Dollhouse and Fanboys Trailers!
November 7, 2008 | 2 Comments
Two trailers showed up online this week for things that I’m looking forward to and because I’m looking forward to them, I’m going to assume you are too and share them here.
The first is Dollhouse, Joss Whedon’s newest TV show that, well, I don’t really know anything about it that’s not in this trailer. But, it’s got Joss behind it so it’s got to be good, right?
The next is the trailer for Fanboys. There has been a lot of talk about this movie, and it hasn’t all been good. But it’s finally moving forward and, well, if you’re a Star Wars nerd, then you’ll be extremely interested in this. Also, Kristen Bell’s in it so what’s not to like? You’ll have to visit Yahoo! Movies for the trailer cause they won’t let me embed it here. Lamers. Thanks to Cinematical for the what’s up.
Star Wars turns 30
May 27, 2007 | 0 Comments
Star Wars turned 30 years old this weekend and a lot of people are celebrating. There are TV specials, stamps, and even mailboxes. Though someone with a lot of time decided to honor Star Wars in another way, with LEGOs. This may be the coolest thing you’ll see today.
Lots more pictures at the original site, TechEBlog.
What Happened to Hollywood?
July 26, 2005 | 0 Comments
Over the last few years movie attendance is down, way down, and Hollywood is starting to worry. They point to piracy and people more willing to wait for a DVD release then to see the film in the theater. I propose other reasons for tinsel towns slipping attendance and lost revenue–maybe someone will actually listen.
The first reason is simply that there aren’t any movies that people are willing to spend money on. The general crop of movies lately sucks. There aren’t any blockbusters action picks like an Independence Day or dramas like a Forrest Gump. Occasionally a film of that caliber comes along but they are few and far between and more often then not only seen in art houses–if at all. Of course there are a few exceptions. Star Wars earned over 370 million dollars this summer–but that is because it carried the name Star Wars. Cinderella Man, hyped as the year’s first great Oscar contender, flopped earning just under 60 million dollars. It is as if the taste of Hollywood and the general moviegoer have become out of sync over the last few years.
Theaters themselves are also to blame for poor attendance. I don’t know about you, but when I go to the movies and spend my six dollars to rent my chosen seat for two hours of time, I do not want to be inundated with advertisements for twenty minutes prior to the start of the film. Trailers are one thing; I welcome them as they are sometimes more interesting then the movie. But a Coke commercial followed by a recruiting ad for the Army? Come on, if I wanted to see those I would have just stayed home. The worst offender of this is Regal Cinemas. They actually have a “pre show” before the trailers they call the “Twenty.” It’s twenty minutes of crap–TV show commercials and “behind the scenes” looks at musical acts, all filled with advertising of course. For this reason I avoid Regal Cinemas if at all possible. If I had it my way, there would be no pre-show advertising. This, however, may lead to another nail in Hollywood’s proverbial coffin.
If you have seen a big budget action movie over the last few years, you may have noticed the ridiculous amount of product placement therein. Minority Report, iRobot, and this year’s The Island are big offenders. Each film features low angled, panning shots of a particular car–a car that in each case happened to be recently released to the market. For instance, in The Island–a so-so social commentary on bioethics staring Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson–there are shots of the Dodge Charger, Dodge Magnum, and the Cadillac Cien concept. The Island also contains focused shots on bottles of Aquafina water, Miller beer and Reebok sneakers. I don’t think Hollywood will ever stoop as low as The Truman Show parodied, where the actor takes a moment to talk about the benefits of a certain product–though you never know. If they continue to loose money from ticket sales, they will continue to look for sources of revenue from other arenas, one of which will be product placement.
No matter what their choice of remedy, Hollywood needs to do something to curtail it’s slipping returns at the box office. I for one enjoy seeing a film on the big screen with speakers at every possible angle. Though if the films continue to be of poorer quality and they continue to be filled with ads both prior too and during, I just might start waiting for DVD as well.
AFI Top 100
June 5, 2003 | 4 Comments
A few years ago the American Film Institute (AFI) started releasing lists to celebrate 100 years of film making. Their first list, released in 1998 awarded Citizen Kane with the honor of being the number one film of all time–with Casablanca and The Godfather rounding out the top three. In 1999 the AFI declared Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn the top actor and actress respectively of all time. AFI’s list in 2000 declared 1959’s Some Like it Hot as the funniest movie of all time. 2001 brought the crowing of the original Psycho as the most “heart-pounding” movie in cinematic history. Last year’s top 100 list announced Casablanca as the “America’s Greatest Love Story.” This year’s AFI top 100 list was released the other day (during a three hour special on CBS…can you tell they need ratings?). So please sit back and relax as I share with you some of the highlights–and of course lowlights–of the American Film Institute’s Top 100 Heroes and Villains of All Time.
Apparently the AFI took in 400 nominees and then whittled this massive list down to the top 50 heroes and the top 50 villains. It’s interesting to note, though, that the 400 nominees were not nominated to a category of hero or villain which is why some of these people could swing both ways… and some did. Take for example the T-800 better known as the Terminator. Arnold’s portrayal in Terminator 2: Judgment Day earned him a 48th place ranking on the hero list. Though, surprisingly the same role in The Terminator won 22nd villain. I’m not to sure about that, but hey, if Freddy Krueger can pick up a 40th ranking on the villain list, then I guess anything is possible.
Another guy that could have possible swung both ways was the infamous Mr. Blonde (also known as Vic Vega) from Mr. Tarantino’s first film, Reservoir Dogs. Sadly the scene where Mr. Blonde is stuck in the middle with that poor rookie cop didn’t earn him a spot on either list, but at least he was nominated. Tarantino’s other Vega, Vincent, was nominated along with his partner Jules Winnfiled for Pulp Fiction but they both also fell short of the list.
Other classic characters that fell short of the AFI’s list were William Wallace from Braveheart, John Shaft from the Shaft movies, Jack Ryan from anything written by Tom Clancy (though I am a bigger fan of Harrison Ford as Jack rather than Ben Affleck or Alec Baldwin), Rudy Ruettiger from Rudy, Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh from the Lethal Weapon series, John Rambo from the Rambo series, Annie Porter and Jack Traven from Speed (hey, some people–including me–do actually enjoy this movie), Snake Plissken from Escape from New York and Escape from LA, the evil Bible thumping Warden Samuel Norton from The Shawshank Redemption, The Matrix’s Neo/Mr. Anderson, Tony “Scarface” Montana, Lt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell from Top Gun, Captain John H. Miller from Saving Private Ryan (surprisingly), Detective John McClane from the Die Hard series, Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story one and two, Captain James T. Kirk from any Star Trek movie, Jaws from a hand full of Bond movies, Men in Black’s Agents J and K, Ethan Hunt from Mission:Impossible one and two, the extremely chilling and evil John Doe from se7en, and, to round out this list of characters who didn’t quite make it, Forrest Gump from Forrest Gump. Some of these I can understand, but I think Forrest Gump and his endless supply of chocolates and stories is one of film’s greatest heroes. Oh well.
Anyway, now that I’ve rambled on about characters that didn’t make the AFI list I guess I should turn to people whom did make the list. The suspense is killing you isn’t it? Mwhahahahaha. Ok, here goes.
General Maximus Decimus Meridus from the blockbuster hit Gladiator started the hero list while Alonzo Harris from Training Day started the villain list. The genius Verbal Kint from The Usual Suspects received a 48 ranking on the villain list. The Star Wars saga made a pretty strong showing with Obi-Wan Kenobi as the 37th hero of all time, Han Solo as the 14th hero, and Darth Vader as film’s 3rd most evil character ever. Though Detective John McClane didn’t make the hero list, his enemy from the original Die Hard movie Hans Gruber appeared as histories 46th villain. Funny because I would have thought his brother was more evil in Die Hard with a Vengeance. Batman (46th) and his counterpart the Joker (45th) both made the AFI’s list while the sexy yet scary Catwoman fell short. The Bond franchise grazed the villain list with Auric Goldfinger’s 49th placing though was salvaged by the one and only Bond, James Bond receiving the bronze medal position on the hero list.
Now, some of the characters that made the list just made me wonder what the hell the AFI was smoking. Take for instance the number 20 villain of all time… Man. Yes man. According the the American Film Institute the portrayal of Man in Disney’s Bambi was more villainous than Jack Torrance from The Shining, Count Dracula, and a ton of other characters. MAN! Oh boy. Some other “characters” in the top 20 villain list are The Shark from Jaws (18), The Alien from Alien (14), HAL9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey (13), The Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (10), The Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz (4), and Norman Bates’ Psychotic experience won him the silver medal.
Jimmy Stewart is evidently a very heroic man considering his character’s George Bailey from It’s a Wonderful Life (9) and Jefferson Smith from Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (11) made it in the top 15. Apparently the AFI felt that Ellen Ripley from the Alien series was good enough for an 8th place showing on the hero list. Edging her out was the one and only Rocky Balboa from the Rocky saga (7), Clarice Starling from The Silence of the Lambs (6), and yes, Dr. Indiana Jones won the right to be the second best hero in cinematic history. I would have given Junior the top billing but the AFI didn’t ask for my opinion.
Ok, so here we are. The moment you have either been waiting for or have been running from, take your pick. I don’t really feel like giving any more introduction than this, so lets just jump right into it. We’ll start with the AFI’s most heroic character of all time. Why? Because I think they made a mistake. According to the AFI the winning honors was given to Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird. I mean, he stood up for what was good in a court case, so what? He’s not a hero. He was just a guy doing his job. Whatever. At least the AFI redeemed itself with the crowning of the number one villain of all time. In my opinion they hit the nail on the head. Dr. Hannibal Lecter is the most frightening and methodical character of all time. I mean, he reads poetry and looks at paintings and goes to the opera and then eats people. And even though he is in a cage for the majority of the movies he is in, he still freaks the living daylights out of me. So, for all these reasons and probably more, Hannibal Lecter earned himself a place in cinematic history.
Well folks, there you have it. A brief (yeah right) rendition of the AFI’s top 100 heroes and villains of all time. Well, look at it this way. At least you didn’t have to put up with the three hour special on CBS hosted by Arnold Schwarzenegger. In case you wanted to see the complete list of winners and nominees for all of the AFI’s lists, you can check it out at their website.