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Back from vacation, and on the net… Gmail on a cell phone isn’t much of a link! Looking forward to a great 2008 with Melissa and the boys!
BDFL podcast should be back this week, Scott willing… congrats again to Kurt Albin for his win of Brutal Bowl VI.
Saw National Treasure 2 over the holiday; it was fun. Anyone seen I Am Legend yet?
Speaking of movies, looking forward to Cloverfield, The Dark Knight, Iron Man, and Indiana Jones 4 in ‘08. And Watchmen in ‘09.
Best movie ending ever: Planet Of The Apes? (Just watching it again on AMC…)
Happy New Year!
We went and saw Bee Movie at the newly opened Great Escape Theatres Harrisburg Mall 14 earlier today. Their $6.50 matinée and $9.00 adult prices aren’t great, but several aspects of the experience were. Firstly, concessions were not as highly priced as our local Regal Theater. Secondly, the roughly 90-seat theater (#6) we were in had rocker-style seats with foldable armrests and plenty of legroom for this 6′3″ frame. Also notable was room to comfortably accomodate at least four, if not six, patrons in wheelchairs. Thirdly, there was no advertising shown prior to the stated start time. At the start time, 8 minutes of pre-feature advertising, consisting of three movie previews and a Coke commercial were shown. No “Great Escape tells you to turn off your cell phones… please, silence your cell phones” message, no “go back to the lobby and buy some concessions” message. Finally, about a minute into the movie I realized there was no projection artifacts (dust, etc.) in what was being shown and the images were perfectly clear; I think everything was being presented digitally. It blew me away.
Add all this up and you have a superior moviegoing experience than what I’m used to from any other theater in the area. Go check them out.
By the way, Bee Movie was enjoyable, and Ryan loved it. The animation was fantastic and greatly rendered in this fine theater.
Update: I thought I should mention that the West Shore Theatre is our favorite in the area. We recently went there to see The Bourne Ultimatum, and I noticed that they had cleaned or replaced the screen. Mainly due to price and coziness, I have to recommend it most highly.
Star Wars is one of the first movies I think I can recall seeing in a movie theater. I think I first saw it sometime in early 1978, when I was 7, but I can’t be sure. I have a much clearer memory of seeing epidodes V and VI in theaters, after seeing episode IV. In any case, I was a Star Wars nut as a kid and collected a lot of the toys, only to sell the lot of them to an adult collector when I was 11 or 12. They got a lot of use.
I’ve enjoyed the original trilogy as it’s aged, and still prefer it to the prequel trilogy. R2D2 is my favorite character; a mini R2 sits under my monitor at work and keeps me company throughout the day. :) The Empire Strikes Back is probably still my favorite Star Wars movie, but obviously it wouldn’t have come to be without the excellence and success of the original. Long live Star Wars!
Inspired by Don.
Go to IMDB.com and look up 10 of your favorite movies.
- Post three official IMDB “Plot Keywords” for these 10 picks.
- Have your friends guess the movie titles.
Try to guess mine:
End Of The Millenium, Virtual Reality, BetrayalStrange Days (Phil)Bodyguard, Liquid Metal, TruckTerminator 2: Judgment Day (Don)Wizard, Death Of Hero, InvisibilityLOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring (Don)Drug Addict, Accidental Death, Jeri Curl HairstylePulp Fiction (Don)
Stuttering, Barrister, Run Over By A SteamrollerA Fish Called Wanda (Don)Amnesia, Superhuman Speed, Hot Air BalloonThe Adventures of Baron Munchausen (Phil)Stranded, Mind Control, SpacecraftStar Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan (Phil)- Ocean, No Opening Credits, Hidden Civilization
Telephone Box, Time Travel, SocratesBill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure (Don)Cucumber, Heavy Metal, StonehengeThis is Spinal Tap (Don)
Update (5/6): C’mon, I didn’t make them that hard, did I? One more day and I give Don more answers…
Update (5/7): Four more left!
Update (5/9): Phil got three. One more left.
Three words: go see Invincible. Melissa had the great idea to go see this movie that I’d just heard about and it was great. It tells the story of Vince Papale, a Philadelphia Eagles fan who was convinced to try out for the team when new coach Dick Vermeil held open tryouts in the preseason of 1976. Before the movie, I’d never heard of Papale’s story, so it really interested me. If his Wikipedia entry is correct, the lead-up to his being picked up by the Ealges was embellished in the film. I’d like to know how much of the movie was “inspired” and how much is the true story.
Regardless of its accuracy, the film was well-made and clean; it’s rated PG and Ryan went with us. I had no idea the NFL had six preseason games back then; today’s 4-5 games seem like a long preseason. I thought the acting was great and the football looked real. It’s definitely not a football movie that requires you to know the game all that well, and there’s not that much gameplay until the end of the film. The story was entertaining and it was a treat to watch. Highly recommended.
OK, went to see Superman Returns tonight. Loved the homage to the earlier films with the opening credits, music, and the liberal Marlon-Brando-as-Jor-El appearances. This was a very cerebral movie, but Kevin Spacey’s Lex Luthor kept it alive and he drove his plotline along well. I thought the cinematography and effects were spectacular. The acting was good, although some of the editing seemed a bit choppy; and there were times where it seemed like Lois & Clark had ESP. The Clark/Lois/Richard love triangle was very present throughout, although I think the pretense that Lois doesn’t know Clark is Superman, even though it’s been a constant all these years, seems more ludicrous now than ever.
The ending of the movie was left pretty darn open for sequels. At the end I felt a little slighted when nary a sliver of the history between Lois & Clark that led to you-know-who hadn’t even been presented. What happened between Superman IV and the time when Superman left to find Krypton? Well, besides you-know-what.
Overall I liked the movie plenty, but I have to agree with my buddy Jim when he says Batman Begins was the stronger of the two series’ movie franchise reboots. But I’m definitely interested in seeing Superman return again.
Melissa and I finally got out last night to celebrate our anniversary and we went to see the Sandra Bullock/Keanu Reeves film “The Lake House“. It was a decent romantic movie if you buy into the plot device, which is fantasy. It was set and filmed in Chicago, and I think the cinematography was excellent. I liked the way they unfolded the story, although near the end of the movie it was unclear how much time was passing between scenes. I figured out the twist a bit early, but it didn’t take away from the ending. It’s probably the best date movie I’ve seen in a while.
The Academy (whose awards ceremory tonight looks great in uncompromised HD here at home, by the way) are lecturing us that we shouldn’t be content with seeing movies at home on DVD; that we should get back into the theater and see them as the larger-than-life things they are. I like a good big-screen experience as much as the next guy, but most of the chain theaters today suck. Usually Melissa and I go to a theater to see a movie only when the following conditions are met:
- It’s not the first weekend of release
- It’s a weekday afternoon that’s not a holiday
- We don’t plan to buy concessions
- We don’t know of past projection-type issues (bad aspect ratio, not starting on time, etc.)
- We arrive during the 15 minutes of previews
Sounds like a great place to see a movie, huh?
Melissa and I went and saw HP4 Sunday night. Like the other movies, it was a lot of fun. Unlike the other movies, it’s rated PG-13. The subject matter isn’t necessarily more grave than in the last two films, but the fact that a character dies makes the film a bit weightier.
The tri-wizard tournament that drives the plot is a great excuse to infuse new blood into the series, in the form of students from two other wizard schools. It worked for me. The tournament itself was pretty cool. I thought the Christmas ball in the middle of the movie was a good chance for the film to explore teen angst, but I don’t think the secondary characters were fleshed out enough for us to care who Harry, Ron, and Hermione went to the dance with. There just seemed to be something missing. It was still fun, though.
The effects continue to be first rate. I think they probably cut this down from a 3-hour movie. I’m betting fans of the book think it could have been even longer. I haven’t ready any of the books, and I saw the first two movies out of order, but I’ve enjoyed all of them. This series epitomizes character building, and it’s great that a lot of the recurring characters continue to be played by the same actors.
Definitely worth catching on the big screen; some of the panoramic shots just won’t translate well to smaller screens. A no-brainer if you liked the previous movies. One thing I liked about this one is that it didn’t start in Harry’s foster family’s home. That schtick was getting a little tiresome.
The Superman Returns and King Kong trailers were attached to this film. At this point I think I’m going to dig KK better. I’m usually a nut for superhero movies. Perhaps the non-teaser Superman trailers will interest me more. I always was more of a Marvel guy. (C’mon X3!)
by Twentieth Century Fox Home Video
Like many other geeks, I went out and bought Revenge Of The Sith on its street date. I finally sat down to watch it last night, but since it was late and no one else was watching with me, I used the computer and headphones. Like many others I’ve read, I think it ranks above episodes 1, 2, and 6 (ROTJ); the fact that it was conceived to tie into episode 4 predestined it to some sort of success.
I usually use the second viewing of a movie like this to watch the special effects; I’m still marvelling at the fluidity of the digital characters. Sometimes the physics were a little “off”, like in the Spider-Man movies, but for the most part it was great fun. For some reason, I didn’t cringe as much as the first time during the Anakin/Padme scenes.
I think the end of the Anakin/Obi-Wan fight could have been written better. Obi-Wan says, “I have the high ground.” Anakin jumps anyways and is defeated seemingly easily. Perhaps a better ending was lost on the cutting-room floor.
If you have a hole in your Star Wars DVD collection, go and fill it. If you bought episodes 1 and 2, you’ve got nothing to lose!
The Fantastic Four movie was definitely a mixed bag for me. I’m a Marvel fan, but I always followed Spidey, the X-Men, and the Avengers more than the Four. Hence I don’t know the exact origin story very well, nor the origin of Dr. Doom, the villain of this picture. If you liked the X-Men movie and don’t require an airtight plot, you’ll probably like this one.
Light spoilers follow if you’d like to read on.
Sounds like Melissa’s interested in us seeing Fantastic Four this Friday. Cool!
Spoiler warning - if you haven’t yet seen this movie, you’re lamer than me and should expect it to be spoiled. 
I forgot to blog the fact that I finally saw ROTS on Friday with Melissa. What’s there to say that hasn’t been already said? I felt the final 20 minutes were well spent to set the stage for the original SW trilogy. I’m a huge Artoo fan, so my favorite part was his chuckle when he and Threepio are given to Captain Antilles and Bail Organa tells him to wipe Threepio’s memory. Which of course means Obi-Wan and Artoo now share secrets throughout Episode 4 (Kenobi: “I don’t recall ever owning a droid before.” Revisionist fan: “Hah - he’s playing dumb.”) Sir Alec Guinness was already less than enamored with how big the character of OWK became; the fact that Lucas has “altered” the SW storyline to introduce continuity with the previously barely-imagined backstory of Darth Vader might cause him to roll over in his grave. Well, probably not.
OK, one minor rant out of the way. The movie was entertaining, but it spent too much time with fighting and not enough time on Padme and Anakin. After the wooden performances in Episode 2, I had higher hopes for the love scenes and they were hurried and choppy and unfulfilled. How are they supposed to get away to Padme’s dream love nest on Naboo when Anakin is supposed to be jumping around the galaxy as a Jedi Knight? Their spoken hopes seemed unbelievable in the context of the overall story. I did like the fact that Padme was buried with a seemingly pregnant belly (only from the perspective of the overall plot of the series, of course) since that effectively covered up the fact that she gave birth to Luke and Leia from the public and hence Anakin.
I thought the rushed birth of the pimped-out Darth Vader in the end was a mistake. Were they paying James Earl Jones $1m/word or something? Also thought it was weird that Palpatine himself came out to find the badly beaten Anakin on the volcano planet.
What did I like? Technically, the movie was a knockout. I enjoyed watching General Grievous, Artoo, and the droids. I always dig the light saber battles. Ewan McGregor should get an Oscar for “Best Performance By An Actor In An Obligated Leading Role”; he made the movie more fun and he kicked ass.
I’m glad I got that movie out of my system. Now I have to get some buddies together and go see a movie I expect to be better: Batman Begins. I have high hopes for Fantastic Four as well.
I pointed to this Slashdot article in my link blog; I’ve only had a chance to check out Sith Apprentice so far. It’s hilarious. There are some great references near the end. Required viewing!
Do away with the pre-show interviews. The hosts sucked and the clips were hastily pasted together on the fly. Jann Carl even committed the faux pas of saying “and the winner is…” when anyone who actually watches the awards knows that it’s “and the Oscar goes to…”.
I found about 25% of Chris Rock’s act funny. I think the message he sent to African-Americans who were watching was “make more meaningful films”. The recorded bit from the Magic Johnson theaters would probably have elicited the same responses in many predominately white theaters, so it wasn’t really that inventive. He did some of the playful digging that all Academy Awards hosts do, however some of his comments (Jude Law?) seemed caustic, given his “outsider” status.
My favorite recipients:
- Morgan Freeman, Best Supporting Actor (whom I’ve enjoyed ever since hearing and seeing him on The Electric Company)
- Brad Bird, Best Original Screenplay (The Incredibles)
- John Dykstra, Achievement in Visual Effects (Spider-Man 2) (”Boy, am I glad there wasn’t a fourth episode of Lord Of The Rings.”)
I liked the best original song nominee performances, especially Carlos Santana and Antonio Banderas’ rendition of Jorge Drexler’s “Al Otro Lado Del Rio” from The Motorcycle Diaries.
The HD production, which I watched from about 10:15p on, was actually quite nice.
On review, I didn’t like the fact that the “behind the scenes” winners weren’t afforded the luxury of the full walk down the red carpet and onto the stage. The aisle shots and the stage lineups were time-saving measures that didn’t work for me.
Please come home, Billy Crystal!
I forgot that yesterday was a two-movie day for Melissa and me. We took the afternoon off together for lunch and a viewing of In Good Company, starring Dennis Quaid and Topher Grace. It was a good matinee; an enjoyable character study and criticism of mega-corporations. Definitely not a paint-by-numbers drama/comedy. The characters aren’t predicable at all, and the climax of the movie is pretty strong. It’s a good date movie.
We watched The Village last night, and I’m glad I avoided reading too many reviews of it beforehand. Like director M. Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense, the twist of the movie is so big that it sours repeated viewings. In fact, just when you think you know what the twist is, the “real” twist comes.
That being said, we liked it. The acting on all fronts was great, especially Joaquin Phoenix’s stoic “Lucius Hunt”. William Hurt’s performance really helps sell the 1890s setting. Definitely a recommended rental; only Shyamalan’s Unbreakable is a DVD I would recommended puchasing. It has a lot of staying power. It would be hard for me to rank this film against Sixth Sense and Signs. I probably would rank Signs as my second-favorite M. Night film.
We watched DodgeBall last night and thought it was hilarious. I think anyone who likes Stiller’s previous comedies, particularly Meet The Parents and Zoolander, will like this film. It’s good for at least a rent.
Besides Stiller’s and Vince Vaughn’s performances, I thought Rip Torn and Justin Long were quite good. “If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.” There’s a killer cameo near the end of the movie that I won’t reveal here. And, hey kids, even William Shatner shows up for some fun as the Dodgeball league commissioner. One of the best things about the movie is how it sets the rules up for “professional” dodgeball and takes them seriously; even though the movie is full of jokes, the dodgeball tournament is quite entertaining because you’re believing the notion that this could be a sport. 
My collection is now complete - at least until the Extended Edition DVD of “The Hobbit” comes out in 2008.
Will I ever be able to block off a whole day to watch all three LOTR:EE DVDs back-to-back whilst my shirt is off and I’m eating a brick of cheese? Probably not. But one can dream.
Melissa and I watched Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind on Friday evening and it was a lot more detailed and quirky than I expected. Kate Winslet plays way against type, and Jim Carrey puts in a strong performance. All the supporting actors are great (especially Mark Ruffalo) and the story is a chronological mess, but in a good way. This movie made me think about the power of the memory of love and seemed to reward me for paying attention. It’s definitely worth at least a rent; it’s probably good for two inital viewings, the second with the commentary on. I’ll be doing that when I get a chance.
My sister had pre-ordered SM2 from Amazon for my birthday and I got it in the mail today. I definitely liked it better than the first, and it’ll be neat to check out all the extras. A great movie for the collection.
Thanks, Candace & Brian!
OK, I finally watched “Fahrenheit 9/11″ last night and am working my way through Moore’s factual backup. I wasn’t very aware of The Carlyle Group before watching the movie, so the allegations asserted about the Bush-Saudi ties took on a new weight in my mind. I don’t believe some of Moore’s thoughts about what the president was thinking when told the nation was under attack, but the questions asked about why we went to war the way we did and the footage from Iraq is something I think more Americans should see. I already hold the position that we had no reason to go to war there, even with all the “evidence” that has now been proven false. The film does a great job of putting human faces on the war.
Moore has encouraged online sharing of the film; you can download it from this site.
I just found out that Christopher Reeve has passed away. Like many others my age, I was a fan of the Superman movies — at least, at the time they were released. Mr. Reeve’s activism after his unfortunate accident was inspiring. May he rest in peace.
I’m looking forward to the release of the SW trilogy - I’ll be ordering my copy soon. There’s an excellently detailed review of the set over at The Digital Bits.
Arnie now has his own stamp — in his native Austria.
Happy 57th Birthday to the Govenator.
I’m putting together a DVD-R that implements this synchronicity. I’d heard about it before, and may have even tried it back in my college days (Phil?). This is what DeCSS was really meant for.
Thanks to my co-worker Roger for lending me the Oz source DVD. I’m sourcing the audio from my 20th anniversary copy of DSOTM.
My dad and I went to see the second Spider-Man movie over the weekend, and we both thoroughly enjoyed it. I think it’s safe to say this film has probably the richest story of any of the genre movies to date. The lack of a need to tell the “origin” story freed the movie up to explore Peter and Mary Jane’s relationship. It also gave it time to really build up the character of Otto Octavius before the accident that gives him his mechanical arms (although it could have done even more, but that’s OK). Tortured soul Harry Osbourne and Aunt May are also in the movie quite a bit.
I think the movie went a little over the top in playing up the whole “Peter is screwed” angle, where he can’t even grab an hors d’oeuvres at a party without somesone snatching up the last one on the tray. But it pays off in the end, when he makes some huge decisions about his life.
The effects in the movie were top-notch. Doc Ock’s arms were characters themselves, and the action scenes were, dare I say it, even more entertaining than the first movie.
One of my favorite scenes is the subway car one. Very cool.
Folks, some of the story decisions made at the end were surprising, but great. They’re setting things up perfectly for a very interesting SM3.
Two thumbs up. Go see this thing in the theaters, and buy the DVD the first day it comes out. It’s that good.
Two thumbs up for Matchstick Men. Definitely a renter, as opposed to a buyer. Besides the excellent movie, the behind-the-scenes stuff is entertaining. I think it’s rare to see so much pre-production footage on the DVD for a movie where CGI is absent.
But make sure to watch the movie first if you decide to check it out!
As seen on Slashdot: The official Star Wars website has a some new info about the previously announced SW Trilogy DVD set.
Still waiting for the announcement that the THX-remastered classic editions will be given the DVD treatment. Probably a year after these come out.
For you locals: Colonial Commons 9 has gone downhill ever since the Hoyts (now Regal) 14 was opened. Why a nine-theater cinema would only have a five-line street-level marquee (with perhaps only 3 to 4 copies of the alphabet in letters) is beyond me. On the way in to work today, here’s what it said:
DIE ALONE
DAWN OF DEAD
SCOOBY DOO
How the theater’s management might think the sign would inspire someone to veer off of 22 and decide to see a movie is beyond me.
I don’t know how much of it I’ll watch, but since it’s on in place of Alias and The Practice, I’ll be tuning in for a bit. Here are my predictions (even though I haven’t seen many of the movies in question):
- ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE: Sean Penn - Mystic River (fourth nomination; I think the Academy will finally reward him)
- ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE: Ken Watanabe - The Last Samurai
- ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE: Charlize Theron - Monster
- ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE: Marcia Gay Harden - Mystic River (yes, I am biased towards anyone who’s had to grow up with the surname “Harden”, especially guys)
- ANIMATED FEATURE FILM: Finding Nemo (I love the Pixar movies)
- ART DIRECTION: The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
- CINEMATOGRAPHY: Seabiscuit
- COSTUME DESIGN: The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
- DIRECTING: The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King (if Peter Jackson doesn’t finally win this, I will be disappointed)
- DOCUMENTARY FEATURE/SHORT SUBJECT: no prediction
- FILM EDITING: Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World (can’t wait to see this on DVD - my dad said it was great)
- FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: no predicción
- MAKEUP: Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl
- MUSIC (SCORE): The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King (duh, I’d like to see ROTK win all its categories… )
- MUSIC (SONG): “A Kiss At The End Of The Rainbow” - A Mighty Wind (go bizarro Tap!)
- BEST PICTURE: The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
- SHORT FILM (ANIMATED/LIVE ACTION): no prediction
- SOUND EDITING: Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World
- SOUND MIXING: The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
- VISUAL EFFECTS: The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
- WRITING (ADAPTED/ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY): no prediction
Predictions or just wishes? You be the judge.
The full list of Oscar nominees is here.
GO LOTR!
Update: Wow… LOTR:ROTK has kicked major butt. And Jackson just won Best Directing! Thank you, Academy!
As seen on Cinescape: Lucasfilm has confirmed that the first three Star Wars movies will be released in a DVD box set on September 21st. It’s supposed to be similar packaging to the Indiana Jones set, with a fourth DVD of interviews and featurettes. These are supposedly the “Special Editions” of the films, as re-released in the late 90’s.
This is good news, as the widescreen VHS versions of the Special Editions I own show aren’t very pleasant to watch on an HDTV. I can remember trips to see each of the movies’ original releases in the theater (I can just barely remember going to see SW:ANH for the first time) and was a Star Wars toy nut between Empire and ROTJ. I plan on picking up a copy of the set the day it comes out.
Update: There’s a petition for Lucasfilm to release the original edits of the films on DVD here. I think I’d actually prefer having these on DVD. There were plenty of neat effects added to the Special Editions, but having Greedo shoot first and Han walking on Jabba’s tail is just silly.
I’m signature #50527.
Update 2: The Official Word.
I have yet to see A Mighty Wind, but I think it’s totally cool that one of its songs has been nominated for an Oscar. I’m a pretty big Tap fan and am looking forward to seeing those guys as the Folksmen.
The list of all Oscar nominees is here.
R2-D2 is one of my favorite fictional characters. I was happy to read that he’s been inducted into The Robot Hall of Fame. CMU has a history of supporting sci-fi; I remember playing many a Netrek game on *.cs.cmu.edu servers.
Source: WWDN.
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) is going to start an advertising campaign to illustrate the dangers of copyright law: News.com: MPAA warnings hit the big screen. I think someone should warn them about the dangers of always being late, subjecting customers to more advertising and higher prices year after year, and labeling customers as thieves.
The entire movie exhibition/distribution system could use a swift kick in the rear. DVD rentals and occasional DVD purchases are about the only fairly-priced options the industry offers.
Originally posted by Alex on Monday June 23, @10:30AM
I was able to see “The Hulk” on Friday with my father-in-law and was
surprised at how cerebral it was. Another home run for the recent string of
Marvel movies.
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