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Ramona Falls - Intuit

If you haven't listened to the band Menomena, do it now. Their lead singer, Brent Knopf, has put out a pretty outstanding album on his own. Here is the first video for the song 'I say fever'.

Ramona Falls "I Say Fever" from Barsuk Records on Vimeo.

Where the Wild Things Are - Review

I originally felt apprehensive about Spike Jonze' adaptation of the infamous Where the Wild Things Are children's book. With super hip stores like Urban Outfitters merchandising for the film and a soundtrack by Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs lead singer Karen O, this movie just seemed to be working too hard to build its indie cred. Having seen Being John Malkovich and a few of Jonze' music videos, I knew that he was something special, but it wasn't until I read recently about Jonze journey into the industry and his fight with the studio to keep his vision in tact that I felt confident that this could be great.

Now having seen it, I can say two things about this film...it is in fact great, but it shouldn't make any money. I would love nothing more than for WTWTA to become one of the most successful children's films ever, one that people of all ages are drawn to because of how masterfully it mirrors the passion and power of love to bind people together through the mess that is life, family, relationships. This I fear will not be the case, as the masses typically like their films to provide a way to escape their reality, to hide from the mess for two hours...and that goes double for a kids film, which technically this is. Not only that, but we like our films to have a story that builds to a nice tidy simple feel-good ending where someone learns a valuable lesson or falls in love with the right person. This film, while hinting at these things, is much more about the journey rather than the destination. Jonze' vision is dark, scary, full of raw humanity, and I highly recommend it...even if you don't shop at Urban Outfitters.

Frequently Asked Questions about Time Travel - Review

Frequently Asked Questions about Time Travel is a sort of under the radar film about 3 British losers, Ray, Toby and Pete who, while downing a few pints at the pub, get caught up in a dizzying time jumping fiasco. Right about now you are either immediately surfing imdb to find out everything you can about this film, or you are angrily clicking 'back' on your browser wondering how you ended up reading this stupid blog in the first place. If you are in the former group, you are in for a treat.

It's touting itself as 'Dr. Who' meets 'Shaun of the Dead', and thats not far from the truth. It is smart, funny and has some twists you won't see coming. The three main characters, while not nearly in the same league as Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, handle their roles well and you find yourself rooting for them against your better judgement. In a weird cameo/love interest is American Anna Faris, from all those Scary Movie films and more recently Observe and Report.

I'm not going to even try to relay the plot to you, because, as in all films that deal in time travel, my brain hurts just thinking about all the what happened, which lead to a thousand what ifs. I will say that all that time travel messiness is done convincingly and not once did things get so unbelievable that I disconnected from the story completely.

I will leave you with the ridiculous first few lines from the film and you can decide for yourself whether this is your cup of tea:

"Time travel. It'll turn your brain into spaghetti if you let it. Best not to think about it. Best just to get on with the job in hand. Which is destroying the enemy before they're even born and have a chance to threaten us. We're expecting any resistance to be light, because the ancestors of our enemies have yet to evolve any thumbs... or indeed spines. But that does not change the fact that they may one day evolve into a species that may pose a threat to us. And for that reason, we are going to rain down a fiery death upon them that will turn the surface of their planet into a radioactive desert! Because we are the planetary peace corps! And that is what we do! Now, are you nappy-wearing motherfuckers ready to lock and load, and *get it on*?"

Recommended

Where the Wild Things Are - everything you didn't think you wanted to know

I recently read an article in the New York Times magazine about how Spike Jonze got into the business, its an inspiring story about a guy bursting with creativity filming whatever he thinks is interesting and word spread. Previously directing guerilla skate videos, to music videos, to anti-hollywood films like Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, he now is doing his first big budget treat in Where the Wild Things Are. Here's a beast of a video (38min.) from the BBC that gives you an idea of what kind of person we are dealing with in Spike Jonze. Well worth it.



Big money means big pressure from the studio to create something that can be easily digested by a mass audience. Jonze was given a longer leash then most, because of his "indie" cred, but when the studio demanded a rough cut of the film they were scared (as were some children in pre-screenings) by what they saw. A fight ensued where Jonze almost left the film, but after conceding to make extremely minor changes (basically adding one scene and taking away another) the film is now complete and set to be released next week. Here Jonze talks about Where the Wild Things Are, his concept for the film, working with Dave Eggers and more.



This is some behind the scenes footage of Maurice Sendak, the illustrator and author of the original children's book, talking about his story vs Jonze vision.

Where the Wild Things Are - Featurette Maurice Sendak
by ohmygore

In case you don't know who Dave Eggers is, he is a writer/publisher who is very similar to Jonze in the book world. He has written work such as his memoir A Heart Breaking Work of Staggering Genius and a traveling story about frustrating generosity in You Shall Know our Velocity. He has founded his own independent publishing company called McSweeney's. He is also known for his non-profit work, which has resulted in funding tours that included musical artists such as Death Cab for Cutie and Sufjan Stevens. Here, he and Jonze, are faced with the difficult task of interpreting the scarce dialogue and artwork of the WTWTA children's book into a full-length screenplay, which has been released as the novel The Wild Things. Hear his thoughts in this video interview.


















Here is an interview with WTWTA production designer K.K. Barrett. Barrett has worked with some of the hottest directors around (including Sophia Coppola, and Michel Gondry) to help bring their films to life. Here he talks about his history and WTWTA's unique vision.



A friend of mine, who has a child of his own, told me he had a feeling this might be the first great children's film since The Neverending Story. He just might be right.

Official HD trailer for the film.

Toy Story 3

Just discovered the new Toy Story 3 Trailer that is circulating. I don't know anybody who wouldn't excited about this one

The Invention of Lying: Review

I think Ricky Gervais is hilarious. I am a huge sucker for awkward humour and Gervais is the king of this brand of comedy. Let me also go on record as saying that the British Office is much, much smarter than its more brash westernized version...and I still like that one. I'm glad that Hollywood is finally taking notice of his genius and giving him the opportunity to put his talent on the big screen. It's just too bad that his latest just isn't very good. While Ghost Town was a pretty great twist on the romantic comedy genre, Lying just feels like its trying too hard. Don't get me wrong, anything Gervais is involved with will be a cut above your average puff piece, but considering what he is capable of, I couldn't leave the theater anything but slightly disappointed.

The story itself sounds like the perfect premise for Gervais to do his thing. It centers around a world where lying doesn't exist and everyone says what they think all the time. (which honestly gets annoying about half way through the movie...just because people don't know how to lie, doesn't mean they would automatically tell people that they've always hated them etc.) This is the case until Gervais' character discovers the advantages of lying, especially lying to a world that will believe anything you say. This works well as Gervais lies his way to a fortune, and discovers religion by "lying" to his mother about the afterlife, but its when the movie turns its focus to angst laden romance that things get...ordinary. Garner is decent as the innocent, but straight talking love interest, but all this sapp takes the bite out of the original premise.

Still Gervais' style of self depricating humour does elevate this film from bad to decent. I'd really hate to see something like this handled by anyone else, but then again Gervais is capable of much more.

Rent It.

Zombieland Review

I just had the privilege of catching a sneak preview of Shaun of the Dead 2...I mean, Zombieland. This is the US' answer to the Brit Zomedy, several years later, and answer we did. It is perhaps not as smart, but every bit as ridiculous fun. This is all the crazy splat fest the trailers claimed and more. Jesse Eisenberg (Adventureland) plays one of the last known survivors of some sort of apocalypse. He is a frail, phobic geek whose survival has been dependent on how closely he follows his "list" of apocalyptic rules. This list becomes a running joke throughout the film and is used to great comedic effect. While traveling through the wasteland he meets a gun-toting redneck played perfectly by Woody Harrelson. Harrelson loves to kill zombies and, using everything from heavy artillery to lawn tools, he proves to be damn good at it. This unlikely team then adds two con artist sisters along the way to complete their dysfunctional family.

Like Shaun, between each gross out violent set piece is relational core, a humanity that runs throughout, that is just enough to make us care about each character's plight, without bogging down the story. Its loud, bloody, shocking, hysterical, campy and just plain stupid fun. Watch out for the rumored cameo that is pure comedic gold, and sneak a twinkie into the theater, because trust me, you'll want one when its over.

Recommended

The Informant Review

This movie will not make much money. Its not hilarious, it's uncomfortable, and Matt Damon is fat. But this film will make you think...think twice about lying. While billed as a comedy, this film is more cautionary tale, with a side of quirkiness (Damon's little side notes about polar bears and indoor pools are pretty great). Matt Damon has never been more impressive, transforming himself from a chiseled fighting machine, in the Bourne films, to a chubby naive compulsive liar. The word that comes to mind the most when reflecting on this story is FRUSTRATING! Don't get me wrong it's a great little film all around, but watching this man spiral his life into oblivion is not fun. On the other side of things, The Informant has a lot to say about corporate politics. Its a telling look at what goes on behind closed meeting room doors and the power of the bottom line.

Recommended

Solomon Kane

The summer movie season is over, but there is still much more cinema to be had! Solomon Kane stars James Purefoy (from The Philanthropist) as the sword wielding hero, whom apparently Van Helsing ripped off. Comes from the 1928 Robert E. Howard novel (Conan author) about a wandering anti-hero trying to make amends for his violent past by living out a life of peace. Now we all know that won't last don't we?

Autolux Show

I had the privilege of traveling to DC to check out one of my favorite bands live at The Black Cat. That band would be the infamous Autolux. As you can tell from previous posts I'm not really into lengthy posts/reviews so here are some quick thoughts from the show followed by some crappy iphone pics.

This was definitely a complete show. All of the groups represented were really great in their own right and the first band, Mini Mansions, was no exception. They played for like 15 people, but rocked out like they were playing for 1500. They have their own brand of pop music that reminds me of a mix between Spoon and Field Music. Pitch perfect vocal harmony's float over piano, bass, sometimes guitar and an interesting stand-up drum setup. Fun music, great opener.

http://www.myspace.com/minimansionsmusic

The second act, Sleepy Sun, came out to chuckles from the crowd due to their obvious 70's era cloning. The lead singer in particular had the large collared, patterned button up shirt, with long curly hair and a burly mustache. He looked like he was straight out of Will Ferril's Anchorman, and I think our expectations for their music hit rock bottom at that point. Boy did this 5 piece prove us wrong! They were 70's, but they rocked! They played some of the tightest hard hitting psychedelic rock I have ever heard. The vocals were split between Mr. 70's and a cute as a button little girl who had big beautiful pipes. They just had an amazing time on stage and their energy, including some of the greatest goofy dance moves by cutie-pie girl, bled into the crowd. Memorable.

http://www.myspace.com/sleepysun

By now it was a full house and it was time to wait for an unbearably long time for Autolux to grace the stage. When they finally did they proved to be everything you expect from these wall of sound-new sonic youth-gazers. They definitely knew that Carla Azar is a draw on her own placing her dead center in full view, with the other two on opposite corners of the stage. While Autolux's LP's are perfect, they don't quite capture the fuzzy, pounding, just pure loudness of their live performance. The guitars were layered into oblivion, and the bass so dirty that your ears want to run and hide. I can say enough good things about Carla's drumming expertise. Some of the most creative back beats I've ever heard, and man does she play hard. They did unveil a few new tunes, and let me say that if those few songs are any indication of what awaits me when their new LP drops, I'm going to crap my pants.

http://www.myspace.com/autolux

Assault Girls

I have never seen Ghost in the Shell amazingly enough. I'm not really into anime, but I have seen the director of Ghost in the Shell's film Avalon, which was a unique blend of anime styling set in the physical world. Mamuro Oshii's second venture into live action is Assault girls, which looks to take things up a notch.

Kim Ji-Woon

You probably don't know that name, but you should. He is not only my favorite asian director, but he is about to break into the international spotlight. Films like The Quiet Family, A Tale of Two Sisters, and A Bittersweet Life have showcased Kim's unique talent. He has done it all, comedy, horror, noir, action, even an Asian western in the form of the recent The Good, The Bad and The Weird. He has basically never put out a film that I did not enjoy immensely and I don't expect that to change for his remake of Claude Sautet’s 1971 heist classic Max et les Ferrailleurs (to be titled Max and the Junkmen). There is talk that Kim has his eye on Clive Owen and Sienna Miller to star. If you've seen his action-noir masterpiece A Bittersweet Life than you should be very excited at the possibilities. Here is a taste:

Inception

Inception is Christopher Nolan's next masterpiece (I hope). After Dark Knight, who could expect less? The trailer for this, Leo Decaprio starring, dark-fi, mind freakout will leave you with more questions than answers, but it looks like a wild ride.

The Wolfman

Wolfman looks to be a return to the classic monster movies of yesteryear. All the B-movie roots are there, but then we have some fine acting pedigree. Starring Benicio Del Toro as the man fighting the beast within, and Anthony Hopkins this could be the lycanthrope film you've been waiting for.

Gentlemen Broncos

Count me in as excited about this new film by Napoleon Dynamite director Jared Hess. Jemaine Clement, of Flight of the Conchords fame, plays Ronald Chevalier, a washed up fantasy novelist who steals a young boy's novel and claims it as his own. Starring too many familiar comedy faces (including Sam Rockwell) in this to list, Gentlemen Broncos looks nothing if not a lot of fun-anuss.

Mew - No more stories Are told today I'm sorry They washed away No more stories The world is grey I'm tired Let's wash away

There will always be a soft spot in my heart for these Danish prog rockers. Mew's new album, No more stories Are told today I'm sorry They washed away No more stories The world is grey I'm tired Let's wash away (my fingers are sweating now), takes a more dreamy approach without losing their complex prog pop sensibilities. Being a huge fan of dream-pop and shoe-gaze, I welcome this stylistic growth with open arms. Listen below.

No more stories Are told today...

Avatar Trailer

I'm sure everyone has already seen this, but this is the first official trailer of James Cameron's newest epic Avatar. Boasting the newest in CGI and 3D technologies this labor of love certainly look spectacular, but will it have a story to match? James Cameron definitely has a good track record so I have to give him the benefit of the doubt...i guess.

Dear Readers...

Well I've debated this since I started this blogging adventure and finally decided to add the "followers" gadget to my blog in an attempt to allow people another way to stay connected. This is not a blog with high aspirations, just an outlet for me to share stuff that I like with other people, and its exciting to think that I could potentially connect with someone across the global who has the same dysfunctional interests that I do. The beauty of this gadget is that you can connect to each other as well. So anyways it's to the right if you want to use it, and thanks for reading. (and you can still use twitter, facebook, digg etc. links if you prefer)

District 9 Review

This is not an easy film to review, but here is my disjointed perspective anyways:

You can't write about this film and not infuse your review with the politics involved so here we go. I would have to praise the film for bringing a form of political realism to the table. We live in a world where politics and issues are far from Left or Right, Black and White, or Good or Bad...no matter how hard we try to present them that way. The people presented on both sides of this story are never clearly shown as the good aliens vs the bad military regime. The main character himself shows a certain conflicted, and at times purely selfish, morality, and the director Blomkamp is able to effectively have us be disgusted with him at parts in the film and root for him at others. The aliens obviously have their problems as well, infected with their own dose of degenerate behavior, and a seeming disinterest in integrating themselves in this new culture they find themselves in. Yes they are clearly marginalized by the government and local community, but they also marginalize themselves. I find this realistically muddied take on things to be refreshing, and feel that every time I watch this film it will reveal a new layer.

On the other side of the camera, I was impressed that Blomkamp and crew were able take us from mockumentary to documentary to thrilling action film seamlessly. This was clearly a stylistic decision, not an inability to sustain a single format, which is a common complaint. I was even more AMAZED by the CG work involved. I can't imagine the amount of time and effort it took to insert these creatures into each seen. I never once felt like I wasn't watching an organic living thing on screen. Avatar now has something to live up to. Each of these elements add up to an richly conceived alternate reality that provides an firm foundation for everything else presented in the film.

The bottom line is that this movie single handedly saves this summer for me. There has been far more disappointments (Wolverine, Terminator, Transformers, GI Joe etc...) than rewards (Star Trek, Drag Me to Hell), but this summer will now be remembered as the summer when District 9 showed what (Sci-fi) cinema is capable of.

Here's the Distric 9 panel discussion at Comic Con '09 with Blomkamp, Peter Jackson etc. (Jackson even talks about the Hobbit and HALO a little):

Faunts - Feel.Love.Thinking.Of.

Great nugaze band flexes their electro-muscles on this new album and beautiful dark-pop ensues.

Feel.Love.Thinking.Of. - Faunt...

Tron Legacy

I can't imagine there being any way they could match the hype on this one. Especially since the original was so groundbreaking. On the other hand this trailer does look promising...

The Vampire's Assistant

Vampires and John C. Reilly. Not sure what to think about this one, but it could be quirky fun. Fans of the book's ultra-dark and violent story-line are squirming at the trailer's kid-friendly comedic side. Here's hoping their just not showing all their cards in order to lure the general public.

Seth Rogen + Megan Fox = hilarious moment!

Even big stars like Seth Rogen have embarrassingly awkward High School moments. Seth is on Jimmy Kimmel talking about a little incident he had involving one Megan Fox on the show previously...and Jimmy is happy enough to replay the footage for him!

Engineers - Three Fact Fader

This new album has been 5 years in the making for these nugazers. Mixed by Ken Thomas of M83 and Sigur Ros fame, this album is highly recommended (by me).

Engineers in the studio finishing the album

Sufjan Stevens - The BQE

Sufjan Stevens latest adventure is a film about the the expressway that connects the Queens and Brooklyn boroughs of New York. The subsequent soundtrack will of course be scored by Stevens himself. There's nothing about Stevens prior output that would make me doubt that this wouldn't be successful, but this teaser is definitely odd. Its out in October and will premier at the Tribeca film fest.

Alice in Wonderland

It seems Tim Burton is the perfect fit for this adaptation. Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter can't hurt either.

Envy - A Dead Sinking Story

I recently re-discovered this band. They are from Japan and sing/scream in Japanese, but this does nothing to delute this album's power. Has all the emotional building of post-rock, the edge of hardcore, and a little screamo mixed in for good measure. Not much like it these days, maybe ISIS is something comparable. If you like this check out their previous effort 'Insomniac Doze' for more goodness.

A Dead Sinking Story - Envy

Foreign Born - Person to Person

Great music to pass those summer days.

Person To Person - Foreign Bor...

Book of Eli

This post-apocalyptic film could be the role Denzel Washington has been waiting for. Something to put him back on the map. Not that he hasn't had his share of decent flix (American Gangster in 07, Inside Man in 06) in the past few years, but he seems to have lost some of his relevancy of late. He's a good actor that could take a fun concept about a sword wielding hero wandering a war-torn america protecting a book that has the key to saving humanity, for example, and turn it into something special. The trailer has atmosphere to spare and Gary Oldman is certainly a welcome face. Check it out in HD below.

District 9

The new District 9 trailer reveals more action, and more importantly more action involving big robots. This is starting to look like the movie Terminator Salvation should have been.

Carriers

I'm really syked about this movie. This trailer looks amazing! Very much a survivalist post-apocalyptic film. Starring Chris Pine, the new Star Trek's captain Kirk, this film looks gritty and quite frightening.

Surrogates

Showing shades of The Matrix, Total Recall, Terminator (sadly the same director as T3), I, Robot and countless other films, Surrogates story has been done before, but its robots, and its Bruce Willis with a wig on, so I'll give it a shot!

Daybreakers

Ok this movie looks pretty great. Ethan Hawke? Willem Dafoe? Sam Neill? In the future almost everyone on earth is a Vampire and the last humans are harvested for blood...but what happens when the blood runs out? Willem Dafoe and his crossbow carrying crew fight for the human race.

The Antlers

This album is a breathe of fresh air. Intimate and rockin' at the same time. Beautiful vocals/lyrics, layered over lo-fi indie slowcore, with shoegaze atmospherics. This is one of those that kinda sinks into your subconscious and stays there.

Hospice - The Antlers

Clues

This experimental indie rock band sports former Arcade Fire and Unicorns members. Great start to what is hopefully a bright future for these guys. Take a listen:

Clues - Clues

2012

Well this is some of the most beautiful apocalyptic carnage I have ever seen in a trailer...now bring on a story to match and this could be something special!

Zombieland

Looks like Woody Harrelson wants to put the fun back in killing zombies...and Bill Murray and the that kid from Adventureland are along for the ride. Oh Yeah!

John Carpenter's The Thing

Continuing on with my Carpenter fix, I recently rewatched one of my favorite Sci-fi/Horror films of all time 'The Thing'. This is Carpenter's second collaboration with Kurt Russell and came out right after 'Escape from New York'. However, while this film has some campy elements to it, it is much more scary than 'Escape'.

The film opens perfectly with a helicopter chasing a lone Husky through the snow filled mountainside. It becomes clear that the men in this helicopter are trying to shoot and kill this defenseless creature. Eventually the dog finds its way to a American research facility and when the men in the helicopter land, start yelling in a different language, and open fire, the locals, not knowing what's going on, shoot them down.

From there our cute dog is taken in by Kurt Russell and the gang only to find out that he is only an alien imitation. When the crew realizes this, it may be too late and it becomes a story of survival and distrust as any of the crew could have been imitated.

This film won awards for its creature effects, and it shows. This is the kind of film that makes you miss the days before CGI, when things looked more organic, real and frightening. Thats why I love directors like Guillermo Del Toro who still mixes tangible effect with computer generated ones.

The cast are all great at conveying the reality of the situation, this feels like it could really happen to everyday people, and that this is what it would be like. This is brilliant psychological horror mixed with its fair share of shock and gore. This is a must see...Highly Recommended!!! Oh yeah and the blood test scene is probably one of the most classic scene's in horror movie history!

John Carpenter's Escape from New York

I've recently been purging my DVD collection at moviestop and buying myself the kind of guilty pleasures I would watch over and over. Escape from New York is one of those for me. This is one of the original post-apocalyptic masterpieces. The wacky premise is that in the future (1997!!) New York has become a walled off sort of prison for all the crazies and airforce one (piloted by a terrorist) crash lands in the middle of it. The president does eject before the crash, but is soon taken hostage by the locals.

Kurt Russell is pitch perfect as Snake Plissken, the X special forces turned condemned bad-ass whose only hope of release is to go in and get the President out. The catch is that those sneeky government people implant a small explosive that will kill him in 24 hrs if he does not get the president out and in turn get the device deactivated. Sounds awesome right?

This film is just pure campy fun, from its apocalyptic landscape to the ridiculous punk rock inspired outfits and one liners. All this doesn't diminish Carpenter's ability to still bring in a sort of under your skin creepiness as Snake explores New Yorks hazardous alleyways. I won't spoil all the fun, just go rent it for yourself. Check out this trailer to get you amped!

Offline

Sorry I've been really busy lately working on a service project at a homeless shelter, but I am back now and hope to put up a few posts to make up for the down time.

Offline was apparently supposed to be a sort of promo reel for effects guy Matthew Santoro, who previously worked on films like AVP (I know, I know), but this cyberpunk concept seems to be turning into a full length project for him and I for one think it could be great fun! It was shot on a low low budget, but looks immensely creative and super slick. Take a look and let me know what you think.

O F F L I N E from Matthew Santoro on Vimeo.

Up - Review

Ever since Toy Story Pixar has become the most reliable group of storytellers in the film industry. They often find ways to portray the most human of emotions out of their animated characters, often more so then the majority of actors are able to. Their newest film, while certainly not their best, is no exception. Right from the beginning we are given a shortened, but emotional journey through an old mans life full of love and, ultimately, loss. These images are without a doubt the highlight of the film. While his ultimate journey to find the ultimate adventure in the form of "Paradise Falls", a childhood dream of himself and his former wife, is entertaining, it lacks the substance that other Pixar films were able to squeeze out of every frame.

Don't get me wrong, Pixar's characters are still drawn for us with care, just not great care. Only old Carl is given a full background, while his young traveling partner, Russel, was only given some brief lines of dialogue regarding his deadbeat Dad. Even the villain is merely given a brief newsreel before he shows up a full blown madman later on in the film.

Other than these small details, much of the film felt unbelievable. It may sound ludicrous to talk this way about an animated film in general, but pretty much all of Pixars other films gave us a feeling that we were part of a sort of alternate reality. Either a fantasy world unknown to the real world via Toy Story, and to an extent, The Incredibles, or completely fictional universes like Monsters Inc., Cars etc. This film felt grounded in the real world that Carl faced from the start, and then just out of the blue decided that real world rules don't apply anymore (flying balloon house, crazy undiscovered world in South America, giant undiscovered bird species, talking dog collars and much more) All of this was fun, but felt slightly misplaced against the film's initial backdrop.

Overall, however, this is still a strong entry into the Pixar catalog and only a minimal slip in their otherwise stellar output.

Alien Reboot?

Bloody Disgusting is reporting (rumor/unconfirmed) that Ridley Scott is set to produce an Alien series reboot. His director of choice is apparently commercials director Carl Rinsch. Personally I am all for reboots. Why, you say? Because lets face it, crazy high concept Sci-Fi films like Alien would not be getting made unless they feel like they can bank on the draw the other films bring. When done right its like Christmas, when done wrong, some feel it tarnishes the legacy of the previous films. I don't agree. So I say bring it on, especially with Scott involved in the process this one has a better chance then most. Anyhow, it can't be any worse than AVP. Oh ya and take a look at one of Rinsch' commercials and you can see why Scott hand-picked him.

James Cameron's Avatar

No its not Shyamalan's 'The Last Airbender', but it's Science Fiction hero James Cameron's labour of love Avatar. I must have been living under a rock to have not heard more about this $200 million film. The movie's premise is being described as, "an emotional journey of redemption and revolution. It is the story of a wounded ex-marine, thrust unwillingly into an effort to settle and exploit an exotic planet rich in biodiversity, who eventually crosses over to lead the indigenous race in a battle for survival. The film's star is Sam Worthington who, ironically, was recently cast in the new Terminator: Salvation, the film series that Cameron is responsible for bringing to life.

Born out of an 80 page script that Cameron wrote back in the mid 90's, and it has been said that the films delayed release is due to the lack technology available to properly bring us into that world. Well, Avatar is set to be released this December using technology so advanced that Spielberg, Lucas and Peter Jackson have been involved in testing it. Cameron wanted to be able to create entirely CGI characters are photo realistic using motion capture. Wikipedia reports that: unlike previous performance capture systems, where the digital environment is added after the actors' motions have been captured, Cameron's new virtual camera allows him to directly observe on a monitor how the actors' virtual counterparts interact with the movie's digital world in real time and adjust and direct the scenes just as if shooting live action. This would also included the most advanced methods for capturing facial expressions ever used. If that wasn't enough the film will also be filmed in 3-D using proprietary equipment developed by Cameron.

Other interesting tidbits that only serve to ramp up this films skyrocketing expectations include an intricately conceived world that Stan Winston (who also worked on the Terminator films) will design and music by James Horner (Aliens, Titanic) that will include choral arrangements in which an entirely new alien language will be sung.

Reading this kind of news almost makes me forget how disappointing the new Terminator film was. Here's a video report on the film for more info.

ReelzChannel Movie News James Cameron Today's Features | Movie Trailers

Terminator: Salvation - review

I love the Terminator movies. They are SF, apocalyptic, have big robots, and Arnie, the question should be, "what is not to like?" Well unfortunately Terminator: Salvation makes that question an easy one: no heart. I looked forward to this film more than any other this summer and while it was at times awe inspiring, at others it was...Waterworld. Waterworld is of course one of the biggest budget flops of all time. It was beautiful to look at, but had no heart (and the acting made me want to tear my heart out). This new Terminator was every bit as frustrating as that film, because of the wasted potential.

The Terminator storyline (and I'm not going to go into its complex history here) is so rich, the only problem would be figuring what to focus on. Director McG apparently decided to cop out by focusing on nothing (well, except big machines). And poor Christian Bale, post-infantile outburst, is getting all the blame. Hey, at least he tried to do something with the word-vomit he was given (Mr. Costner!!!) This film relied far too heavily on the previous films to provide background to these beloved characters and none of them were fleshed out enough for me care if they lived or died, no matter how cool and intense the action was.

Speaking of the action: If there was one thing that McG proved he can do well its staging action, and there was a lot of it. If there was a story to match, I feel that these action sequences could have gone down as some of the most memorable ever. Other positives were the cinematography and the overall post-apocalyptic look of the film. It was for the most part breathtaking, which makes the films failures seem even more tragic.

The bottom line is that if your like me and can't resist a film like this no matter how many negative reviews you read, then go experience it's many explosions on the big screen (preferably wait for the budget theater). I give it a generous 60% out of 100%, just because its beautiful post-apocalyptic world, and some action sequences that try their hardest to make you forget there is no heart.

The Road - Teaser!!!

Finally!!! The first footage from the post-apocalyptic epic 'The Road'. All I can say is WOW.

Gattaca

This is truly a lost gem of the 90's. I had heard good things here and there, but never took the time to sit down and watch it straight through until I found the special edition DVD for $4 at ROSS of all places, while my wife shopped for an outfit. Gattaca is basically a futuristic noir piece about a world in which your future is decided by your genetic makeup from birth. They know what health problems you will have etc. all the way down to your life expectancy. Because of this, many of who are called God-children (those born naturally) are marginalized from birth because no one will hire them based on their genetic profile. Most parents choose to have their children made in a test tube using a blend of the finest genetics, to ensure for them a good life. Vincent was not one of those children. He was born naturally with a 99% chance of heart problems, which means that his dream of becoming an astronaut will never happen...as long as he is himself. Vincent goes on a inspired journey to prove everyone wrong and assumes the identity of a recently crippled member of high society. He works 10 times harder than anyone else in the space program and has to go through elaborately detailed processes each day in order to hide any trace of his true self. All this work becomes threatened when a higher up in the space program is murdered. How far will Vincent go to achieve his dreams?

Star Trek Review

I don't do long, bloated reviews on this site, where I talk about motivation and other pretentious stuff, so here is my quick thoughts on this highly anticipated film. Let me say first that while I am a huge science fiction geek, I've never learned to speak Klingon and you won't spot me at a Trekkie convention. If a Trek show comes on TV, I'll watch it, if there's nothing better on, but I don't foam at the mouth for the next installment, book or collectable associated with this franchise. Moving on...

Star Trek in general, while wrapped in an intricately conceived space world, has always had a great cast of characters. The original show and eventually the movies were about how these characters, from many different backgrounds and cultures, come together to protect, well, the universe. The new Star Trek has all the shiny wrapping that the shows had, with an added dosage of adrenaline that the shows lacked, but that doesn't really matter without the characters we all know and love. All classic franchises have to have great characters to keep us wanting more. From Stars Wars to Indiana Jones this always proves to be true. I'm happy to report that this new film brings the Enterprise crew to life, more than any Star Trek film ever has.

The casting is pitch perfect throughout, but it is the angry tensions and eventual bonding of Kirk and Spock that are the driving force. These updated versions are portrayed with enough internal conflict to make any Twilight fan go into convulsions. The bottom line is go see this film. I don't care what your reservation is, because I can't honestly think of how anyone could come away from it disappointed.

For fun here's an interview with JJ Abrams, Chris Pine & Zachary Quinto about the movie:

Star Trek

Here's a fun link to an article that will help you know who's who in the new Star Trek film. After looking at these pictures, the casting really seems spot on. Judging by preliminary reviews this could be the film that takes Star Trek out of geekland and into the mainstream.

Dead of Night

A "nightmare detective" played by Superman? Thats right empireonline.com reports that Superman star Brandon Routh has been cast to star in 'Dead of Night'. He will play Dylan Dog, a detective who deals mostly with things that go bump in the night. Seems like an odd casting to me, and this movie could be terrible, but I do wish the best for Routh whom I thought did a much better job bringing Supes to the screen than he's been given credit for. Here's a fresh pick of Routh in the role:

Deadpool

There's been talk about this for a while now, but it is now being officially reported that writers are currently working on a Deadpool film that will star Ryan Reynolds. I have not seen the poorly reviewed Wolverine film yet (I'm still going to see it), but I can't imagine anyone more perfect for the role of Deadpool than Reynolds. Especially after watching this interview:

Terminator: Salvation

Want free VIP tickets to an advanced screening (no waiting in line!) of Terminator: Salvation? Well if you are one of the lucky 3 people who read this blog send a text with the message SALVATION and your zip code to 43549. Oh and while your at it don't forget to pick up an 'apocalyptic ice' slurpee at 7-11 (ridiculous!!! you'd think I was on their marketing team).

Day One

About neighbors in an apartment building banning together to figure out how to live after an apocalyptic event, this new tv series is coming to NBC in 2010. Its from the producer of Heroes, and is based on the 1989 TV series of the same name (which I have not seen). Well...if its post-apocalyptic you know I'll give it a shot. Here's some behind the scenes footage from the website.

2012

I'm sure everyone has heard about the 2012 doomsday predictions, the end of the Mayan calendar etc. Well this is the movie. Coming out in November this year. Probably too soon for me to be excited about the film, but its too late for me not to be...and besides John Cusack will star so it can't be all that bad. This teaser certainly knows how to wet my appetite, and I like the sort of Hitchcockian music...creepy.

Arizona

These guys came very highly recommended on the 'i guess i'm floating' music blog and I must agree they are pretty great. Straight up rock that somehow is able to maintain a classic feel without coming across as outdated by any means. Midlake comes to mind when I hear these guys, which is another band I have a great deal of respect for. I found this live performance apparently in a salon and was really amazed as to how great they sounded. These guys are the real deal. Go buy Arizona's album 'Glowing Bird' after you watch.

MGMT

Ya so I'm a little late on this, just like everything else, but this duo has put out a pretty amazing album called 'Oracular Spectacular'. Its sort of a weird mix of Brit Pop and Electronic. Of course if I read that descriptor I probably wouldn't even give it a listen so just forget I wrote that and watch this video for 'Time to Pretend'.

Radiohead

WOW I don't know how I missed this! Radiohead performing 15 Step with the USC marching band at the Grammy's. AMAZING

Radiohead - 15 Step (Grammys 2009)

Summer Movie List

I honestly can't remember a summer with so many potentially great movies. Here's a list of all the films I can think of off hand that interest me. Some of these I know little about, but they look intriguing. I tried to put these in release order. I'm sure I missed a good one here and there, so I would definitely be open to suggestions.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine


The Limits of Control


Terminator: Salvation


Star Trek


The Brothers Bloom


Drag Me to Hell


Land of the Lost


Away We Go


Moon


Year One


Public Enemies


500 Days of Summer


G-Force


Funny People


Paper Heart


The Boat That Rocked