TRON Legacy: The Teaser Trailer

I haven't really posted a lot of TRON news up on this site, but anyone following me on Facebook knows that i am incredibly fired up for the sequel. For a while now, people have been able to look at the VFX CONCEPT TEST done for the film.

This past weekend i went and saw Alice in Wonderland (review to come?), but more importantly i saw the new trailer for TRON Legacy. Although it is just a teaser, it still shows a lot from the world of TRON and i am incredibly excited. I have a feeling that it wont live up to the hype that i am setting myself up for, but i also feel that it wont diminish the 1982 film. It looks like TRON and the music by Daft Punk is great. It is shaping up to be a cool looking movie!



CLICK HERE for HD and Downloadable versions!

Cop Out - Review

This past weekend i caught the new Kevin Smith directed buddy cop movie, Cop Out. As you all probably know by now, Kevin Smith did not write the film, but was hired on to direct it only. I have seen every Kevin Smith film, and every one since Chasing Amy in a theater.

I consider myself a fan of Smith, but i am not as enthusiastic about his films as much as when i was in high school. It seems as i have been maturing, Kevin Smith hasn't. His films have looked better over the years, but not by much. When i go into a Kevin Smith film i usually go into it with lower expectation. For a guy who i have been following for as many years as i have, you would think that my expectations would rise. There is something about Kevin Smith's films, that will always feel like an indie film from the 90's.

As soon as Cop Out started i could tell it was a Kevin Smith movie. A generic establishing shot, silent, with a shitty font is interrupted by some outdated song that is way too obviously trying to convey a message. In this case, it is a shot of what i assume was Brooklyn because after the the awkward pause and shitty font "No Sleep til Brooklyn" began to play. It is almost Smith's calling card, to let you know to take the movie lightly, because he is just that one guy who started as a clerk in a New Jersey convenience store. It was only ten seconds into the movie and i was already preparing for the worse.

Once i got through the first scene, in which Tracy Morgan and Bruce Willis interrogated a perp, i was reminded that i actually can relax and enjoy Kevin Smith's newest movie. Of course that shitty font from before was blown up real big to reveal the title of the movie. Jesus dude, what is up with the shitty font? This is Kevin's Smith's most slick looking film, yet that font looks so fucking cheap! Why don't some movies just use the font from the posters? It's always baffled me.

After a couple minutes being frustrated with that font, i started to get back into the movie. As i said, the movie looked really slick. For a budget of $30 million, i thought he put together a really good looking film. I think that DP Dave Klein did a great job. He is to be commended for giving the movie some life.

Another key factor into making this movie really enjoyable was Harold Faltermeyer. Some of you might know Faltermeyer's work from such films as Fletch, Beverly Hills Cop and The Running Man. All of those movies, from the 80's, used nothing but synths in their scores and Cop Out does the same. The score, mixed with Smith's directing style, really make this movie have the feel and pace of an 80's buddy cop film, which is something i really enjoyed.

The story of Cop Out is really tough to convey in a short amount of time, but the real reason someone goes to see this movie is to watch the antics of Tracy Morgan and Bruce Willis. I have to tell you, every time these two were on screen together it was an incredible pleasure to watch. There are a few scenes where they are not together and it's just not that great. My only gripe with the characters Jimmy Monroe and Paul Hodges is that they were not up to "those wacky antics" throughout the entire movie. They are not the crazy cops that i was hoping for. Their methods are not as insane as you would think. It's not that the characters are straying from the comedy aspect of the story, it's just that the commercials lead me astray of who these two guys were. Tracy Morgan is funny as is Bruce Willis, i just hoped that the movie was "straight-laced cop and insane cop".

One of the highlights of the film was definitely Sean William Scott! Sean William Scott's Dave character is an annoying drugged out psychopath, who could have been way too annoying. I admire Kevin Smith for showing restraint on this character in particular. If there was too much of Dave, it would have killed everything. Another highlight was "the other cops" Hunsaker and Mangold. The two cops that are in direct competition to Hodges and Monroe was brilliantly played by Adam Brody and Kevin Pollack.

One misstep as far as characters goes, was Kevin Smith's use of bad guy "Po Boy". The character was all over the map and off-putting at times. The character should have either been all the way goofy, or all the way intimidating. I definitely blame this misstep on Smith. I wish he could have figured out this character more fully before committing it to screen.

My last gripe with this film is Kevin Smith's editing. I understand why Kevin Smith would want to edit all his movies, but this has always been my problem with Smith's films. You can tell by watching it, what scenes Smith loves. A lot of times, his scenes play out like a dvd director's cut, which always translates into poor pacing issues. I really wish that Smith would hire a professional editor to work with so that Smith could please the audience and not just himself. I just chalked up the weird pacing to "It's just like an 80's movie".

Other than the weird pacing issues and shitty font, me and Stevi found ourselves really enjoying the film, a lot! I had a blast watching these two guys interact. I would even go as far as saying i would love to see a sequel. Even though i am still a Kevin Smith fan, i would love to see someone different direct the sequel. If Kevin Smith showed some restraint in the editing room and less restraint on making Tracy Morgan stick to the script, this film could have been really amazing! As it stands it's just a good, entertaining movie.

All in all, i was really surprised about how much i liked Cop Out and would love to see a sequel that pushes the boundaries of the vulgar buddy cop action comedy.

★ ★ ★ ½

James Bond - The Attribute Havingest!

SEAN CONNERY - "The Boat Endingest"

Of the six 007 films that Sean Connery did, he ended on a boat five times.

Dr. No - Boat Ending (pictured above)
From Russia with Love - Boat Ending
Goldfinger - Non Boat Ending
Thunderball - Boat Ending
You Only Live Twice - Boat Ending
Diamonds are Forever - Boat Ending
_____________________________________________________

GEORGE LAZENBY - "The Winter Sportingest"

Considering that George Lazenby was only in one Bond film, it's insane that he participated in four different Winter Sports.

Winter Sports George Lazenby involved in:
Skiing
Bobsledding
Ice Demo Derby
Curling (pictured above)
_____________________________________________________

ROGER MOORE - "The Boatingest"

Damn, this dude loved to drive a boat! Roger Moore had two boat chases in one movie!

Live and Let Die - Speed Boat Chase on the Bayou
The Man with the Golden Gun - Boat Chase in the Canals of Thailand
The Spy Who Loved Me - His Car turned into a boat and there was a Chase (also rode a Jet Ski)
Moonraker - Boat Chase in a Gondola in Venice and Speed Boat Chase in the Amazon
For Your Eyes Only - Got dragged from a Boat
Octopussy - A boat shaped like an alligator (pictured above)
A View to a Kill - Drove a boat shaped like an ice burg
_____________________________________________________

TIMOTHY DALTON - "The Plane Hangingest"

Considering T-Dalt was only in two 007 films, he did plenty of hanging from air planes.

The Living Daylights - Hanging off the back of a giant cargo net (pictured above)
License to Kill - Hanging on the tail of Sanchez's Plane, Hanging off of Krest's Plane, Hanging off his own plane.
_____________________________________________________

PIERCE BROSNAN - "The Free Fallingest"

Brosnan started off his career as 007 by doing a bungee jump.

Goldeneye - Bungee Jump, Chasing a plane off a cliff
Tomorrow Never Dies - Falling from a building with Michelle Yeoh, The H.A.L.O. jump.
The World is not Enough - Falling out of an office building, Falling from a hot air balloon, Jumping out of a helicopter on skis, Diving off a cliff while chasing a submarine (pictured above).
Die Another Day - Falling off a cliff and parasailing to safety, Falling out of a plane in a helicopter
_____________________________________________________

DANIEL CRAIG - "The Object Tossingest"

Of the two movies he has done, he sure likes to get rid of things once they are of no use to him.

Casino Royale - Tosses Car keys of some douchebags he teaches a lesson to, He tosses poker chips as if they don't deserve his time.
Quantum of Solace - Tosses room keys, a cell phone, Vesper's love knot, an oil can (pictured above) and a door knob.

Avatar - Review

After a five month of not going to the movies, i finally broke down and went to see Avatar. Last saturday me and Stevi decided to go to Edwards at the Irvine Spectrum to check it out in 3D. I was hoping that there was an IMAX showing, but unfortunately there wasn't. Even though it was not IMAX the showing for both of us was $31. I now see why this movie is number one at the box office. Luckily we had Edward's giftcards, so we didn't feel the sting of paying that much for a movie.

There is not really much to say about the movie. The story was pretty basic. A man goes undercover to learn about a civilization only to befriend them and fight on their side against the corporation that sent him. It's kind of like Logan's Run, Minority Report and Equilibrium in that respect.

The 3d was pretty cool, but didn't seem to work that well when i was expecting it. I was really hoping to see these grand vistas in beautiful 3d, but those shots seemed the most flat. I wanted to feel like i could fall into the valleys and fly through trees, but all establishing shots were just plain flat. One of the problems with 3d, is that it makes the image look small, if that makes sense. With 3d glasses on, it made everything look weirdly small. I think that IMAX would have been way better. Watching it in a normal theater made it look like a small diorama in front of me.

The special fx were pretty good, but my main problem was the character animation. There were too many times where the NA'VI looked rubbery. I know they are aliens, but they did not move very realistically. The textures on the close ups of the creatures looked great! The faces looked really well, with the exception of the Sigourney Weaver avatar. Hers looked the most fake. I wouldn't be surprised if they added her character's avatar in at the last minute. It just didn't look real at all. Of course it didn't help that Sigourney Weaver's acting was absolutely atrocious.

Speaking of acting, i thought that it was pretty standard. There were no real standout performances, with the exception of Zoe Saldana. I thought she did a bang up job. She was the only real character that had any kind of interesting character arc. I don't think i have seen Sam Worthington in anything before, but i thought he did a good job, considering that his character was uninspiring. All of the characters were one dimensional. The bad guys were assholes, the good guys were nice. The corporate guy is greedy and doesn't learn his lesson. The movie is so cookie cutter and safe that it won't upset anyone, which is why i guess the whole thing works. If this challenged the audience whatsoever, it would not make the money it did. It is pure fluff.

Even though the movie does not challenge the mind in anyway, it is beautiful to look at. Because it is so safe, there isn't that much, story wise, to argue with. When you go to see Avatar, you will be treated to exactly what you though you would. It is definitely better than Titanic, but is not as good as any other James Cameron films.

I am glad i got to see it in the theater. Both me and Stevi had a good time and as far as escapism goes, Avatar definitely takes you to the world of Pandora and allows you to leave the real world for three hours.

★ ★ ★ ½

492 Days Left

Another bit of casting news has surfaced for the Green Lantern film. Tim Robbins has now joined the cast as Hector Hammond's father.

So, here is the cast breakdown thus far:

Ryan Reynolds - Hal "Highball" Jordan/Green Lantern
Blake Lively - Carol Ferris
Mark Strong - Sinestro
Peter Sarsgaard - Dr. Hector Hammond
Tim Robbins - Senator Hammond

The Aeolus Adventure!

WHY HASN'T IT BEEN MADE?

Guardian & Sinestro Concept Art?

Here are some more supposed concept designs for the Green Lantern film. Sinestro looks like Diedrich Bader in Office Space or A Vampire in Brooklyn. The Guardians look like tall retards, which would be the opposite of how they are portrayed in the book. I am beginning to suspect that all these concept design pieces are not actually from the movie. I liked the Tomar-Re, Kilowog and Abin Sure designs, but these look really dumb.

Abin Sur, Tomar-Re & Kilowog Concept Art?

"Well, Kilowog will be..." "Tomar-Re is in it. Sinestro is in it. Abin Sur is in it. All the origin people."
- Martin Campbell (dir. Green Lantern)

ComicBookMovie.Com has posted the images above and claim that these are actual concept designs for Abin Sur, Tomar-Re and Kilowog from the upcoming Green Lantern motion picture.

I have no idea if these are real leaked designs from the production or not. If they aren't, I am sure the actual designs will look very similar. Another thing, even if these are actually designs from the production it doesn't mean that these are the final designs. In any case, they are still fun to look at. Kudos to whoever "brought these characters to life".

Consider me stoked!!

Broken Lizard

Last night, the gang behind Beerfest, Club Dread, Puddle Cruiser, Slammin' Salmon and Super Troopers were performing at the Improv in Brea. Jay Chandrasekhar, Paul Soter, Steve Lemme, Erik Stolhanske and Kevin Heffernan make up the comedy troupe Broken Lizard. My friend Jocelyn purchased me and Stevi tickets for our upcoming birthday and we had a blast!

The show was pretty great. It started off with some audience participation in which the guys, dressed as their Vermont State Trooper counterparts. There was some standup comedy from Lemme, Soter and Jay. I think of all of the standup acts, Jay's was my favorite. He went into a long rant about how he was currently changing into a woman. It was so hilarious that i could not do it justice by trying to retell it. I guess you are just going to have to go to the show.

In between the standup performances, there was some great storytelling moments. The one that stands out is the time that Lemme and Heffernan met their idol Patrick Swayze. It was a fantastic story full of ups and downs.

The most interesting story of the whole night came at the end of the show. At the end of the night all five members came up on stage and started to tell stories about how they all came to meet each other. Heffernan told a story about how Lemme stole his jacket at one party, only to discover the same jacket in the coat room at a party months later with Lemme's student ID in the pocket.

Jay then told the story about how he met Erik Stolhanske. They were both in college, working in the set dressing class for theater. They were both hammering sets. They got to talking when they started to discuss a rivalry that they had between both of their home towns. Stolhanske started talking shit on Jay's home town of Chicago and then it started to get physical. To prove that he was tougher than Jay, Erik took the hammer he was using and whacked himself in the ankle. Trying to hold back the pain, Stolhanske told Jay that his home town was full of pussies. Jay decided that he was not a pussy, so he whacked his own ankle with a hammer. Both of them wincing in pain, Stolhanske decided that he still wants to one-up Jay, so he runs full speed toward a brick wall and kicks the shit out of it. He screams in pain. Jay follows suit. Then, in a brilliant move, Erik grabs a pneumatic staple gun and holds it up against his calf. Jay says that he cannot believe how fucking nuts this dude is, but knows if he pulls the trigger he won't be able to pussy out now. Erik pulls the trigger sending a staple into his calf. Erik yells and Jay grabs the gun. Jay mentions that he is going to shoot the staple into his thigh, because he hopes that the extra meat on the bones would soften the blow. At this point in the show, Jay pulls out a hammer and says "That is when Erik stopped me from shooting the staple into my leg and shows me this". Jay starts whacking Erik's leg with the hammer repeatedly on stage. Paul Soter gets up, grabs a mic stand and also starts wailing on Erik's leg. Then it is revealed to the audience that Erik Stolhanske has a prosthetic leg and has been pulling this prank for years!!

The show ended with Team USA doing rowboats against "The Germans" (three audience members), with the Broken Lizard guys blowing away the competition. It was a terrific night and wish it could have lasted three hours longer. I would love to hang out with these guys for one night, they are absolutely hilarious!!

Highlights of 2009

GEOFF JOHN'S BLACKEST NIGHT

What Geoff John's did with this Green Lantern story is nothing short of spectacular. Better than anything hollywood had to offer!

I LOVE YOU, MAN

This has to be my favorite comedy of the year! Paul Rudd is brilliant!

STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS
Even though this series began in 2008, the Bluray release of season 1 was stunning and great fun. Star Wars as a Serial!!

COMMUNITY

Each episode is better than the previous. The Office and 30 Rock are getting a bit on the stale side and Community is a great shot to the arm that my Thursday Night Comedies need!!

UNCHARTED 2: AMONG THIEVES There is a reason why this won VGA's game of the year. It is absolutely amazing. I would lend it out to friends with PS3s, if the online multi-player wasn't so damn fun!!

LOST: THE FIFTH SEASON
Time Travel + LOST = a surprisingly easy to follow narrative!! Best show on television!!

NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. Wii

Classic gameplay and enough bells and whistles to keep you interested. New Super Mario Bros. Wii is a great addition to the side scrolling franchise!! Now i just need the Sonic Team to get the ball rolling!!

MICHAEL GIACCHINO: UP/STAR TREK

Michael Giacchino continues to impress. He put out another great season of scoring LOST and his score to Land of the Lost was really fun (even though the movie disappointed). Star Trek and Up have to be my favorite scores of the year and Giacchino continues to climb the ranks of my favorite film composers currently working!!

DISTRICT 9

Hands Down my favorite film of the year. It has some familiar themes, but takes them and makes them their own. Never have i considered an asshole, good for nothing, racist, alien aborting, low-life, lackey a complete badass!! Wikus is a tortured soul who deserves every minute of hell that the MNU and Alien "Prawns" have to offer!! Yet you feel bad for him. Fantastic Film!!!

Holiday Favorites

DIE HARD
I love that someone decided to take the classic christmas story of a man who visits his estranged family for the holidays, only to reconnect with them in the end, then fill it with violence! Die Hard is probably the best Action Packed Holiday Classic!! The only other action/christmas movie that i can think of is Die Hard 2, which i find just as entertaining. Not a single christmas should go by without watching Die Hard!

THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE
When i say Holiday Favorites, i am not saying it because it is "P.C." to include all holidays, but rather, i use Holidays to say that there are some good New Year's Eve movies out there too and none are better than The Poseidon Adventure!! There are a ton of remakes of this classic, but all of them pale in comparison. The SS Poseidon has just capsized and it is up to Gene Hackman to escort the passengers and crew to the bottom of the ship which is now the top of the ship! A giant metal christmas tree is the perfect place to start this dangerous trek!

A CHRISTMAS STORY
I don't remember a holiday season when i didn't watch A Christmas Story. I don't know when this huge Christmas Story resurgence happened but i kind of like it. I don't mind that there are now a billion products out there with leg lamps on them, because no matter how commercial it has become, when i sit down and watch the movie, it still feels like a quiet intimate movie that reminds me of Christmas Past.

ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE
It is no coincidence that George Lazenby graces every 007 calendar on December. No, it's not because they just threw him in at the end. It's because On Her Majesty's Secret Service takes place during the Christmas season. I have to watch this movie every christmas and i am pretty sure i am a better person because of it. Nothing says Merry Christmas, like bullet in your new bride's head!

CQ
CW is one of my favorite films. In fact, it is in my Top 10. This film does not have many holiday themes in it, but it does take place from December 20th through the New Year between 1969 and 1970, which is enough for me to watch it this time of year.

KISS KISS BANG BANG
This movie is a full on Christmas Film. If you haven't seen this movie and are tired of the same old Holiday fare, i recommend this action, adventure buddy detective comedy! Val Kilmer and Robert Downey Jr are incredibly funny and Michelle Monaghan is great! This is my favorite new holiday classic and have watched it every Christmas since it hit home video.

Some of My Favorite Films

IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER:
32. Alien
33. Top Secret!
34. Six String Samurai
35. Brazil
36. Big Trouble in Little China
37. Summer School
38. Unbreakable
39. Dead Alive
40. Planet of the Apes
41. District 9

623 Days Left

I am sitting at work and i am bored. There is not much left for me to do here today, so i figured that i would post a blog. I really don't have much on my mind and i just read a chapter of my Green Lantern Archives and it made me think of the GL movie that is eventually going to come out.

I checked a countdown clock to see how much longer i had to wait and it looks like there is a lot of time left. I am glad that Where the Wild Things Are comes out soon and that LOST: Season 6 as well as TRON: Legacy are on the horizon! I guess we will get another Iron Man movie before then as well. Hopefully my brain can be preocupied enough so that i don't go insane by June 11, 2011.

I guess i can just keep reading all the GL related comics up until then.

Crank: High Voltage - Blu-ray Review

I know that i did not give a favorable review for Crank: High Voltage, but i decided that i really wanted the blu-ray when it came out. I really love the characters and no matter how much the last 5 minutes was off-putting, i still liked the majority of the stuff before it. Come hell or high water i was going to force myself to be okay with Crank 2. At least this time i knew what i was in for and i have to admit that i like the movie a lot more than my original review.

The fact that the ending is so far out there sort of made me laugh this time as opposed to cocking my head like a confused dog. I started watching the extra features as soon as i put in the disc and sure enough the writers/directors Nevaldine and Taylor mentioned that ending. They said that putting it in there was a "dare". They were sure that Lionsgate would not let them do that ending. When nobody at the studio mentioned it, they just assumed that they greenlit the script without reading it. That makes perfect sense to me. It is so fucking out there.

The movie still bugs me that Chev does not recover his own heart, but i guess it allows us to spend more time with Doc Miles. Even though the story didn't have the heart that the first one did, i sort of justify it by considering that it was the directors' intent to begin with.

All in all i still love the characters and feel that i was way too harsh on the film the first time. I guess i was overhyping myself on this and to be honest the "Crankness" of this movie is definitely ramped up ten-fold this time around.

The HD looks absolutely incredible in 1080 and the features are great! It is fun watching Nevaldine/Taylor "not care" about the franchise, even though you can tell that they love it.

★ ★ ★ ¼

What's Up: Balloon to the Rescue - Review

When i first saw the cover for What's Up: Balloon to the Rescue i imidiately jumped to the conclusion that this film was a rip off of the Pixar film Up. Boy, was i way off! This movie is absolutely nothing like Up, with the exception of the fact that there is a boy, an old man and a flying house.

Where as Up is a beautifully, emotional adventure story filled with peril and self discovery, What's Up is a pile of shit that has nothing to do with anything other than heinous dialogue, child endangerment and racial stereotypes. As you find out in the first excruciating minute of exposition, you meet a group of Monster trappers headed by two old scientists and a dumb teenage girl and her stupid annoying brother. Apparently these idiots are called into action to send dumb looking monsters into an equally dumb looking dimension.

These Monster Trappers get some sort of magic stone that is able to fuel their house/laboratory and make it fly. Apparently one of the scientists is not too keen on flying which really comes in handy when you make a flying house. Why would you make something fly that isn't supposed to fly. Don't you think that would make your phobia of flight worse, by making a flying rickety house?!

So, for some reason these people decide to take the house for a spin. While IN THE AIR they get a knock on the KITCHEN DOOR. Somehow this french dude, made it up into the house with great ease, wandered into the house and decided to knock on the kitchen door. After a few French smell jokes, the crew decides to allow this "French Explorer" with them.

The idiots land in the middle of the Amazon, which is less detailed than my Tiger Woods' iPhone Golf game, and decide to go into a cave. Why do they go into the cave? I forget but who cares. While they are in the cave, the French dude, grabs the magic stone and tells us that he is going to use it to control the minds of every person on the planet. He starts off by causing a Hot Air balloon to crash into a tree. After this he takes some TNT and blows up the entrance to the cave, trapping the idiot monster hunters inside.

Somehow, these morons get loose from the cave and have a conversation with the french dude, who they still trust. The Frenchy drops the magic rock and it is rendered useless. So they decide to steal the Hot Air balloon to make the house fly. I am pretty sure that they leave the ballon pilot in the tree.

So, these fucking geniuses decide that they still trust old Frenchy and not only that, but the retarded girl that is with them has become smitten with him. While they are flying around in the house, that they can somehow control, the Frenchy starts to hit on the girl but her stupid annoying brother is watching tv. So what else could this trusted friend do, but Drug the little boy so he can hit on his sister. Yep, the little annoying kid gets drugged!

So apparently there are some monsters around the world that need to be trapped, so these fools go to a couple of places and trap them. But the best part is when they show up at the Great Wall of China, where they meet a Chinese man, who is probably named "Ching-Chong" for all i know. I know what you are thinking, "Damn ralph, that is really racist of you". But you have no idea how many stereotypes they fit into this one character!!! They gave this dude a camera and put a takeout container of Chow Mein on his t-shirt! They say stereotypical things to him and make him travel outside the house in the containment orb with the monsters. You think that's bad, you should see when the little annoying shit brother taunts the monsters and that Chinese Man with cookies!!

All in all this movie is a total pile of shit. I mean, it is really bad!!! I hate it with all my might. The dialogue is obviously put in after the animation was complete and the people who translated it, from wherever this movie came from, had no idea what the story was before they wrote the lines. Also, they only had one take to get the dialogue recorded. Also the dialogue sounds like the way i am typing this. Also i want to punch this movie in the face!

Up your butt, What's Up?!


ZERO FUCKING STARS!!

Gauntlet Films

I am going to start VHS hunting again!!

Let me know if you come across any "winners"!

SEE MY VIDEOS

District 9 - Review

District 9 just may be my favorite film of 2009. A few weeks ago i posted a blog about how 1982 was chocked full of awesome sci fi and other geek films and that it was a shame that this whole year has been nothing short of lackluster. With all of the remakes and sequels and licensed pictures that come out, it starts to gets really frustrating when original films get overshadowed by cookie cutter crap. My three favorite films that have come out this year all were released within a week from each other between May 29th-June 5th. Up, The Hangover and Drag me to Hell are three of my favorite films this year and are the only films that weren't adapted from a book, toy, video game or comic.

The last film i saw was Transformers 2. Even though i liked the original a lot, the second one left such a bad taste in my mouth that it made me rethink seeing a lot of movies this summer up until two days ago. District 9 was a film that i had been looking forward to for a long time. A few years back i heard that Neill Blomkamp was going to direct the Peter Jackson produced Halo film. Back then, all of us Halo fans said "Who the hell is Neill Blomkamp?". So we all started looking him up and had all come across Alive in Joburg a short film about an alien race that was forced to live in a walled off shanty town patrolled by the military. We all ate it up. We thought that the movie was badass enough for us to "allow" this guy to make Halo. Even though Neill Blomkamp's Halo short films were amazing and Peter Jackson has proven that he could produce a blockbuster film, Halo fell through and so they started working on the feature length version of Alive in Joburg aka District 9.

With any great science fiction film, there is some social commentary, but not to worry, D9 is not as heavy handed as the commercials will lead you to believe. There is some hints of race riots, concentration camps and the civil rights movement, but a lot of that is abandoned by about the fifteen minute mark. The thing that surprised me was the fact that the documentary aspect of the film was also abandoned really early on, which would be my only gripe. The movie is set up like a documentary with pieces of news footage, interviews and field camera work, which made a scene between two aliens discussing the construction of an alien technology a bit jarring. For a few minutes i was taken out of the film. I kept thinking, who is the camera man that is shooting this conversation?

Once i got used to the fact that D9 was no longer a documentary, but a scripted story shot in a documentary style, i got into this film big time. The story is pretty interesting and something that none of the advertisements tell you about. This film is about a man named Wikus Van De Merwe who is the head of a government program that oversees the alien inhabitants of District 9. During an operation in which he is relocating the alien "Prawns" he gets sprayed with a chemical that slowly begins to alter his DNA and turns him into a half man half alien being. The government wants Wikus due to the fact that he is the only "human" that can operate the Prawn's biochemical weapons. Long story short, Wikus escapes and seeks refuge in District 9 where he becomes partners with an unlikely Alien creature. They both need each other to get what they require and the film turns into an all out buddy action film. I know what you may be thinking, here is just another movie that takes the low road by filling the last half with action, but this actually works. The action is driven by the drama and never feels forced.

With the brutal nature of the beginning of the film, you know that there is real danger around every corner. You root for the two heroes knowing that either of them can die at any moment. The fact that both Wikus and "Christopher" the Prawn have such different missions, you have no idea if the film will allow for two happy endings, which heightens the drama. Will one of them die? The chances are highly likely and that fact alone kept me on the edge of my seat.

District 9 is such a breath of fresh air! It is an original idea with many familiar element from science fiction films of the past. D9 takes from such classics as The Fly, Evil Dead 2, Logan's, Run and Alien Nation. It also takes from some of the greatest buddy action films of the past thirty years and was unapologetically self aware of that fact. The film is full of imagery that will be considered classic moments in sci-fi cinema. The final shot of District 9 is one of those iconic shots that are reminiscent of films like The Planet of the Apes and Evil Dead 2.

As soon as District 9 was over, i decided that i was going to buy the Blu-Ray as soon as it hit the shelves. I cannot wait to see this film again and i highly recommend that you check it out if given the chance. District 9 is probably the greatest science fiction film of this century!

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

A Badass Year for Movies - 1982

This past week i decided to scratch an itch that i had been letting fester for a while. I wanted to watch The Dark Crystal. So on Monday, i wasn't feeling well and felt that it was the perfect time to pop it in. I laid on the couch and paid close attention to it and realized that it was a pretty amazing piece of work. I had seen it a million times on cable when i was a kid, but i am fairly certain that i had no clue what was going on. The same goes for the movie that i decided to pop in on Tuesday night. Tron.

Tron was one of those movies that i had never fully understood until i watched it this week. I can chalk this ignorance of Tron's "complex" plot to innocent youth and the slow pace of the film.

Last night i decided to pop in another slow paced science fiction film that baffled me when i was a youngster. Blade Runner. Blade Runner is a film that i become a bigger fan of with each viewing. As i sat and watched this film, knowing the full story front to back, i decided to analyze it's story telling as well as it's technical merits. Blade Runner is an outstanding piece of art and is the favorite of the three films i have mentioned.

Right now in theaters is G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and i couldn't be any less excited. In fact, there isn't a single movie that has been released this year with the exception of a few that could give a crap about. There is something like three or four films that i think of as entertaining, but not even close to being that good.

2009 will never be looked back on in such a high regard as the year that Blade Runner, Tron and The Dark Crystal were released. 1982. Check out this list of movies!

48 Hours
Airplane II: The Sequel
Annie
The Beastmaster
Blade Runner
Conan the Barbarian
Creepshow
The Dark Crystal
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
First Blood
Megaforce
Poltergeist
Porky's
Rocky III
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Swamp Thing
The Thing
Tron

These are all movies that i would stop and watch if they were on tv right now. That is 17 movies that were released in 1982. That is more than one awesome movie a month. I know that some of them aren't the greatest, and nostalgia may be interfering with my opinions, but they will blow just about anything that came out this year out of the water. If you look at the full list, i am sure there are movies that i left off, that you would love to watch right now.

So, here's to 1982, a badass year for movies!!

What's Up?

For the last few months i have been posting an image of the shittiest looking dvd cover that is released that week. Today i decided to take a look at what comes out next week and came across "What's Up". Although the cover is not poorly executed, i had to post it based on principle. There are always these types of knock-off dvds, but this has to be the most shameless. I think i will have to Netflix this movie, just to see how horrible it is, especially after seeing this review on Amazon.

"If you buy this product, you just got ripped off. This is a cheap Brizillian rip-off of the Pixar film "Up". Unlike the inspiring tale "Up", this movie is a pure poop. It is as original as plagerism and as enjoyable as cancer.
Really $13 for this piece of %^&*. I can think of a million things you can buy instead of this.
If you like this, you might also enjoy ratatolong (about secret agent rat chiefs stealing receipies), little cars, little bee movie, little panda fighter (about a panda who wants to be a ballerina and a boxer).

Not I only gave it one star because I can't give it 0 star" - Bo Zhang

Green Lantern: First Flight - Blu-ray Review

It's no surprise that i was looking forward to the first animated feature film Green Lantern: First Flight. The fact that there is the subtitle "First Flight" makes me hope for a sequel to this film.

With all of these DC Universe animated films, for some reason, there is a very limited run time. Clocking in at a mere 75 minutes, GL First Flight covers a lot of ground. Finishing up the origins story within the first four minutes, First Flight foregoes any kind of training and jumps right into the story, with some exposition sprinkled throughout. Even though there is no training on Hal's ring-slinging, at least the creators let us fans know that Kilowog is the trainer and is unhappy with the lack of official training that Hal did not receive, before Hal is thrust into his first case.

Hal is taken under Sinestro's wing and is sent on the trail to track down Abin Sur's killer. The more time that Hal spends with Sinestro, the more Hal becomes suspicious of Sinestro's motives and rightfully so. Sinestro is in league with Kanjar Ro in order to find the Yellow Element, which is the one power in the universe that can overcome the Green Element and take down the Guardians and restore balance to the universe.

The movie covers a lot of ground in the short time allowed, but it is handled pretty well. After watching Justice League: New Frontier, i think that it is okay that they did not spend more time on Hal's origins, but i think it would have been cool to see some training with Kilowog.

All in all i really enjoyed the movie and it looks fantastic on Blu-ray. I think all of the voice acting was great, but John Larroquette seemed like an odd choice for Tomar Re. It just seemed a bit off. I just never pictured Tomar with such a low voice. I wish that they did more with Sallak, who is one of my favorite lanterns.

There are a lot of cool extras on the Blu-ray including 5 Justice League episodes that center around GL as well as the Duck Dodgers episode where Daffy Duck becomes a GL when Daffy's and Hal Jordan's clothes get mixed up at the dry cleaners. There are a lot of special features that are all about the Comic series starring Geoff Johns. My main problem with the special features, which there are plenty of, is the fact that they do not have a history of Green Lantern documentary like they did with The Justice League, Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman dvds. I was really looking forward to one of those. I also think that it is strange that nowhere in the special features is any sort of behind the scenes of the making of Green Lantern First Flight. All of the features pertain to the comics. Don't get me wrong, i LOVE the comics, but it felt like a big commercial for people to rush out to your local comic book store and buy DC Books.

I love Green Lantern and i have a feeling that the team of First Flight left a lot out, so that they dont step on the toes of Martin Campbell and the gang who are making the GL feature film. It is a great time for Green Lantern fans and i cannot wait to see what DC and WB has in store for the Emerald Crusader!

★ ★ ★ ★ ½