December 2008 Archives
"Tell GORT "Klaatu Barada Nikto"". These are some of the most famous words in science fiction. And I had never heard them before last week. "The Day The Earth Stood Still" on DVD was simply one of the best DVDs I had seen all year and probably one of the best science fiction films I had seen ever.
For those of you not familiar with the plot it's about a spaceship that lands in Washington DC, which captures the attention of the world. But soon an alien emissary appears from the ship. But it refuses to talk to any one person. Leaving the military, the politicians, and millions of ordinary people to wait in fear. Soon their fear turns to violence, leaving one young woman and her son to befriend the alien...and stand between him and our total destruction.
For a film that was shot in 1951 there are a ton of parallels to today. From our increasing tension with Russia to the lock down and mistrust of foreign people in the US today. This movie screams Cold War tension but when you look deeper you can see it's the classic disruptive nature of people in general. No matter what the time period or the level of technology the human species has always been violent. The film really brings this home through the great acting, amazing special fx (for the day) and an amazing radass musical score. Not many films can rest on their amazing soundtrack but this one could if it needed to. In fact it even comes with the isolated score track. Meaning you can have the film run and hear nothing but the great music.
Speaking of DVD features this one comes packed. For a movie from 1951 they have a ton of info from old photos to Fox Movietonews and more. The DVD comes with commentary from the director, film and music commentary, The History of the Thermin, A Live performance of the thermin main titles, A reading of the original short story, Science Fiction as Metaphor, A Brief History of Flying Saucers, Still Galleries and more. Truly a shining example of what a DVD can and should be. Simply amazing.
All in all I give this DVD a A+. This one is a must buy for fans of any genre.
P.S. And yes you can skip the remake. This is the real deal.
For those of you not familiar with the plot it's about a spaceship that lands in Washington DC, which captures the attention of the world. But soon an alien emissary appears from the ship. But it refuses to talk to any one person. Leaving the military, the politicians, and millions of ordinary people to wait in fear. Soon their fear turns to violence, leaving one young woman and her son to befriend the alien...and stand between him and our total destruction.
For a film that was shot in 1951 there are a ton of parallels to today. From our increasing tension with Russia to the lock down and mistrust of foreign people in the US today. This movie screams Cold War tension but when you look deeper you can see it's the classic disruptive nature of people in general. No matter what the time period or the level of technology the human species has always been violent. The film really brings this home through the great acting, amazing special fx (for the day) and an amazing radass musical score. Not many films can rest on their amazing soundtrack but this one could if it needed to. In fact it even comes with the isolated score track. Meaning you can have the film run and hear nothing but the great music.
Speaking of DVD features this one comes packed. For a movie from 1951 they have a ton of info from old photos to Fox Movietonews and more. The DVD comes with commentary from the director, film and music commentary, The History of the Thermin, A Live performance of the thermin main titles, A reading of the original short story, Science Fiction as Metaphor, A Brief History of Flying Saucers, Still Galleries and more. Truly a shining example of what a DVD can and should be. Simply amazing.
All in all I give this DVD a A+. This one is a must buy for fans of any genre.
P.S. And yes you can skip the remake. This is the real deal.
I really liked how they got into the head of the director in this one. Also I think you will find the shotgun scene a very interesting glimpse into the GOOD use of Green screen (vs the way they used it the rest of the film). A good review of how practical vs. digital fx work as well.
I sat down to watch "Pulse 3" and thought "Great this is the intense and schocking ending to a trilogy I never cared about or knew about...this is gonna be a long night". However I was lying a bit. I had seen Pulse (and if you haven't they make you watch a trailer of it at the start of the DVD) and thought it was okay. Also I was lying to myself in thinking this DVD would totally suck.
"Pulse 3" takes place nearly a decade after the events of Pulse 2 (anyone see that? Leave us a comment). The dead have returned to earth through our electronics. Justine (Brittany Finamore) is 17 years old and raised in a no technology refugee camp. She dreams of wanting to see what the city is like so she sets off towards to Houston to meet someone she met online. After she makes it there alive the real trouble starts.
Overall I thought "Pulse 3" was okay. For some reason I liked the plot (reminded me of Dateline) and the acting was really good for a straight to DVD title. However the one thing that really threw me off was all the use of greenscreens. I mean it was 100% obvious in this DVD when they were using greenscreens. Which seemed to be all the time. It was weird stuff they didn't even have to greenscreen in my opinon. I mean take this example: Justine finds an old house to spend the night. We can tell it's an old house and they even show the first two rooms. However randomly a man come up to say hello to her and BAM it's greenscreen time. Or a dog approaches her on the city street and BAM it's greenscreen time? Pretty strange stuff and really took me out of the film.
The features on this DVD are kinda light. All we get is a feature commentary by the director and
a 8 minute behind the scenes featurtte on the making of it. I will post that on the Blog soon.
Overall I give this DVD a C+. Rent it if you are a fan of the Pulse series.
"Pulse 3" takes place nearly a decade after the events of Pulse 2 (anyone see that? Leave us a comment). The dead have returned to earth through our electronics. Justine (Brittany Finamore) is 17 years old and raised in a no technology refugee camp. She dreams of wanting to see what the city is like so she sets off towards to Houston to meet someone she met online. After she makes it there alive the real trouble starts.
Overall I thought "Pulse 3" was okay. For some reason I liked the plot (reminded me of Dateline) and the acting was really good for a straight to DVD title. However the one thing that really threw me off was all the use of greenscreens. I mean it was 100% obvious in this DVD when they were using greenscreens. Which seemed to be all the time. It was weird stuff they didn't even have to greenscreen in my opinon. I mean take this example: Justine finds an old house to spend the night. We can tell it's an old house and they even show the first two rooms. However randomly a man come up to say hello to her and BAM it's greenscreen time. Or a dog approaches her on the city street and BAM it's greenscreen time? Pretty strange stuff and really took me out of the film.
The features on this DVD are kinda light. All we get is a feature commentary by the director and
a 8 minute behind the scenes featurtte on the making of it. I will post that on the Blog soon.
Overall I give this DVD a C+. Rent it if you are a fan of the Pulse series.
"Eagle Eye" has some great behind the scenes footage. Real Film School in a Box types of stuff. Check out the first 10 minutes of the behind the scenes featurette. Also if you enjoy our DVD reviews be sure to subscribe to our RSS feed.
Let me say this up front "Eagle Eye" had an amazing trailer. Cranes crashing into buildings, shia lebouf looking
a little older and gritty. (None of this "Transformers" crap here), and being a conspiracy nut I was hooked
on that angle. When I saw it in the theatre I knew I would have to watch it. However life interfered and I had to
wait for the DVD release. And it was well worth the wait.
"EAGLE EYE" is the story of two strangers (Shia Labeouf and Michelle Monaghan) trapped in a race against time.
They are ripped from thie oridinary lives when they are "activated" as part of a high-tech assination plot. Each
is forced to cooperate with the other as they race to complete their secret mission. Driven by fear and threats
against their families they must complete a series of missions before they are released.
Sounds good huh? That's right every once in awhile I put down my Hipster movie snob wall and really
get to enjoy a good action thriller (from Steven Spielberg none the less). And this was one of those
films. It was full of great practical special FX and some really cool technology as these two actors
battle through their plot points.
The behind the scenes of this film were amazing. You can check them out in a clip I will post to the blog
later this week as well. The DVD also came with a wealth of bonus features such as a Gag Reel, How to Film
in Washington DC, Alternate Ending and more. Well worth the price for such a thrilling movie to begin
with.
I give this DVD a B. The only thing that prevented it from being a A were the first 10 minutes of
the film which was pretty boring and formulaic stuff.
Overall go out and buy this one when you can.
P.S. Michael Chiklis is in this, kicking as much ass as ever.
a little older and gritty. (None of this "Transformers" crap here), and being a conspiracy nut I was hooked
on that angle. When I saw it in the theatre I knew I would have to watch it. However life interfered and I had to
wait for the DVD release. And it was well worth the wait.
"EAGLE EYE" is the story of two strangers (Shia Labeouf and Michelle Monaghan) trapped in a race against time.
They are ripped from thie oridinary lives when they are "activated" as part of a high-tech assination plot. Each
is forced to cooperate with the other as they race to complete their secret mission. Driven by fear and threats
against their families they must complete a series of missions before they are released.
Sounds good huh? That's right every once in awhile I put down my Hipster movie snob wall and really
get to enjoy a good action thriller (from Steven Spielberg none the less). And this was one of those
films. It was full of great practical special FX and some really cool technology as these two actors
battle through their plot points.
The behind the scenes of this film were amazing. You can check them out in a clip I will post to the blog
later this week as well. The DVD also came with a wealth of bonus features such as a Gag Reel, How to Film
in Washington DC, Alternate Ending and more. Well worth the price for such a thrilling movie to begin
with.
I give this DVD a B. The only thing that prevented it from being a A were the first 10 minutes of
the film which was pretty boring and formulaic stuff.
Overall go out and buy this one when you can.
P.S. Michael Chiklis is in this, kicking as much ass as ever.
While not on my list of "favorite all time Christmas movies" this one deserves an honorable mention.
That's because it is one of my favorite movies, but it isn't on this list because, while it does take place around Christmas time, and happens during a Christmas party, it isn't necessarily a Christmas movie.
That being said, it is one of the best action movies of all time, IMHO.
The story revolves around a hostage taking in a business tower in Los Angeles. What the hostage takers don't realize is that a New York cop by the name of John McClane is attending the party. His wife is an executive at the company and he's there to try and solve some marital problems in hopes of bringing his family back together.
However while he is there, terrorists attack the building and take hostages. The terrorists don't realize, however, that there is a resourceful weathered NYPD officer in the building.
He methodically takes them out, one at a time, also learning that the real reason they are there is to steal bonds in the building's safe.
The movie has lots of twists and turns, including an on-duty LAPD who John manages to contact and communicate with.
There's also lots of funny parts and some now famous one liners.
So, like I said, not a "Christmas" movie, but one I like to watch at this time of year none-the-less.
That's because it is one of my favorite movies, but it isn't on this list because, while it does take place around Christmas time, and happens during a Christmas party, it isn't necessarily a Christmas movie.
That being said, it is one of the best action movies of all time, IMHO.
The story revolves around a hostage taking in a business tower in Los Angeles. What the hostage takers don't realize is that a New York cop by the name of John McClane is attending the party. His wife is an executive at the company and he's there to try and solve some marital problems in hopes of bringing his family back together.
However while he is there, terrorists attack the building and take hostages. The terrorists don't realize, however, that there is a resourceful weathered NYPD officer in the building.
He methodically takes them out, one at a time, also learning that the real reason they are there is to steal bonds in the building's safe.
The movie has lots of twists and turns, including an on-duty LAPD who John manages to contact and communicate with.
There's also lots of funny parts and some now famous one liners.
So, like I said, not a "Christmas" movie, but one I like to watch at this time of year none-the-less.
Undoubtedly my favorite Christmas movie of all time.
Continuing on with the National Lampoon's Family Vacation franchise, this movie follows the Griswalds as they try to pull off the "perfect" family Christmas.
Now, if you are familiar with Clark W. Griswald, then you know it just isn't going to work out. In fact, not much about this holiday does work out for him.
I don't know where to start with this movie, it's just so hilarious.
It starts with the Griswalds on the road, hunting for the perfect Christmas tree. There's road rage, logging trucks and airborne station wagons involved.
And when they get the tree home, Clark finds that it's a tad too big for their living room.
How about his Christmas lights - literally tens of thousands of them which he spends hours and hours putting them up (with a few misadvantures in between) only to find out that they don't work.
Now, we all know how frustrating that is when you've got a couple dozen lights that you have to go through because "when one goes, they all go." Imagine having to check 10,000.
Continuing on with the National Lampoon's Family Vacation franchise, this movie follows the Griswalds as they try to pull off the "perfect" family Christmas.
Now, if you are familiar with Clark W. Griswald, then you know it just isn't going to work out. In fact, not much about this holiday does work out for him.
I don't know where to start with this movie, it's just so hilarious.
It starts with the Griswalds on the road, hunting for the perfect Christmas tree. There's road rage, logging trucks and airborne station wagons involved.
And when they get the tree home, Clark finds that it's a tad too big for their living room.
How about his Christmas lights - literally tens of thousands of them which he spends hours and hours putting them up (with a few misadvantures in between) only to find out that they don't work.
Now, we all know how frustrating that is when you've got a couple dozen lights that you have to go through because "when one goes, they all go." Imagine having to check 10,000.
Continue reading Christmas Movie Review - Christmas Vacation.
This movie is definitely NOT a family movie. All you have to know is that Billy Bob Thornton is in it, and he is as bad as you'd expect him to be.
Produced in 2003, the movie revolves around a store Santa named Willie, played by Thornton who is really there to case the store in order to rob it on Christmas Eve along with his accomplice Marcus, played by Tony Cox.
Along the way, a kid played by Brett Kelly inserts himself into Willie's life and he grows attached to him.
Now remember, this isn't your typical department store Santa. This is a drinking, swearing bitter old man who comes to the store drunk 1/2 the time or with vomit on his suit from the night before.
yet the kid somehow still wants to be around him. Probably because his own father is in jail for some kind of white collar crime.
Aside from Thornton's nasty yet hilarious performance, there are some other notable performances.
Produced in 2003, the movie revolves around a store Santa named Willie, played by Thornton who is really there to case the store in order to rob it on Christmas Eve along with his accomplice Marcus, played by Tony Cox.
Along the way, a kid played by Brett Kelly inserts himself into Willie's life and he grows attached to him.
Now remember, this isn't your typical department store Santa. This is a drinking, swearing bitter old man who comes to the store drunk 1/2 the time or with vomit on his suit from the night before.
yet the kid somehow still wants to be around him. Probably because his own father is in jail for some kind of white collar crime.
Aside from Thornton's nasty yet hilarious performance, there are some other notable performances.
Continue reading Christmas Movie Review - Bad Santa.
Actually I'm going to review all 3 movies here because they don't all merit a full review. In fact, the 3rd movie is kinda lame, but the first 2 are alright.
In the Santa Clause, Scott Calvin (played by Tim Allen) inadvertently spooks Santa as he's doing his job and has to therefore assume the role of Santa in order to continue the Christmas tradition.
Along the way, he begins to gain weight at an amazing rate, and his hair assumes a more Saint Nicholas like length and color.
While this may seem like just another Christmas movie, I found it to be quite entertianing and good for the whole family. There is something for everyone from the kids (Santa obviously) to some of the more grown up humor found throughout the movie.
In part 2 - the "Misses Clause" Santa has to get married in order to remain Santa. But he only has 28 days to do it in. Almost immediately he begins to change back into Scott Calvin.
In addition to this, he finds out his son, who knows that he is Santa, has begun acting out, tagging his school with grafiti and generally acting like a spoiled teenager.
In the Santa Clause, Scott Calvin (played by Tim Allen) inadvertently spooks Santa as he's doing his job and has to therefore assume the role of Santa in order to continue the Christmas tradition.
Along the way, he begins to gain weight at an amazing rate, and his hair assumes a more Saint Nicholas like length and color.
While this may seem like just another Christmas movie, I found it to be quite entertianing and good for the whole family. There is something for everyone from the kids (Santa obviously) to some of the more grown up humor found throughout the movie.
In part 2 - the "Misses Clause" Santa has to get married in order to remain Santa. But he only has 28 days to do it in. Almost immediately he begins to change back into Scott Calvin.
In addition to this, he finds out his son, who knows that he is Santa, has begun acting out, tagging his school with grafiti and generally acting like a spoiled teenager.
Continue reading Christmas Movie Review - The Santa Clause.
You know if the whole movie would of been like this footage I would of given it a much higher score. This is at least funny.
I wanted to like this DVD, I really did. It had a lot of critical buzz on the festval circuits last year and I was sad I missed it in theaters. But when it came down to what this film was really about all I could think of was one word: Plastic.
American Teen is a documentary is about experiencing High School through the eyes of five real-life Indiana teenagers. They are the Prom Queen, the Heartthrob, the Jock, the Rebel, and the Geek. (Wow stereotype time already huh?). In this film we are promised a deep dive into what makes high school students tick. And we are promised that no matter who you were in high school you are going to connect with one of these students.
However that promise simply falls flat. The reason goes back to my mentioning of the one word summary from above: Plastic. The whole things feels way too perfect and plastic. It's like watching MTV's "The Hills" for 2 hours. The people are plastic, the camera work is plastic, the documentary is just way too perfect in it's coverage. I am sure the filmmakers will argue this, but some shots are totally and absolutely staged. To me that takes all the reality out of this MTV style film. Documentaries are supposed to be gritty......not plastic.
The behind the scenes features of this film were not really film school in a box. They were more just scenes left on the cutting room floor. I'll post the best one later today.
All in all I give this DVD a D+. I would skip this one on Netflix.
American Teen is a documentary is about experiencing High School through the eyes of five real-life Indiana teenagers. They are the Prom Queen, the Heartthrob, the Jock, the Rebel, and the Geek. (Wow stereotype time already huh?). In this film we are promised a deep dive into what makes high school students tick. And we are promised that no matter who you were in high school you are going to connect with one of these students.
However that promise simply falls flat. The reason goes back to my mentioning of the one word summary from above: Plastic. The whole things feels way too perfect and plastic. It's like watching MTV's "The Hills" for 2 hours. The people are plastic, the camera work is plastic, the documentary is just way too perfect in it's coverage. I am sure the filmmakers will argue this, but some shots are totally and absolutely staged. To me that takes all the reality out of this MTV style film. Documentaries are supposed to be gritty......not plastic.
The behind the scenes features of this film were not really film school in a box. They were more just scenes left on the cutting room floor. I'll post the best one later today.
All in all I give this DVD a D+. I would skip this one on Netflix.
I thought that since it was close to Christmas I'd review some of my all time favorite Christmas movies.
I have assembled a list of what I consider to be THE best Christmas movies and I will be reviewing them here.
So without further adieu, here is my first one - Scrooged.
Scrooged stars Bill Murray in this adaptation of the classic Christmas story "Scrooge." Filmed in 1988 it modernizes the classic story where Bill Murray plays Frank Cross, a person who's more concerned with his career and making a name for himself than with Christmas.
It starts with him being visited by his old boss (who is now dead) telling him that he will be visited by 3 spirits - the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. Of course the ghosts are also updated.
The story is pretty much the same as Scrooge, so I'm not going to go through all the details. But I want to talk about my favorite parts of this movie.
I have assembled a list of what I consider to be THE best Christmas movies and I will be reviewing them here.
So without further adieu, here is my first one - Scrooged.
Scrooged stars Bill Murray in this adaptation of the classic Christmas story "Scrooge." Filmed in 1988 it modernizes the classic story where Bill Murray plays Frank Cross, a person who's more concerned with his career and making a name for himself than with Christmas.
It starts with him being visited by his old boss (who is now dead) telling him that he will be visited by 3 spirits - the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. Of course the ghosts are also updated.
The story is pretty much the same as Scrooge, so I'm not going to go through all the details. But I want to talk about my favorite parts of this movie.
Continue reading Christmas Movie Review - Scrooged.
I have to admit to doing some research about this movie before I watched it.
I did this because I felt there was more to the story, simply because it says it is "inspired by true events."
So, I Googled it and it appears that the movie is loosely based on a few different events, and could even be based on something that did happen in real life.
So that freaked me out. I kept thinking "how could someone go through that" as I watched the movie.
The movie is about a couple that is terrorized by a group of people who mysteriously show up one night to a rural house in the middle of nowhere.
It begins with a late night knock on the door and what seems like a confused girl looking for someone at the wrong place.
I did this because I felt there was more to the story, simply because it says it is "inspired by true events."
So, I Googled it and it appears that the movie is loosely based on a few different events, and could even be based on something that did happen in real life.
So that freaked me out. I kept thinking "how could someone go through that" as I watched the movie.
The movie is about a couple that is terrorized by a group of people who mysteriously show up one night to a rural house in the middle of nowhere.
It begins with a late night knock on the door and what seems like a confused girl looking for someone at the wrong place.
Continue reading DVD Review - The Strangers.
I recently got the chance to review a radass little film called Zombie Girl. It is an independent documentary made right here in Austin, TX. The documentary covers the story of a twelve year old girl named Emily making her own Zombie Movie. And this isn't some wunderkid from Hollywood who is shooting in Austin at Austin Studios. No, this is the story of a twelve year old girl making a horror movie on zero budget and with her parents help. The same sort of kid you see next door video taping their dog on a skateboard.
Except their is one big difference. This twelver year old has a script. And actors. And actually finishes a project that she starts. (Something a ton of adult filmmakers here in Austin don't do). Also as much as this is a story about someone who loves films making her own film, it's a look at what supportive parents can mean to children. I half-expected her mom to be a "stage mom" type, but it's
pretty clear that Emily is the force behind the project
-- which leaves her mom wearing the hats of producer, chaueffeur, costume
and effects designer, and all-around support staff. Mom
definitely lets Emily make her own movie, but she's not afraid to slip
on the "executive producer" suit when production goes over-schedule and
the actors have to get home for supper.
In reviewing documentaries it's sometimes hard to seperate the story being told from the film being made. In this case I enjoyed the blurring of lines. The cinematography of the documentary was well done and it didn't seem like the documentary crowd was helping Emily too much. Just reporting the facts, which is how it should be.
When they do start to sell this on DVD they need to include the finished Zombie Film from Emily as one of the special features. It was almost impossible to watch this Documentary and then NOT get to see the final product.
Overall I give this documentary a B+. If you can find it on DVD be sure to rent it or buy it if you are a
horror fan.
Except their is one big difference. This twelver year old has a script. And actors. And actually finishes a project that she starts. (Something a ton of adult filmmakers here in Austin don't do). Also as much as this is a story about someone who loves films making her own film, it's a look at what supportive parents can mean to children. I half-expected her mom to be a "stage mom" type, but it's
pretty clear that Emily is the force behind the project
-- which leaves her mom wearing the hats of producer, chaueffeur, costume
and effects designer, and all-around support staff. Mom
definitely lets Emily make her own movie, but she's not afraid to slip
on the "executive producer" suit when production goes over-schedule and
the actors have to get home for supper. In reviewing documentaries it's sometimes hard to seperate the story being told from the film being made. In this case I enjoyed the blurring of lines. The cinematography of the documentary was well done and it didn't seem like the documentary crowd was helping Emily too much. Just reporting the facts, which is how it should be.
When they do start to sell this on DVD they need to include the finished Zombie Film from Emily as one of the special features. It was almost impossible to watch this Documentary and then NOT get to see the final product.
Overall I give this documentary a B+. If you can find it on DVD be sure to rent it or buy it if you are a
horror fan.
"Skadoosh". What can I say I really enjoyed "Kung-Fu Panda" from Dreamworks Animation. Jack Black stars as Po in this film, a noodle slurping Panda who must embrace his true self - fuzzy flaws and all in order to become the "Dragon Warrior". Along the way he gets help from his Master (played by Dustin Hoffman) and the Furious Five which include a praying mantis, a tiger, a snake and a monkey played by Jackie Chan.
The part that impressed me the most about this film was the fight scenes. It was like Plush Toys doing amazing Kung Fu. And it seemed like all the fight scenes had call backs to all sorts of Kung-Fu movies in the real world. Everything from some of Jackie Chan's early works to the best of Bruce Lee in the 70's. I think I even saw some Shaw Brothers hidden in some of the fight scenes. Of course since it's animation they had some simply radass scenes you could never film in the real world. The animation was really top notch, and I would dare to say actually beat out Pixar in some of the scenes. When you watch it be sure to notice the lamps and the way they reflect light off the main characters...amazing stuff as far as animation goes.
All in all I thought the casting of the main characters, the animation and the fight scenes were great. The DVD had
some really good behind the scenes features as well (which we will be posting over the next couple of days).
Overall I give this DVD an A for all ages. Go pick it up today if you love Kung-Fu.
The part that impressed me the most about this film was the fight scenes. It was like Plush Toys doing amazing Kung Fu. And it seemed like all the fight scenes had call backs to all sorts of Kung-Fu movies in the real world. Everything from some of Jackie Chan's early works to the best of Bruce Lee in the 70's. I think I even saw some Shaw Brothers hidden in some of the fight scenes. Of course since it's animation they had some simply radass scenes you could never film in the real world. The animation was really top notch, and I would dare to say actually beat out Pixar in some of the scenes. When you watch it be sure to notice the lamps and the way they reflect light off the main characters...amazing stuff as far as animation goes.
All in all I thought the casting of the main characters, the animation and the fight scenes were great. The DVD had
some really good behind the scenes features as well (which we will be posting over the next couple of days).
Overall I give this DVD an A for all ages. Go pick it up today if you love Kung-Fu.
