This is kinda cool. Plasmic Studios have created a nice Flash presentation comparing original panels of Watchmen comic pencils to the “live action” movie posters that were created for the upcoming film release in 2009. Ozymandias looks a little scrawny and malnourished, but other than that, the “real” renditions look pretty bad ass.
I can’t wait for this movie.
With all of the brouhaha over last year’s No Country For Old Men, it’s hard to remember that the Cohen Brothers actually have some chops making comedies. The above trailer for their upcoming film, Burn After Reading, will remind you what it was like to smirk, nay, grin again.
On an anticipation scale of 1-3, I’ll give this one a “Maybe Want.”
Variety is reporting that Pirates of the Carribbean director, Gore Verbinski, is attached to direct and produce the Bioshock movie.
“Bioshock” publisher Take-Two Interactive is getting a multimillion-dollar advance against gross points on the pic. It’s believed to be the biggest videogame-to-movie deal since 2005, when U and Fox signed onto the since aborted “Halo” pic, for which Microsoft got $5 million against 10%.
Bioshock was unquestionably the most cinematic game to come out in 2007. The game juxtaposed some strong imagery with uncomfortable themes. With it’s strong narrative and memorable setting, it makes sense that Hollywood would be quick to jump on it. While it could be argued that the Pirates sequels were a bit plodding, Verbinski’s talent in creating visually stunning blockbuster movies is unquestionable.
Given the poor track record of video game movies, I’m going to be cautiously optimistic about this one. I currently have my expectations set roughly on par with the Wachowskis’ V For Vendetta film adaptation – solid, but not quite up to the standards of the original.
Read the Variety article [variety.com]
I’m a big proponent of movie studios releasing the first 10-15 minutes of movies for free on the web. It’s perfect for movies like Speed Racer where I’m on the fence about whether I want to see it or not. Sometimes the trailer just isn’t enough to give you a good idea of the film.
As for the movie, despite the obvious green screen/Saturday morning cartoon feel, the F-Zero-like racing sequences seem fun enough that I would watch it.
This year’s Oscars were serviceable if uninteresting. Stewart was good, but not particularly memorable. Which, I guess, is a pretty solid performance. None of the awards got me riled up except for a slight twinge when No Country For Old Men won out over There Will Be Blood for Best Picture. Personally I thought There Will Be Blood was far and away the best picture of the year, but I’m fine with No Country For Old Men as it would have been my second choice. At least Atonement didn’t win.
What really saved my Oscar watching experience, though, was being involved in an Oscars pool. Of course I failed miserably, but it definitely made the show more interesting. Only after the fact did I discover that along with being the coolest guy on the planet, George Clooney is also an expert at picking Oscar winners.
Mein Gott. He was on the fucking dot in every category! He didn’t pick the right actresses, but he did talk about them in depth on the little blurb in that Time article.
Is there anything this man can’t do?
Read George’s picks [time.com]
Both Best Buy and Netflix gave the ol’ press release one-two punch today by announcing plans to phase out support of the HD DVD video format in favor of Blu-ray. Best Buy’s press release basically says that starting in March, they will give better product placement for Blu-ray discs and players while also having salespeople recommend the format to prospective consumers. They still say they will sell HD DVD discs and players, but it’s quite obvious that come this time next year we probably won’t be seeing much of our red-boxed friends. Netflix’s press release has more decisive language, with definite plans to stop buying new HD DVD immediately while also removing existing HD DVD titles from circulation by year’s end.
So is this why they didn’t ship me Gone Baby Gone on HD DVD today? I was kinda pissed about that. As a recent new owner of an HD DVD player, I can say I’m a little surprised how quickly things are shaking out in this format war. I’ve watched enough movies via Netflix in the past month to justify my purchase already, but I didn’t expect Netflix to drop the format completely so quickly.
Oh well, I guess the next step is to wait for the blowout clearance sales for HD DVD titles so I can grab some titles before we inevitably get gouged by monopolistic Blu-ray prices.
Netflix goes Blu-ray exclusive [hi-def digest]
Best Buy recommends Blu-ray [hi-def digest]
Don’t go to the Website, don’t watch the trailer, stop reading this right now and get your ass to the THEATRE!
Apparently he enjoyed it. So much so that he did what is quite possibly the pottiest thing a human can do at a movie theater:
I thrust my arm in the air and sang along even though Felice and I were the only people in the theatre!
Much love to Felice who was probably shaking her head at lil’ Bobby.
That being said, I’ve viewed the film myself and I must say it was simply amazing. 3D films have an unfair stigma of being cheesy/corny/gimmicky, but this film is certainly none of those things. It’s the closest experience to actually being at a live music concert. Now, that may seem like a trite statement, but I mean it in full earnest. The 3D effects in the film are tastefully done, so much so that you almost don’t even notice them there. It just feels natural. Yet you’ve never experienced something like it before. That, my friends, is a true mark of innovation.
I’ve seen U2 four times and each time I waited 8 hours in front of the venue in order to get a prime spot in the pit for the show. Does the movie match that experience of the concert? Of course not, there’s just no way to replicate the vibe, the intensity, the MUSIC of being there in person. But you could argue the experience of the movie might exceed that of being in the nosebleed seats, and Lefsetz, in fact, does mention this. I got goosebumps and chills while viewing the movie as if I was at a real U2 show.
While I can’t bring myself to slather on anymore hyperbole, I will say that Lefsetz is right about this one. Whether or not you like U2, do yourself a favor and go see this film. You won’t regret it.
Read Lefsetz on U2 3D [lefsetz.com]
What makes this movie so good then? Each of its major contributors does his job magnificently. Daniel Day-Lewis’s performance is simply unparalleled. The man is in virtually every scene of the film and he absolutely fucking KILLS it. It’s the performance of his life, and probably of a generation as well. Paul Thomas-Anderson’s direction is magnificent. Not one line of dialog is unnecessary or forced. In fact, every verbal exchange has extreme gravitas. The landscapes and camera angles PTA employs are utterly breathtaking and unique. I’ve never seen a PTA movie before, but you can bet your sweet behind I will go through his filmography now. Finally, Radiohead’s own Jonny Greenwood composes a score that is surprisingly apropos and gripping. The film begins with a string crescendo that swells and swells until it becomes an almost shrieking cacophony. You want to avert your ears but you can’t. You’re forced to bear with it until it subsides. This is Daniel Plainview’s theme and it mirrors his soul perfectly. He does some truly deplorable things that you know are plain wrong, but you can’t ignore his actions.
Normally I hate period pieces, because they just bore me to death. Not this film, though. It fascinated me. I’m glad I got myself in the right frame of mind to see There Will Be Blood, because this was just a simply stunning work of art. I almost wish I was in film study because there’s just so much to talk about and analyze here, even days after viewing the movie.
That’s the mark of a truly great film.
I’m not the only one to feel this way either. This is a movie that is universally considered to be a masterpiece.
If I had seen this last year, it would have definitely vied for a top spot in my entertainment experiences list. An amazing achievement in film making.
2007 was pretty lopsided for me in terms of where my quality entertainment experiences came from. It was a phenomenal year for video games. Perhaps the best single year of new releases for the medium since 1997, if not better. Conversely, there just wasn’t much there in terms of great music. Some solid releases, sure, but nothing that remain etched in my mind as transcendent. Live shows definitely resonated better for me than the album experience did. For sports, I’ll preface my conclusion by saying that I only regularly follow the MLB, the NFL, and the NBA. Besides the lone entry on the list, there were no other truly memorable moments for me this year. Television was fairly solid, despite the writers strike putting a damper on my mood late in the year. Comics had some pretty high moments, and also some pretty “meh” ones as well. Finally, 2007 was just not my year for movies as I wasn’t motivated to seek out much other than the obvious films. While some were fairly entertaining, I just couldn’t argue for their inclusion on this list over the items picked.
Without any more ado, here’s my top ten entertainment experiences of 2007:
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