oven!"

"He got me, Charley! He bit me! You know what you're gonna have to do now, don't you? Kill me. Kill me, Charley... before I turn into a vampire, and... GIVE YOU A HICKEY! "

"The master will kill you for this! But not fast. Slowly! Oh, so slowly! "

There is an early script review online here. What troubles me most is this comment from the review:

the script as it currently reads owes a little too much toTwilight and not enough to the original. If anything, the remake of Fright Night will be a newer version of Disturbia with fangs – and that just sucks!

It seems they want to take the remake and make it PG13, and remove any of the essential charm and um, fangs from the original movie. With the mention of Disturbia above we have now gone full circle as it is a remake( a poor one) of Rear Window which is what Fright Night was referencing as well. The mind reels. I can sit here and bash on and blame Twilight for the ridiculous emo-crap it has wrought upon the vampire genre, really I could, but I won't. The Twilight series is a fad and it will run it's course. Vampires will always be around in pop culture and in movies. Do not take this writing as a rant against remakes and the like, what it is is a plea for some standards and quality. I understand it's about money. But I do not understand the need to take good things and turn them into shitty retreads. You can still make money off of good storytelling and creativity.

Nolan says, No Joker for Batman 3

2010-06-05T14:21:00.000-04:00

It was reported this week during an interview with Empire magazine Christopher Nolan was asked about the new Batman film and who may be the villain in it. Would the Joker come back? A resounding "No" was uttered by Nolan, who seems uncomfortable thinking or talking about the idea of tarnishing Ledger's amazing performance by using a new actor in the role.

I have to agree with Nolan, in this Batman story arc, the Joker has had his run and it was a good one. No need to bring him back now that Heath can no longer play him. It is his role and the memory should be left in tact. To do anything else would just be a retread of or copy of a great thing. Even if Ledger had not died, I would probably think something similar, move the story on, no need to go back to the same well. There are lots of villains for Batman to deal with. In another series of films after Nolan finishes his 3 (I suspect 3 will be the end of his run) then they can bring a new Joker back into the storyline with a new actor and all will be ok.

My vote for next villain is either Catwoman or Riddler, perhaps both?

Get to the choppa! Predators Trailer B is here!

2010-05-27T14:32:00.000-04:00

Slightly altered version of the previous one released a month ago. This one has a bit more intensity to it. I like what I am seeing so far. Message to FOX studio, if you want to keep these Predators and Aliens series going please go towards people like Robert Rodriguez. From what I have seen and heard about so far he has a handle on the material. Let us forget the failures of the Aliens Vs. Predators movies. Please.

Predators opens this July.

The Last Exorcism - trailer

2010-05-27T10:20:00.001-04:00

Ok, so it's almost 40 years since William Friedkin made The Exorcist.

No one has come close to matching the brilliance of that movie.

In that time many films have tried to recapture or just plain exploit the genius of that film. Recently there was The Exorcism of Emily Rose and the German film Requiem that are loosely based off of real life accounts of a German girl's mental illness that was mistaken for demon possession. Both of those films were decent in their own way, but nothing has ever really surpassed the horror inflicted by the original Exorcist movie. I think this is a flaw with the subject matter, not unlike shark movies. Anytime you hear about a shark movie, instantly you compare it to Jaws knowing it will never be as good as that movie. And so far no one has made another great killer shark movie. And probably never will. Same for movies about demonic possession.

Which brings us back to this new film. The set up is about a man who does con people into believing he can perform and exorcise evil spirits out of the possessed. When he decides one day to do it for real he gets more than he bargained for. The Last Exorcism is done up in the 'reality POV' style we have come to accept in films. For some it works well (REC, Cloverfield & Paranormal Activity) for others though this style fails miserably (Diary of the Dead) and ends up being a gimmick.

That being said, this preview works well enough for me. I would love to see a new classic film about an exorcism, I am not sure this will be it. But I will go see it and find out for myself.

Have a look below:

Lucas admits he made it all up as he goes along.

2010-05-19T13:27:00.003-04:00

At a gathering for the cast and crew of LOST, a letter of congratulations for the success of the series was read out loud from George Lucas where he comes out and admits he "made it all up" and had no real plan for Star Wars. Now of course he could just be tweaking his hardcore fanbase, knowing how much some of them have it in for him but I'm not even sure if he knew this letter would be read publicly. Probably we will never know for sure. But I see this as an admission to the fact that the prequels were never conceived much less even thought of back when he claimed Star Wars was going to be "9 movies" back in the 70's and 80's.

If the letter is to be believed and that it is his true feelings I think what bothers me is his whole cavalier attitude about storytelling:

The trick is to pretend you've planned the whole thing out in advance. Throw in some father issues and references to other stories -- let's call them homages -- and you've got a series.

Oh thats it? Just pretend? Lie to your audience instead of admitting you just do not know yet where it will go? Just throw in some "references to other stories and father issues" and you can fool the people into thinking it's something worthwhile? Right. Plenty of that in the prequels and look how well that turned out.You see Mr. Lucas, what you are forgetting entirely is that you need to have a "heart" in the story. We need to care. CGI and robots do not make a human connection for the audience. It all rings hollow. This isn't a math problem where you add up an equation and get the desired results. This is art we are talking about. Plenty of things have these items you mention and some work and some don't. The reason the ones that do work is we care about the people in the stories, those are the ones that are most successful. You, Mr. Lucas have ignored all of that in your latest offerings. Sure I could "turn my brain off" and enjoy them on some level , but they do not ever make me want to revisit them for the most part. There is no "heart" in them.

*ahem*

But I digress.

I'm pretty much over ranting about Star Wars anymore. And I still give Mr. Lucas his credit for being a technical wizard but he lacks any skill as a storyteller and director. He got lucky with a couple of decent films before Star Wars , and then he hit it big and has been riding those coattails for a long time. I am not sure why he resents his fan base so much or why he fucks with his own mythology (personally and creatively). He claimed he was going to make all the personal films he always wanted to make after the prequels ended in 2003. How many new films from director George Lucas have we seen? Nada. The one film that has been made was his Red Tails movie, which reportedly has been recut and reshot due to his displeasure with how it turned out. So what else is he working on? Rumor is another Star Wars TV show, possibly being a comedy.

Really Mr. Lucas? That is all you have?

Here is the letter and article on Variety:

May 14, 2010

George Lucas sends letter to 'Lost'

George Lucas sent a letter to the producers of "Lost" where he finally admits he didn't plan "Star Wars" in advance. The letter was read aloud at a series finale-related party Thursday night. Here's the text:

Congratulations on pulling off an amazing show. Don't tell anyone ... but when 'Star Wars' first came out, I didn't know where it was going either. The trick is to pretend you've planned the whole thing out in advance. Throw in some father issues and references to other stories -- let's call them homages -- and you've got a series.

In six seasons, you've managed to span both time and space, and I don't think I'm alone in saying that I never saw what was around the corner. Now that it's all coming to an end, it's impressive to see how much was planned out in advance and how neatly you've wrapped up everything. You've created something really special. I'm sad that the series is ending, but I look forward to seeing what you two are going to do next.

After which, "Lost" co-creator Damon Lindelof reportedly said: "I just want to apologize to Mr. George Lucas for everything I said about the prequels."

The Adjustment Beaureau and Nowhere Boy Trailers

2010-05-13T12:07:00.002-04:00

Adjustment Bureau
Based off of a Philip K. Dick novel, this movie also looks a lot like Dark City. The preview is pretty decent, I like the casting and the look. Matt Damon was once so dull for me onscreen but since he re-invented his persona with the Bourne series I really have taken to him as a movie star. He picks the right blend of commercial and art house films. This film looks like a blending of the two arty and mainstream tastes. The trailer does tend to give way too much away so watch at your own risk. When are these studios going to start going back to more mystery in advertising these movies?

Nowhere Boy

Another film that delves into what is now a post modern myth: The Beatles early days. Backbeat in the 90's took a look at the 'fab four' before they were 'fab' on the way to fame in the dodgy bars of Hamburg Germany. Now we have a film taking on Lennon's early days in school in England and we can see his troubled youth. The film looks light but I hold out some hope it could be an interesting take on some well known people. I do not know much about the director for this movie.

Super 8 - J.J. Abrams

2010-05-12T13:18:00.004-04:00

J.J. Abrams gets it.

He is a film maker who appreciates surprising the audience and not giving away the whole trick in one preview. Going back to Cloverfield, Star Trek and LOST, Abrams shows he knows how to get people interested with mystery and a sense of wonder. His latest , Super 8, is no exception. This is said to be a film done in the style of Steven Spielberg's late 70's and early 80's work, this trailer definitely captures that (Spielberg is exec producing btw) . The look and sound so far mimic Close Encounters of the Third Kind(lens flair, the truck and railroad tracks, and the sounds) Steven's now classic UFO movie. I am so excited to see what this film becomes, it has not even begun filming aside from this trailer and J.J. has been keeping everything a secret. I love that. Too many films are ruined by over exposure before they get released. I am not sure why people would want to watch tons of clips from a movie online before it comes out thus ruining the whole experience the first time you watch it fully in the movies. I will be following the development closely of a movie that is now really high on my list of anticipated films.

Dread central has some follow up on the viral advertising bits plus some pics.

Here is the trailer, enjoy!

Some new trailers out this week...

2010-05-06T16:48:00.000-04:00

Machete

From the Grindhouse trailer finally! Robert Rodriguez gives Danny Trejo his starring role as "The Mexican". I can not wait to see the homage to the old action grindhouse films of the 70's and 80's. No one does it better than Robert as he proved with Planet Terror the first half of the Grindhouse double feature which featured fake trailers like Machete in between features from 2007. They added a superstar cast including Deniro who plays the double dealing politician.

and the original trailer from the movie:

Killer inside me

Michael Winterbottom's new film, I do not know much about other than it looks good. Casey Affleck , Kate Hudson and Jessica Alba star in the neo thriller based off the Jim Thompson novel.

The American
Anton Corbijn steps up to direct a genre film about a hit man on his last mission. Corbijn is mostly known for his photos of rock stars like u2 and his countless music videos. His debut feature Control based off the life of Ian Curtis and Joy Division was a beautiful low key success. As for the America, sure it's a story that has been done before, but not with Anton behind the lens and George Clooney as the hitman. This Euro thriller seems to hit the right notes and I look forward to seeing it when it makes it's way stateside later this year.

I Spit on Your Grave remake

Not sure why this is remade, but these days, why not? I doubt it will pack even half of the sleaze and exploitation of the original as it seems all sleek and shiny considering the subject.
The remake of Last House on the Left surprised me as being pretty decent considering how dirty the original Wes Craven film is.

Nightmare on Elm Street - 2010

2010-04-29T17:03:00.010-04:00

Freddy Kruger, another character and series from the 80's is exhumed and reanimated for the modern day audiences.

I'll be upfront, I'm not much of a fan of this series, I like the original film and one sequel: Wes Craven's New Nightmare. I like Freddy as an idea when he is not watered down and silly. The rest of them from Dream Warriors on up to Freddy Vs. Jason you can have. I even saw the first 3 in the movies when they originally came out, I can't even remember #2, and I thought #3 was ridiculous on so many levels I just gave up on the whole series pretty much. Even going back to watch the original Wes Craven one I was struck by how silly and cheesy it was. Sure it has some fine moments, but man I chuckled a lot at the ham on display. For it's time it was a mean, nasty little film. But now Freddy, Jason and Michael Myers are just fast food horror (mainly due to me seeing too many little kids at conventions sporting gloves with Freddy knives, t-shirts and masks with this, your villain has just lost all his power). Everyone knows what it is and what it will be like and it doesn't leave you very satisfied when it's over. The recent reinventions of the latter two haven't helped dispel these notions for me.

Which brings me to the latest on the remake block, bringing Freddy squarely into the new generation of twittering, texting and ADD addled horror fans, this new nightmare film is really nothing new. Rehashing pretty much every jolt or scare type from the original film the only new worthwhile addition is Jackie Earl Haley as Freddy. I am not going to go into story details, if you have seen the original films you already know what the story is (and if you have not seen it, why are you here?) He brings a nice amount of intensity and keeps the jokes to a minimum. They add a few moments where he is savoring his old child molesting ways as he recounts for one of his victims how much he liked to do things to kids in his past life. There is even a moment where Freddy, in his pre-burned days, gets you to *almost* feel bad for him. I admired that about his performance and the film that it nearly got some empathy out of me for him.

The young cast goes thru the motions and for the most part they look like weary, bleary eyed, sleep deprived victims yet mostly I can't tell one kid apart from another. The lead actress playing Nancy was at least what I consider to be a realistic looking teen-aged girl. Not too perfect as the most Hollywood productions would have you believe all teens are. Unfortunately they are not given much to work with and at most they are thinly traced versions of the original characters from the 1984 film. Also noted are two obvious references to Quentin Tarantino in the film, one with the name Quentin used for the male lead and the other was a adrenaline shot themed scene right out of Pulp Fiction. Talented folks like Clancy Brown are completely wasted and given no opportunity to play anything in the film and I have to ask why even bother having them here.

Samuel Bayer who cut his teeth making commercials and music videos most notably "Smells like Teen Spirit" for the last 20 years finally dips his feet into the feature film directing pool and sadly brings none of the promise he showed as video director. Sure he has the griminess down, in fact the boiler room sequences look like they belong right below the gymnasium in the classic Nirvana video. The rest of the visuals and story work are strictly by the numbers. There is nothing new brought to the table as we watch everything it just looks and feels like a run through or a karaoke version of what has come before.

I did not hate this film, I was just left not feeling much for it. I think the remake could have a lot to justify it's creation, unfortunately they take no new chances with the material other than physically filling out a back story which we basically already know. I judge remakes by this barometer: is it better or worse than any of the shitty sequels this series has spawned? In this case this film for me is maybe slightly better than some but no worse than any of the sequels (and don't let anyone fool you this is no sacred cinematic cow, it's a schlocky horror series that is well loved, that is all) and yet still it makes me think I will probably just go and re-watch the original film mostly out of nostalgia. If you are into this series and these types of films, then you should probably see it. The rest of us could stick with the original 1984 film and be satisfied. I would love to see Jackie Earl Haley used as Freddy in a really good horror film but sadly this one aint it.

2010 Trailer

1984 version

Alien reboot and a new (for me) animation...

2010-04-23T13:13:00.006-04:00

Den of geek has the details about Ridley Scott's return to the Alien series. Word is that it is a prequel, taking place 30 years or so before Alien and we find out more about the "space jockey" and will have a female lead in the movie. Also noted of interest is Scott mentions working with H.R. Giger again to do some designs for the film. That would be spectacular! Scott indicates they are on the fourth draft of the script and have the story in place. While I am not sure about this particular angle , as prequels are not so good usually, I am confident with Scott on board this will be a trip worth taking. I am looking forward to following the progress of the film as it makes it's way to the cinemas and hopefully erases what damage the ridiculous A vs. P movies have done.

**UPDATED**

Chud confirms that Scott has said that the prequel will be a two parter according to this story.

First showing reports that the films will be shot IN 3D as well using the same technology Cameron used for Avatar.

Drew McWeeny over at Hitfix.com has a little more detail about the whole conversation with Scott about the Alien prequel films, read it HERE. Fortunately Scott has no interest in retrofitting older films like Blade Runner into 3D. I agree with his thoughts about using that energy else where. I would be thrilled to get another sci-fi epic out of him before too long. With the Alien films, it may be just the ticket.

Another update 4/28:
I09 has more from Scott about how the Alien wont be seen at all, at least not how we know them:

The film will be really tough, really nasty. It's the dark side of the moon. We are talking about gods and engineers. Engineers of space. And were the aliens designed as a form of biological warfare? Or biology that would actually go in and clean up a planet? It will take place in the years before that, when they first come across this thing on a planet called Zeta Reticuli. ...
Yeah, the thing about Alien vs Predator is, I know it's commerce, but what a pity... I think, therefore, I have to design - or redesign - earlier versions of what these elements are that led to the thing you finally see in Alien, which is the thing that catapults out of the egg, the face-hugger. I don't want to repeat it. The alien in a sense, as a shape, is worn out."

Very , very interesting...

We still have to wait at least 2 years for the finished product, so in the mean time let's amuse ourselves with this humorous little animation below:

Marvin has the most boring job in the world it seems...

E.T.A. by JUNK from Henrik Bjerregaard Clausen on Vimeo.

I love these old trailers -Escape From New York edition

2010-04-23T11:01:00.003-04:00

There's talk still of an Escape from New York remake coming. Names like Len Wiseman and Gerard Butler have been attached. Though now it looks like they are talking to Breck Eisner whose success after the Crazies seems to give studios faith he can work the material better.I have not seen much from Eisner to make me think he will be any different from Wiseman to be honest. I heard The Crazies was good but have not seen it yet.

Personally I would love another outing with Snake Plissken, but I still feel Kurt Russell is viable as the character but I am outside the target demographic now as far as the studio is concerned and kids today probably do not give a fuck about Plissken , Russell or Carpenter to begin with. So onward with a remake it seems. Much like the talk of Mad Max this series will live on with new people attached it's just that guys my age are so sentimental about the characters we grew up with and we are just going to have to deal with it.

Which brings me to the trailer below, it's an early teaser for the movie Escape From New York. It does not show much as it is all build up for the names involved, but the way it is cut and the voice over just takes me right back to that time in 1981 when this would have been shown. I love these old trailers they had style and knew how to sell the movie without showing everything. It was a true "teaser" in every sense, whetting your curiosity enough to make you want to see the movie. At least it did back then.

Thanks to AICN for the heads up on story

Empire Strikes Back is 30 years old in May...

2010-04-19T11:43:00.001-04:00

Here is an old preview with a nifty voice over narration by Harrison Ford:

SALT - New Trailer...

2010-04-01T15:21:00.004-04:00

Angelina Jolie is back with another action adventure movie this summer. By now those words are as formulaic as her action movies seem to be.

It if I look back at the action films she has made, hardly any of them really lived up to what she could be as an action star. Tomb Raider is a bust. It couldn't even match one of the lesser Indiana Jones films in terms of story or action. Mr. & Mrs. Smith was nothing really special, a gimmick film to have the real life husband and wife fight each other on screen. I skipped Wanted, I heard it was ok, it looked over cooked. In a drama , she is perfectly fine, even excellent in most cases but as the star of a stunt laden action film, she has yet to get material to match or exceed her talent.

But still the elusive idea of a woman action star, on the level of Schwarzenegger, Willis and even Will Smith is something she could achieve. She definitely has the chops for it, yet nothing has been really been up to snuff to make a memorable character from it. She has not found the "one" yet.

Salt , could be a contender. The movie is directed by Phillip Noyce and was originally written as a role for a man. This looks like her attempt at a Bourne style series and I admit I was taken in by it a little more than I thought I would be. I kind of yawn when I see her most of the time in these movies , having been let down too many times in the past. But I would probably see this based off the trailer below.

Take a look for yourself:

Tron - new trailer for the orginal film

2010-03-31T09:26:00.000-04:00

I find it amazing when people with a passion for a particular film can come up with something like a fan made trailer for that film and it looks as professional and as modern as this one does. Tron is a film from 1982, but with the right editing, pacing and music this person cut together a "new" trailer for it. It is so good it looks like it would be an upcoming film trailer you would see in the movies today.

Trailers recut like this are all the rage online, even going so far as remaking the film or resetting it's tone. Just recall the trailer for the Shining that was recut to make it look like a Cameron Crowe style love story. Or the recut Jaws trailer that makes it look like a lighthearted male bonding adventure. Take a look at the Tron clip below, it is pretty amazing what people can come up with to mimic the professional theatrical trailers of today, even for a film 30 years old!

Thanks to CHUD.com for the find on this. Check out their write up about it.

Micmacs a Film by Jean Pierre Jeunet -U.S. trailer

2010-03-29T13:20:00.000-04:00

One of the most visionary and whimsical filmmakers returns with a new film this May, Jean Pierre Jeunet directs Micmacs and brings with him his unique and now classic style back to U.S. audiences. From his early days with the dark Delicatessen to the light and airy Amelie, Jeunet has set himself in company with the likes of directors like Terry Gilliam and Tim Burton. All who have a one of kind visual design. You know instantly when you see film by one of those directors , you have a good sense of what it might look like already.

Jeunet shares with Gilliam a European flair, and love of low tech gizmos that do high tech things.They both love to bash up anachronistic technologies and make them into something new and almost futuristic. A sort of garbageman sensibility with their clock like machines and trash decor laced sets. Micmacs has more of this and also seems to be going for a possibly more direct political message than Jeunet has attempted before. I do not know much about this film, I have not read any reviews for it yet, but I will be there waiting to see this film as Jeunet always brings his brand of magic to the cinema.

You can see the trailer here:

Funny or Die Parody trailers

2010-03-25T16:19:00.000-04:00

Two great short spoofs came out this week on the Funny or Die site, the first one is for a bio-pic of Weird Al Yankovic, featuring a lot of people in cameos, I love Elzabeth Banks as Madonna.

Take a look:

"Weird: The Al Yankovic Story" from Aaron Paul

The second, Gobstopper, is features Christopher Lloyd as a demented Willy Wonka. Personally I always felt that Wonka was a wacko and kind of freaky in it's own right. This takes it to the extreme. Imagine Wonka meets Saw series:

Gobstopper Trailer from Gobstopper Movie

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

2010-03-25T16:10:00.001-04:00

Edgar Wright has a new film out based off the comic books by Brian Lee O'Malley. This early trailer makes it look like it is the perfect marriage of director and material. Edgar has the right sensibilities for the hyper-kinetic action and the comedic moments within the story. They have been teasing the movie for a while now, not offering any hard look at the film itself. Today that changes and we get a good , short dose of the movie to come.

Add me to the list to see this!

Scott Pilgrim meets the girl of his dreams, trouble is, she has 7 ex's that he must fight and defeat in order to be with her.

Get to the Choppa! The Predators trailer is online!

2010-03-18T20:00:00.000-04:00

It already looks a hundred times better than the crapfest that was Predator 2, Aliens Vs. Predator and it's even shittier sequel A vs. P: Requiem. (see my tirade here.).

Have a look for yourself.

Predators Movie Trailer - Trailer

Robin Hood - Ridley Scott film

2010-03-11T10:36:00.000-05:00

I have been a long time fan of Ridley Scott since Alien, Blade Runner and Legend. In those years of the 1980's and 90's it seemed like Scott worked few and far between. But since 2000 and Gladiator, Scott has been on a roll cranking out movie after movie. Just look at his filmography from the past 10 years:

Robin Hood (2010)
Body of Lies (2008)
American Gangster (2007)
A Good Year (2006)
Kingdom of Heaven (2005)
Matchstick Men (2003)
Black Hawk Down (2001)
Hannibal (2001)
Gladiator (2000)

He has done more films in the last 10 years (he is 70+ years old to boot) then he did in the previous 20. He also has a new Alien movie in the works he is rumored to direct in 3D too. I find it amazing he is hitting his stride so consistently right now. I feel fortunate he can put so much out. We have seen talented directors work so infrequently and then we lose them too soon. Kubrick is one in particular who took so long between films, I am almost mad at him for losing all that time before he died. But ironically, it is also what made him , well, so "Kubrickian"!

I'll go on record saying that Gladiator, while admittedly one of his most popular films is one of my least favorite of his. I like Scott's eye for detail and visual flair. The new Robin Hood movie is not high on my expectations list, but Scott is back with his muse Russel Crowe, for Scott's fifth outing in a period or mid-evil setting. The new trailer has a lot of action and sells the picture to me. I will definitely see this and it looks to be much better than the Kevin Costner version from 1991.

Tron Legacy trailer!

2010-03-08T23:25:00.001-05:00

Iron Man 2 Trailer

2010-03-08T19:54:00.000-05:00

Coco Before Chanel, The Original Fashionista

2010-02-24T13:35:00.005-05:00

Fashion as a subject it is never one that intrigued me nor did I really look any deeper than what I bought at the Gap when I needed something to wear. I don't follow designers or labels and quite frankly the whole industry seems a bit foolish to me. I hardly ever understand the things that people put down a runway for the most part and I think who wears this stuff?

But something that does intrigue me are people who break down barriers and are the first to do something. Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Orson Wells are just a few 20th century pioneers who come to mind in terms of mastering a particular thing. Men who have had plenty of movies, books and analysis about what they did and who they were. Where are the women pioneers? Why have we not heard more about them? Coco Chanel is one whose name I recognize from the perfume bottles (#5, of course!) I have bought for my wife, but as a woman and what she did was a complete mystery to me.

Coco Before Chanel makes the attempt to lift the veil of mystery around the woman herself. Coco was notorious for making up stories about her life. The film tries to fill in the blanks and details the ascent of a woman who changed everything for women around the world. Especially during a time when it was seemingly impossible for a woman to do.

Lovely, beautiful, adorable, (ok I have a crush on her can you tell? ) French waif Audrey Tautou has the reigns in bringing Coco to life. Audrey manages to play Coco opposite of what Tautou's usual strength is, the adorable pixie. With Coco, she chain smokes her way through the picture and you see a world weariness in her and a hard bit of cynicism as she does not seem to trust many people in her life. There is an icy edge to her. In her breakout movie, Amelie, there was a scene where an old man watches a video of a horse breaking free of his pen and charging down a hill to join a bicycle race. Coco reminds me of that horse, yearning to break free of the society that keeps her down. Audrey brings that right amount of beauty and strength to Coco, you sense this is a woman with a mission.

Coco as a child was dropped off by her father in an orphanage along with her sister. Later on, working in a small bar as a seamstress and singer she begins to meet people of wealth (bordering on prostitution) slowly she develops a relationship with a Baron, and is like a courtesan for him, as she stays at his estate, is kept away from view and has to deal with his drunken advances in her bed. This life while freeing her from the drudgery of seamstress work and singing in a bar leads her to other opportunities and men who can help her gain her independence

In an era that continues to have limited female directors, Anne Fontaine (who also co-wrote), takes the story and squarely centers it around Coco's rise from poverty without ever judging Coco. The director gives us enough of an idea of who Coco is, but still we are kept a bit at arms length from her. Coco is a mystery even her name is taken from a song she sang as a working girl. She makes up lies about her past and changes them more than Heath Ledger's Joker does. To all the men in her life Coco is the woman they all want to conquer but can never ever contain.

While the film focuses on her as she make she way through society, we see where her influences of clothes come from. It was quite fascinating to see that in the early 20th century people were still caught up in the button downed Victorian era of heavy clothing and many layers upon layers of what looked to be uncomfortable material to dress in. Coco was the first to allow women to be seen as we still see them today. With flimsy, softer fabrics and more sleeveless dresses, she made women, well, more feminine. We get the feeling she not only wanted to do something new, Audrey plays it like Coco wanted to wear these clothes herself. Coco observes the limitations the clothing put on women at the time and takes the chance to change them. We see her ripping and cutting garments in order to find a new way to wear them. Much to the high society's snooty amusement, they look to her as some kind of odd duck. Meanwhile they keep showing up to have her design the oversize hats and fix or fit garments for them.

The story of Coco Chanel is a large one, they gloss over and ignore completely her later years (as the title would suggest) and in particular the war years where she took up residence in Paris and was a girlfriend of a Nazi officer. She was also accused of being a spy for the British by the Germans, so take that for what it is worth. I would have like to see the film tackle these subjects as we never really see it and only at the end do we get to see her real success for a few minutes. For me, the film suffers a bit from focusing too much on her beginnings and I would have liked to have seen more of her years as she came up and became successful. This is a story that demands another part. So much more about this woman to know, Coco was an innovator whose style and ideas are seen today all around us.

Roger Ebert in Esquire

2010-02-18T16:09:00.001-05:00

'When I am writing my problems become invisible and I am the same person I always was. All is well. I am as I should be."

Since his illness took over and caused him to lose his capacity for speech, Roger has been busy keeping his life going the only way he could, by writing. As a man whose primary writings were reviews or pieces about film and filmmakers, but now with his online blog "Roger Ebert's Journal", he has taken on a new life as a writer, philosopher, pundit and raconteur of nostalgia.

Esquire magazine has a new interview with Roger in this month's issue. It is an enlightening read about a man who has gone through a lot of changes in the last 10 years. None of which has stopped him or made him recoil from the challenges he has before him. Unable to speak he must use gestures, write notes and use a computer with a program that allows him to "speak". In the article he goes over dealing with his life altering surgeries, his love of his wife, Chaz, his inability to eat food anymore and how he really, really misses Gene Siskel. On top of all this Roger still maintains his dignity and his sense of humor about his life.

It is one of the most heartfelt interviews from anyone I have read in a long, long time. I really admire and respect him for standing in the face of something that would cause most of us to just give up. If you have not gone to Roger's blog and read it, you need to do yourself a favor and check out what he has been up to. Always entertaining and sometimes provocative, Roger is able to bring you into his mind and memories in a way that you would not expect a from a film critic. Some of my favorite blogs are ones where he reminisces about days gone by whether it is about the TV show, a trip to London or just missing the idea of sitting down to a burger and fries, Roger pulls you in with his words and you can feel the memories as much as he obviously can.

This quote below, shows exactly what Roger has taken from this experience in his life, these are good words to remember and live by:

"I believe that if, at the end of it all, according to our abilities, we have done something to make others a little happier, and something to make ourselves a little happier, that is about the best we can do. To make others less happy is a crime. To make ourselves unhappy is where all crime starts. We must try to contribute joy to the world. That is true no matter what our problems, our health, our circumstances. We must try. I didn't always know this, and am happy I lived long enough to find it out."

Roger Ebert is one of the most unique voices out there today. Don't think the irony of that statement is lost on him.

http://www.esquire.com/features/roger-ebert-0310

Snow Days and then some...

2010-02-15T17:24:00.001-05:00

After spending the morning digging out from the second of two nor'easter snowstorms in a week, it was nice to come back inside and play around on the new mac computer and see what kind of news and things were going on in the other parts of the non snow covered world.

Some interesting news popping out of the ol' Hollywood this week, from sequels to remakes a bevy of gossip has hit the innerwebs and I've wrangled a few of the more interesting (to me anyways) tidbits and put 'em on display for your perusal.

Looks like the Terminator franchise found some new ownership. Sony? Warner Bros? Nope. A hedge fund group bought the rights to the series. Try to wrap your head around that one. I have no idea what this means for the creative direction of the series. I do not understand how Sony or Lion's gate missed the chance to win the bidding on this. AICN news just posted the following report about the potential direction for the new movies, William Wisher who worked with Cameron expressed some ideas of a potential direction. It remains to be seen if it will happen.

Penelope Cruz is looking to cash in on her success as of late. She was rumored to be in Lars Von triers next film but instead has opted to join Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean 4 , helmed by Rob Marshall. I'll probably get some heat for this, but the POTC movies never did anything for me. All sound and fury with nothing in the middle. Penelope on board has me interested, tho not enough to probably go see it. DVD maybe.

Muppet movie script leaked online. Highlights include a "fresh, younger approach" Jason Segal has penned the screenplay and is said to include the classic elements like:

"winks to the audience, friendly musical numbers, single gag repetition, friendship and togetherness being the answer to everything"

that make the Muppets so beloved by kids and adults of a certain age. Be sure to check out the Muppet channel on Youtube. they have been quietly releasing new material in a sort of subversive fashion. It's as close as you can get to the original muppet magic from the 1970's.

Get Him to the Greek looks hilarious. Russell Brand was really funny in Forgetting Sarah Marshall and reteams with Jonah Hill as a music exec assigned to get the troubled rock star (Brand) back to the U.S. to perform an anniversary concert. Looks like P. Diddy (or whatever his name is) is jumping in as the head of the record company who send Jonah on his mission. I laughed pretty good at this preview.

Neil Marshall's new films Centurion gets a preview here. I like Marshall's work as a genre director. His film the Descent was one of the best modern horror films of the last decade. His follow up Doomsday (my review here) was a fun hodgepodge, mashup of a film. The man likes to work in what is B movie material and he shows all the right influences to go into it. If you have not seen any of the above movies, be sure to check them out.

Looks like we will be getting a new Vacation movie soon. Chevy Chase and co. just premiered a new ad featuring the Griswolds in the classic vacation style. I watched the ad and to be quite honest, I'm not sure what it was selling, but I got some chuckles out of it regardless.

According to this AICN item, one of the actors from Freaks and geeks is commissioned to write the new Vacation film. The article said it will play closer to Planes, Trains and Automobiles than to the Vacation films themselves. With Rusty taking over as Patriarch of the Griswold clan and Chase making an appearance as a Grandfather Griswold. With the death of John Hughes, those are some pretty big shoes to fill. I hope the writers are up to the task.

Here is the trailer for Toy Story 3, Michael Keaton joins in as the Ken doll. Once again Pixar magic looks to deliver another winner.

And I am not really sure why anyone cares about this, but the internet has a buzz for the Last Airbender (formerly named Avatar: The Last Airbender), particularly among the pre gen X/Y set. I know my 9 year old niece loves the cartoon, but man, I can't muster up enough interest to even watch the trailer. It's made by M. Night Shamaylan who has been on a downward slide since Signs, so I expect him to make this his most mainstream accessible hit yet. It has to be better than the Village or The Happening. I would like to see him back on track, but with this title, I have my doubts. I guess that means I just nominated myself to go see the film with my niece now.

Metropolis - Recut with found footage coming in April!

2010-02-09T13:01:00.000-05:00

http://www.kino.com/metropolis/

Oscar nominations are out...

2010-02-02T09:21:00.000-05:00

Here is the complete list of nominees for Oscars, 2010. The best picture list has expanded to 10, so many more movies are considered. As it is right now, my money is on Hurt Locker to win for Best Picture and director, if so it would be the first time a woman , Kathryn Bigelow has won the award for directing. Last female nominated was Sofia Coppola in 2003, for Lost In Translation.

List of nominees

Complete list of 82nd Annual Academy Award nominations announced Tuesday:

1. Best Picture:
“Avatar,”
“The Blind Side,”
“District 9,”
“An Education,”
“The Hurt Locker,”
“Inglourious Basterds,”
“Precious: Based on the Novel ’Push’ by Sapphire,”
“A Serious Man,”
“Up,”
“Up in the Air.”

2. Actor:
Jeff Bridges, “Crazy Heart”
George Clooney, “Up in the Air”
Colin Firth, “A Single Man”
Morgan Freeman, “Invictus”
Jeremy Renner, “The Hurt Locker.”

3. Actress:
Sandra Bullock, “The Blind Side”
Helen Mirren, “The Last Station”
Carey Mulligan, “An Education”
Gabourey Sidibe, “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
Meryl Streep, “Julie & Julia.”

4. Supporting Actor:
Matt Damon, “Invictus”
Woody Harrelson, “The Messenger”
Christopher Plummer, “The Last Station”
Stanley Tucci, “The Lovely Bones”
Christoph Waltz, “Inglourious Basterds.”

5. Supporting Actress:
Penelope Cruz, “Nine”
Vera Farmiga, “Up in the Air”
Maggie Gyllenhaal, “Crazy Heart”
Anna Kendrick, “Up in the Air”
Mo’Nique, “Precious: Based on the Novel ’Push’ by Sapphire.”

6. Directing:
James Cameron, “Avatar”
Kathryn Bigelow, “The Hurt Locker”
Quentin Tarantino, “Inglourious Basterds”
Lee Daniels, “Precious: Based on the Novel ’Push’ by Sapphire”
Jason Reitman, “Up in the Air.”

7. Foreign Language Film:
“Ajami,” Israel
“El Secreto de Sus Ojos,” Argentina
“The Milk of Sorrow,” Peru
“Un Prophete,” France
“The White Ribbon,” Germany.

8. Adapted Screenplay:
Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, “District 9”
Nick Hornby, “An Education”
Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche, “In the Loop”
Geoffrey Fletcher, “Precious: Based on the Novel ’Push’ by Sapphire”
Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, “Up in the Air.”

9. Original Screenplay:
Mark Boal, “The Hurt Locker”
Quentin Tarantino, “Inglourious Basterds”
Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman, “The Messenger”
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, “A Serious Man”
Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Tom McCarthy, “Up.”

10. Animated Feature Film:
“Coraline”
“Fantastic Mr. Fox”
“The Princess and the Frog”
“The Secret of Kells”
“Up.”

11. Art Direction:
“Avatar,”
“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,”
“Nine,”
“Sherlock Holmes,”
“The Young Victoria.”

12. Cinematography:
“Avatar,”
“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,”
“The Hurt Locker,”
“Inglourious Basterds,”
“The White Ribbon.”

13. Sound Mixing:
“Avatar,”
“The Hurt Locker,”
“Inglourious Basterds,”
“Star Trek,”
“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.”

14. Sound Editing:
“Avatar,”
“The Hurt Locker,”
“Inglourious Basterds,”
“Star Trek,”
“Up.”

15. Original Score:
“Avatar,” James Horner
“Fantastic Mr. Fox,” Alexandre Desplat
“The Hurt Locker,” Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
“Sherlock Holmes,” Hans Zimmer
“Up,” Michael Giacchino.

16. Original Song: “Almost There” from “The Princess and the Frog,” Randy Newman
“Down in New Orleans” from “The Princess and the Frog,” Randy Newman
“Loin de Paname” from “Paris 36,” Reinhardt Wagner and Frank Thomas
“Take It All” from “Nine,” Maury Yeston
“The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from “Crazy Heart,” Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett.

17. Costume: “Bright Star,”
“Coco Before Chanel,”
“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,”
“Nine,”
“The Young Victoria.”

18. Documentary Feature:
“Burma VJ,”
“The Cove,”
“Food, Inc.”
“The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers,”
“Which Way Home.”

19. Documentary (short subject):
“China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province,”
“The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner,”
“The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant,”
“Music by Prudence,”
“Rabbit a la Berlin.”

20. Film Editing:
“Avatar,”
“District 9,”
“The Hurt Locker,”
“Inglourious Basterds,”
“Precious: Based on the Novel ’Push’ by Sapphire.”

21. Makeup:
“Il Divo,”
“Star Trek,”
“The Young Victoria.”

22. Animated Short Film:
“French Roast,”
“Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty,”
“The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte),”
“Logorama,”
“A Matter of Loaf and Death.”

23. Live Action Short Film:
“The Door,”
“Instead of Abracadabra,”
“Kavi,”
“Miracle Fish,”
“The New Tenants.”

24. Visual Effects:
“Avatar,”
“District 9,”
“Star Trek.”

The Gekko is back!

2010-01-29T09:46:00.004-05:00

In 1982 a sequel was made to the Hitchcock classic film Psycho.

The tagline read:

It's 22 years later, and Norman Bates is coming home

When that film came out, I was about 12 and I thought "wow, 1960 sure was a long time ago!"

Here we are in 2010 and now a sequel comes to the 1987 Oliver Stone film Wall Street and the same amount of time has passed equal to the Psycho sequel. 22(+ 1) years feels so much more different now, like it was not that long ago. A whole generation or two has been born and has grown up or growing up since then. So much has changed too, I think more so than it did from 1960 to 1982. Maybe it's just me growing older.

With that in mind, here we are re-introduced to Gordon Gekko as he leaves prison after spending 20 + years there. Back in 1987 when the film was made, Wall Street had a major crash in October of that year,and the film saw Gekko and his corporate raiders as the ultimate bad guy for that modern era. The irony of the film is that while Stone intended Gekko to be the archetype bad guy representing the greed of the 1980's, many who saw the film, became enamored with Gekko and his ways. I would even say that the character influenced many financial types with his slash and burn, "greed is good" ethos that took over the financial markets in the late 20th century and early into the 2000's. Michael Douglas has said he is uncomfortable with meeting people who tell him Gekko is a hero to them. Stone himself has commented how the Wall Street problems have grown since he made his original movie:

"The problems that existed in the 1980s market grew and grew into a much larger phenomenon. Enron is a fiction, in a sense, in the same way that Gordon Gekko's buying and selling was a fiction ... Kenny Lay--he's the new Gordon Gekko."

It will be interesting to see the world through Gekko's eyes as his kind of corporate pirate has been trumped by the escalating greed of Wall street, Enron's , Bernie Madoff scandals and then the financial collapse of the stock market and the housing bubble.What will Gekko do? Will he be redeemed? Stone's take on the material is unknown at this point, but you can guarantee he will go after Wall Street greed more than he did in the original 1987 film.

Here is the first trailer for the new film:

Cyrus - trailer for film at Sundance 2010

2010-01-22T11:49:00.004-05:00

Sundance 2010 is up and going!

Mark and Jay, the Duplass brothers, are bringing their new film to Sundance as it premieres this weekend to the crowds in Park City. The Duplass team have a made a couple of cult comedy movies recently namely Baghead and Mark starred in Humpday. They are most associated with something called "mumblecore". Mark Duplass stars with Ben Stiller in Greenberg which should be out in 2010.

I have to admit I have heard a bit about these brothers as filmmakers but really have not invested the time to see what they were all about. "Mublecore" is new to me as well, though it's been around a while. Seems like a cousin to the Dogme95 movement in the 90's that Lars Van Trier started in Europe. I've heard good things about Baghead when it came out and after seeing this preview, I am going straight to my Netflix and check out their previous movies.

This new film stars John C. Reilly, Marisa Tomei and Jonah Hill. Marisa plays mother to Jonah's over grown man-child, in what looks to be an uncomfortably close mother/son relationship especially when John C. Reilly enters the scene as mom's new boyfriend. Lot's of uncomfortable hilarity to ensue, kind of reminds me of the wincing comedy of Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm.

From the Sundance site, they describe Cyrus as :

Alone and acutely depressed, having just learned of his ex-wife’s wedding plans, John can’t believe his luck when he encounters beautiful, charming Molly at a party. The two get along famously and launch a passionate affair—until Molly’s 21-year-old son, Cyrus, enters the scene. Will Molly and Cyrus’s deep and idiosyncratic bond leave room for John?

Check out the preview, thanks to First Showing:

Tron 2.0 , new image and director interview

2010-01-21T16:29:00.002-05:00

MTV.com has the first exclusive image from the ad on the billboard in Hollywood. Seems Disney is changing the image once a month until the film opens in December. This was the previous image:

So far everything I have seen come out for this movie looks terrific. They seem to be adapting it quite well to the new age of CGI and computer technology. Really, if there ever was a film that should be remade for the modern day, it was Tron. Way back in 1982 Tron was one of , if not the first movie to use computer animation.Groundbreaking for the time and also quite trippy, the film went on to become more of a cult classic with the nerd set and seems to have been forgotten by most mainstream audiences. After Avatar and it's use of 3D, Tron will use a similar approach with being released in 3D IMAX.

MTV.com also scored a nice interview with director Joseph Kosinski who went into some details about the new movie:

About the use of 3D:
Kosinski: Our approach is not like "Avatar," which I think is 3-D from the first shot to the last. Ours is sort of a "Wizard of Oz" approach. Ninety-eight percent of the 3-D is in the world of "Tron." The 3-D really starts once we get into the Tron world.

About the teaser footage:
Kosinski:The teaser, at least tonally, represented the direction I wanted to take it. That sequence actually doesn't appear in our film at all. It represents a period of time before our film begins.

Who is Flynn now?
Kosinski: Jeff is playing two characters. He's playing Kevin Flynn, the character from the original film, and he's playing Clu, the avatar that Kevin Flynn created in the 1980s. I'd say he's Clu 2...Clu 2 is a second incarnation of Kevin's avatar. He doesn't only look like Jeff, but he can think like him too. So it's a whole new level of artificial intelligence.

The rating:
Kosinski: While making the movie, we never did anything to serve a particular rating. We made the movie we wanted to make. I think Disney would be really happy with a PG rating. But I haven't had it reviewed by anyone. I imagine it will be PG or PG-13.

Daft punk to score the movie:
Kosinski: I'm a huge electronic-music fan... I wanted to try something fresh and different. I set up a meeting with Daft Punk. We met for pancakes at the 101 Coffee Shop in L.A. one morning. These guys take "Tron" very seriously. Obviously, "Tron" was a huge influence on them. It was almost like they were interviewing me to make sure that I was going to hold up to the "Tron" legacy...I don't know of a movie where you're working on the soundtrack months before you start filming. The level of integration between the music and the film is incredibly strong.

So far all good things coming out of the mouth of the director. He seems to me to have a good sense about what universe he is playing in and trying to make it new while expanding it for fans and for new audiences alike. Possibility of more Tron films intrigues me. I like the look of the 'teaser test footage', and how Bridges is actively involved in the story. Seems he gets his Brando moment, going native in the computer universe. Just a matter of how crazy he is. Glad to see little touches like having Bruce Boxleitner back in the movie. That could have been a bit of stunt casting but they remained faithful to the original actors.

December 2010 seems a might long time away right now , here in the dog days of January. But at least I have something like this to look forward to. After seeing what Cameron did with 3D in Avatar, I really can't wait to see this movie in that format. I have introduced Tron to my nephew already and am trying to get him involved in all this fun.I hope he gets as much out of it as I did when I saw it in 1982.

In 2010 the undead continue to rise...

2010-01-21T15:39:00.001-05:00

Zombies! Zombies! Zombies!

If the aughts taught us anything it's that Zombies rule the roost in horror. Phooey you say? What about the vampires?

I say, meh! Vampires do not sparkle! Zombies gave this decade a running start (literally!) and continue well into the next one!

(I guess I can not complain too much as running zombies struck as much heated debate amongst fans as the the effect of sparkly emo vampires did)

Zombies are everywhere, it seems you just can't keep a good zombie down in just movies anymore!

Zombie walks!

Zombie Strippers!

Zombies invade classic lit:

Zombie ~~comic book~~ *ahem* graphic novels!

Zombie video games! and this one too!

And soon, Zombies on your TV:

As was reported last summer, director Frank Darabont is bringing the ~~comic book~~ graphic novel series Walking Dead to AMC TV. Based off the long running Robert Kurtzman series, this one deals with a policeman trying to find his family meanwhile rebuilding a portion of society with the few survivors of the zombie apocalypse. The issues that I read, were really terrific. Very emotional and character driven, this was more than just books about zombies eating people. Each issue felt like it would be a 60 minute tv program. I thought this would make a great series as it does not really focus on the zombies so much as the interpersonal drama of being a survivor after such an awful apocalypse. Frank Darabont could be a perfect match for the material as he has a good sense of genre. His take on Stephen King's The Mist was one of the best films of the last decade. It was filled with monsterous energy, effects and just a generally downbeat tone. A perfect post 9/11 horror film if ever there was.That style should translate perfectly to this material. I think AMC will be wise to let him run the show his way, he is set to direct the pilot for the series.

No date has been set yet for filming or broadcast.

Not sure if it is a good thing or a bad thing but Uwe Boll is attached to what looks to be a zombie film done in the old Italian 80's style of days gone by.The movie is called Eaters. It looks potentially good, if not overly CGI. And it is really slick looking too. Though I kind of miss the grittiness of film from that 70's/80's era. It's also in Italian , which is a plus. Maybe we will get a new cult classic here. Let's hope.

Dread Central has a nice write up about it.

Here is the preview below.

And if it all seems like too much zombie for you, there's always this.

Spider-man reboots, more Things, more Max for Mel and some forgotten music...

2010-01-19T15:42:00.001-05:00

Last week word came out that Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire are finished with this installment of the Spider-man series. This news was a bit of a shock as we had heard Sam was hard at work with the screenplay and hammering out ideas as to who the villain would be. Anne Hathway was rumored to be attached as was JohnMalkovich as the "Vulture" for the main bad guy role. According to this article, Raimi wanted heavy CGI use after seeing what could be done on Avatar. Sony balked as it seemed it would delay the projected release date and also argued over the choice of villain and downbeat story, and Sam took a walk. Now the idea is a total reboot taking the story back to Peter Parker's high school days and Marc Webb, director of 500 Days of Summer might be taking over the reigns from Raimi. Looks like the Twilight effect might take Spider-man on, as we go back to teen angst with the series.

My thinking is I am not surprised Sam & Co. left the series. Usually doing 3 movies like this could burn out anyone creatively. Most creative teams just get fatigue for the material by then, and I kind of thought Sam would have too. The idea that they were coming back was more of a surprise to me. I would have been happy to see Sam's take on the material after learning the lessons of #3. Plus I think he is invigorated after making essentially a down and dirty film like Drag Me To Hell so that would have been an interesting influence on the 4th Spidey film. But as of now it is all off the table, and all parties involved are moving on. I came across this blog, that mentioned a few things for the studio to consider as they move forward with the series. I agree with a lot of what they mention and most particularly, this:

Do skip the origin story
The spider bite, learning to fire webs in his bedroom, Uncle Ben's death -- at this point, Spider-Man's origin is as familiar to audiences as James Bond's choice of cocktail. The first movie wasn't all that long ago, and it will be difficult to top its iconic status.

Please, spare us the beginning again. If you want to make Peter Parker young again, then fine. Please don't assume we have no idea what came before or how we need to be reintroduced to the spider bite. Just bridge the films and use the idea of a short recap in the beginning and get on with the web slinging. It's always much more fun with superhero movies when the character we all come to see, is finally there. Spider-man 2 was better than Spider-man simply because Peter was Spider-man when the film starts. Batman Begins was terrific, but the Dark Knight was even better because Batman was already in progress working the streets of Gotham and Joker was already there. Iron Man 2 looks like more fun than Iron Man was simply because all the parts are in place now. The studio would do the audience a favor by sparing them the details of another Spider-man origin story.

I can't do anything about how they will cast it, I just simply hope they stay away from the vampire kids from Twilight series. I could offer the name Anton Yelchin, as he was mentioned by others as well, and I think he could be an interesting choice. That would then give him roles in 3 iconic series: Terminator, Star Trek and Spider-man. I will go see what they do with the new series, I hope Marc Webb can make it unique and serve the material as well as Raimi has. I look forward to new Spidey adventures on the screen, just don't screw it all up in the process.

**UPDATE**
Here is a link to some details about the deal for Marc Webb (haha) to direct the new Spider-man trilogy.
It seems he won't be getting a cut of the box office money and will be paid a flat fee. Saves the studio a LOT of money in the long run and as he is still a n00b, they can alter the deal later, I'm sure depending on levels of success.

It seems The Thing re-remake is moving forward. Ron Moore who rebooted Battlestar Galactica to much ballyhoo is taking the reigns this time. Been meaning to catch up with that series, it looks good, but I never made it a priority to watch, I'll have to catch it on dvd. Anyway, from what I know about BSG remake, he took what was once a cheesy sci fi 70's Star Wars rip off and made it an interesting scifi series for the new millenium, with a nice cult following. I'm sure he has the aesthetics down for gritty sci fi storytelling that the Thing reboot/remake will need.

My question is, how do you up the ante of Carpenter's version? What more is there to say than what he did? Apparantly they are going prequel (sigh) route. So we will be involved in the Norwegian camp that meets the alien for the first time. Rumors abound that one new character will be related to Kurt Russell's character, which makes NO SENSE. If they do this, you would have to ask, why didnt Macready EVER mention it in the 1982 film? You would think he would be bothered that the camp his relative was at has been decimated and destroyed and that person killed. I do not mind revisiting the ideas, but don't tread on whats already there. Look at Lucas and his prequels. He added things that make no sense to the O.T., Midichlorians anyone? I'm all for going back to the well, just make it your own. I cetainly hope Ron Moore is smart enough to avoid a problem like this. Time will tell.

Mel Gibson is making the rounds to promote his new movie Edge of Darkness, while talking about that movie, questions come up about his involvement or non involvement in a new entry into the Mad Max series that is reportedly going to be underway soon. This article indicates the door is open for Mel to make a cameo in the film, the question is as what? But then later on, another article refutes any participation as Mel wishes George Miller well with his project, as Max is his, he says. Instead Mel is moving forward on another picture dealing in ancient dead languages and violence. Yes, Mel is going to make a Viking movie spoken in old English and Norse, which is supposed to sound similar to Icelandic. Make of that what you will.

Regardless, The new Mad Max movie intrigues me, as I would love to see more of the character. Though age and experience tell me I should be wary of a new film featuring a classic character. Mel seems to think that time is passed and perhaps feels to old to be Max anymore. The really odd rumor about Max now, is that Miller wants to make it partially animated, like Avatar perhaps. What does he want to do? Part of the series charm was all the live action stunts. The dirt and grit of the series just can not be replicated by a clean looking CGI universe. To see that cheapened with too many computer effects will take some of the fun out of it. If they want to bring Max back, I say fine, just keep it in line with what it is known for.

May I suggest Sam Worthington as a new Max?

And finally, this amuses me to no end:

An 80's music video directed by James Cameron featuring Bill Paxton and Kathryn Bigelow. Pure fried gold.