Thursday, December 24th, 2009 (Christmas Eve, Part II)

A happier post to reflect the normalized view of the yuletide season. So I will begin with one of the better rumors that I read this past week. Via Hollyscoop, bubbly country music superstar Taylor Swift has been reported to be in talks to star as the titular character in a new Supergirl film. For some reason, this works for me. First off, Taylor Swift already looks more like Kara Zor-El than Helen Slater did in full costume. Secondly, in almost every incarnation of DC's superheroine, the work is pure fluff. And in spite of all the "Yo Taylor, Imma let you finish..." Supergirl YouTube entries we would have to endure, Swift is undeniably likable. Nonetheless, we're still probably looking at a terrible movie here, just a reasonably casted lead in a terrible movie.

So, I also missed the week of Avatar. Well, the film, as predicted by everybody, took the weekend box office, and has raked in the incredible reviews that many had counted on. Still, I saw the film in 3-D and I didn't see it as a game changer. In fact, I left still hoping that the entire 3-D phase would fade back into an exploitation gimmick that we would see maybe once or twice a decade in a decent film. But, the good things about the movie outweigh the bad (including Leona Lewis' atrocious love theme), considering that James Cameron is a much better filmmaker than the typical post-William Castle user of the 3-D medium. First, the effects are stunning. Pandora and the creatures that inhabit the land are unusually breathtaking. Second, Sigourney Weaver. Third, Sam Worthington, whom I have generally considered a sub-par actor puts on a hell of a performance, considering he is competing with one of the more impressive backdrops in cinematic history. Giovanni Ribisi is also in there. Also, can you imagine the cosplay based on this thing come convention season? The movie was far from the best though, as the plot involves way too much Native American allegory in a world where we have already and unfortunately been acquainted with the Quileute tribe. Not to mention the uncomfortable scene where (*SPOILER ALERT*) the two blue cat people fuck in the holiest place in the movie. Still, I would highly recommend it, just with the warning that you will not take a full on nerdgasm as promised by Harry Knowles and the rest of the Internet blogging elite.

Another thing that crossed my radar this week was this seven part review on Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. I've not finished the entire thing yet, but thus far it is very entertaining.

Finally, the newest trailer for Kick-Ass is out, featuring the character Hit-Girl, making it my most anticipated film of the next year. Young Chloe Moretz saying cunt may be the highlight, but the entire trailer is, for lack of a better phrase, truly kick ass.

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009

Admittedly, I'm not a very manly fellow. Still, one of the few typical male things about me is that I don't have a clue about anything fashion, therefore, despite the ties to the cinema industry, you'll hardly ever see me blog about fashion, unless it is extremely gaudy (meaning that I enjoy Bjork) or if it has something to do with Halloween. In the latest issue of Harper's Bazaar, Tim Burton has lent his style to Halloween fashion. Check out the gallery at Cinematical. What does it say about me that I dig the mummy?

It doesn't take much to see by the opening there that it was a slow news day in the movie world, so instead of blogging about how stupid some casting news is, here are a few random movie related articles I've found throughout the day to keep me occupied.

First, Time Out London has counted down the top fifty directorial debuts in cinematic history. Sad to say that I've never seen the top spot, Charles Laughton's The Night of the Hunter, but I can say it has some mighty big shoes to fill. Also on the list is Orson Welles' Citizen Kane, the Coen Brothers' Blood Simple, George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead, Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, David Lynch's Eraserhead, Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs, Luis Bunuel's L'Age D'Or and Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead among others.

Coed Magazine has a countdown of the worst movies to hit number one at the box office. Topping the list is Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, but come on, what about the original Red Sonja? Ishtar? Also, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace may have been an abysmal entry in comparison to George Lucas' original trilogy, and when reading movie articles all the time, you get accustomed to nerd rage directed at Lucas and Phantom Menace being the norm. But Jesus, saying it was a worse movie than Epic Movie, Norbit or Batman and Robin? Somebody needs to be stoned to death (Michael Dance).

I spent most of my downtime today watching a set of YouTube videos, set around a guy looking through the tapes of a fictional unfinished short film called Marble Hornets. The series of videos begin as what would appear to be a friend mocking a fellow student filmmaker, almost suggesting the feel of American Movie, and eventually evolves into an amateur horror web series. Most of the bizarre happenings come from the mythical creature of Slender Man, a character made up from a web contest by SomethingAwful.com. Still, I'm posting it because what the guy does works. With Paranormal Activity coming out this weekend, the documentary style horror subgenre seems to have some stories yet to tell, even in a post-Blair Witch Project world. The kid that edited this has gotten a lot of people's attention and should probably be applauded for making a series of homemade shorts that will surely be more entertaining than all the other entries in the faux documentary style, sans the great Cloverfield of course.

Wednesday, September 16th, 2009

I wish I could say I've missed a few blogs this past week due to some kind of fantastical road trip or an adventure. Instead, I turned to the solace of Play Station to pass time whilst my Internet was out, because one of the prices for living in the serenity of the marriage grounds of meth labs and incest, is bad Internet connection, along with dreadful service with any piece of technology you can think of. Anyhow, I am back today, starting off with an interesting poster for Grant Heslov's upcoming film The Men Who Stare at Goats. I just loved the fact that the goat got a higher billing than Robert Patrick (the T-1000 for Christ's sake!).

The Independent has a story up that continues the trend of The Walt Disney Company stepping into the role of conglomerate bastardry that we have all come to expect from them. One of the biggest time honored yuletide traditions in England, the lighting of Christmas lights on London's Oxford and Regent streets, has been compromised to accommodate the British premiere of A Christmas Carol, moving the schedule of the event up by nine days. London mayor, Boris Johnson, has already received a shit storm of complaints. Kind of makes you forget about Marvel for a second, right?

Well, it would if I didn't directly blame the Disney/Marvel merger for Time Warner turning DC Comics into the competing DC Entertainment. And the new head of DC Entertainment, Diane Nelson, recently gave an unsettling interview to MTV. The linked article mainly focuses on the fact that Nelson pretty much confirms that any follow up to Superman Returns is completely dead. Of course, after a somewhat (undeserved) mixed response, I can kind of see why DC would pursue some of the more interesting, silver screen virgin characters on their roster. Still, with Nelson's first big interview in the big role garnering some negative fan reactions, I am just curious what is to come.

Jumping back to the Marvel boat, Variety has announced the official opening day of Spider-Man 4 as May 6th, 2011. The article also confirms that Gary Ross, most famous for Big and Pleasantville, will helm the script treatment of the film.

I keep reading these great reviews on The Informant!, but I've yet to really jump aboard based solely on the trailers. I'm sure it is a good movie, with the talents of Matt Damon and Steven Soderbergh, but I think I'm going in a bit more cautiously than the rest of the viewing audience. Nonetheless, I'm still intrigued at the news, courtesy of People, that Soderbergh and Damon teaming back up again for Liberace, a biopic on the titular eccentrically flamboyant pianist. Damon will play the lover of Liberace (played by Michael Douglas).

Geekologie has a troubling post of a visual aid picture of Yaddle, a female member of Yoda's species whom appeared briefly in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, along with a green fleshlight. It may be rather repulsive, but it is still leaps and bounds easier to take than another Twilight sex toy.

Finally, speaking of missing a few days due to my crappy Internet, I missed posting a short film on Sunday for the second week in a row a few days back. After the abysmal box office intake for an animated feature, as well as a somewhat luke warm response on RottenTomatoes, I figure that a drawn out introduction to Shane Acker's 9, the short film inspiration to his feature of the same name, isn't required. I have yet to see the extended version, but hopefully you'll be entertained by the little short so we can move on to something else this coming weekend.