Some Blah

Alright, haven't watched any new films yet so my movie round-up will be a bit late this time around. On my side, I've just finished exams, and I am hell worried about ARCHORG. Can't keep my mind off it. On the plus side it has a way higher chance of passing than my Calculus debacle a term ago. the bad side? If I fail this I am totally delayed. As in totally. So yah, I'm scared. Still I think I did well in the finals so cross your fingers.

Anyway, in other news, there came out a story that a 9-year old kid named Alec Greven wrote a book titled "How to Talk to Girls" where he gives out tips on how to, that's right, properly woo a girl. Damn, the kid's a genius, I'd have thought that after centuries worth of evolution, guys have yet to discover the mystery that is women. Gosh this kid showed, me. Where was he three years ago?!



But still, pretty cool stuff for the kid, I must presume he's gonna be one for the ladies, for which I can only appeal to his better nature and please take me as his disciple @_@.

Also, on to movie news, this poster was just realeased. And judging from the trailer that came out some time ago, this has got to be one of the dumbest ideas for a film ever. How in the world did they actually think that a movie version of this anime would actually work!? And the least they could do was get a decent looking cast. Emma Rossum is always a swettie, but judging from thes posters.... WTF!? @_@ (thats short for What the Fettucinni by the way. This is a clean site).





Finally it was announced earlier this week that Hugh Jackman will be hosting the Oscars this year. Pretty cool actually. Did you know that he once hosted the Tony Award and actually won one? Yah me neither. This might be an interesting year for the Oscars. That's All for now.

P.S. At 40 years old and with a body like that, all he needs is take his shirt off during the ceremony and they're golden. In fact, team him up with 9-year old Alec Greven and we males could finally dominated the female half of the population! Bwahahahah..... probably...

Movie Roundup 12-9-08

MOVIE REVIEW OF THE WEEK

BOLT
Directed by Byron Howard and Chris Williams
Starring John Travolta and Miley Cyrus


When I first saw the trailer to this film I rolled my eyes. Don't get me wrong, I love Disney, their old cartoon movies were very important to my childhood (yes, I admit... I loved Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast). And while today I may not bother watching those animation classics anymore, they are still a symbol of how Disney was the undisputed king of animation.

Not anymore, Pixar has taken that throne with stunning 3d works that not only boast state of the art graphics, but stories that cater to kids, very mature and even philosophical in nature, while always remaining humorous in an adorable way. We got instant classics such as Toy Story Finding Nemo, Incredibles, Ratatouille and Wall-E. From Disney? We got Chicken Little and Meet the Robinsons, hardly oscar worthy.

Bolt seemed set on continuing Disney's downward spiral in giving us quality animated movies. It proved me wrong. And it did so by bringing in Pixar's John Lasseter (the genius behind Toy Story). While we may never know the full extent of John's input, word has it he made a huge overhaul or at least editing of the movie, adding in very Pixar-like trademarks to the story. It shows.

Bolt's storyline is by no means original, unlike all of Pixar's film. In fact it's very predictable, and that alone means it'll never compare to Pixar's best. But it's the execution in which the film shines. The movie is funny, as in funny even for adults as all Pixar movies are. Yet it always manages to show a deeper and more meanigful side, a more thought-proviking and eye-watering aspect that is also another Pixar trademark.

Bolt never sacrifices authenticity of characters for some cheap laughs and even with its humor it makes sure it's never too childish. The characters are both lovable and real. They display emotion well and bring the story along with force despite its predictability. The characters make the story work, and unlike the previous efforts of Disney they refrain from being just a wee bit annoying. Travolta's Bolt is great, Mittens is lovable in a sarcastic way and who wouldn't adore the fanboyish Rhino the Hamster. Even Miley Cyrus does a decent job as Penny.

The animation is an admirable effort. It's certainly no Pixar, and even Dreamwork's Kung Fu Panda was more impressive. But at the very least it isn't a slouchy effort by Disney *cough* Chicken Little *cough*.

Who knows what Bolt would have been without Pixar's help. But with input from John which ranges from subtle to the downright obvious (there's a Nemo joke in there somewhere), Bolt has elevated itself to Disney's best 3D effort so far. It could have cemented my loss of faith in Disney, and while at best it can only compare to the weakest of Pixar's efforts, it's still a sign of hope for what was once the greatest animation company on Earth. Now excuse me while I secretly watch reruns of The Lion King.

8 out of 10

PREVIEW OF THE WEEK

VALKYRIE

I so want this movie to rock. I have so much respect for Bryan Singer. The guy brought us the outstanding Usual Suspects and X-men 1 & 2. Then again he also brought us the lackluster Superman Returns (which was mercifully bearable at least). Now we have Valkyrie, which if done properly would poise the comeback of both the director and its somewhat fading star, Tom Cruise. The trailers have been very promising, and Singer really seems to know what he's doing. The movie follows the true story of a German officer who brings together all his Nazi little friends and well- out of the blue- decide to try and kill Hitler. I don't know, maybe they were bored or something. Still here's hoping. The nazi killing begins December in America. Here, of course, we get Anne Curtis falling in love with a Spaniard. Somehow that does not satisfy my craving.

Trailer-> Here

P.S. "Every problem in the world can be solved with the careful use of high explosives." That has got to be one of the cooles trailer quotes evaaah!

MOVIE POSTER OF THE WEEK

Slow week for posters, nothing that came out had been nice. So instead I'm showing youa month old picture of JOHNNY DEPP as the MAD HATTER in Tim Burton's next film, Alice in Wonderland. Some of you may have seen this already but I control this blog so go cry in your desolate corner of sorrow beside the toilet. I love Johnny Depp as an actor, and despite the less than stellar Pirates of the Carribean 2 and 3, I welcome the news of him making a fourth, simply because they're finally moving away from the storyline of the first trilogy (or was it storylines? I think I recall there being around 10 of them or so in the third movie alone)

In fact this line in a blog I found described this picture perfectly.

"If Willy Wonka and Captain Jack had a baby, and Edward Scissorhands and Sweeney Todd had a baby, and by chance, their babies met and had a baby...it would something look like this."

What more can you add?


LOSER OF THE WEEK

Catherine Hardwicke


The director has lots to be proud of. She was given the privelege of adapting the ridiculously popular novel TWILIGHT to film. The movie marks the highest grossing film ever directed by a woman (though that's mostly due to the film's popularity than her skill behind the camera. In fact i think it's DESPITE her skill behind the camera). So yah, she has lots to be proud of.

Well except now that is. You see, the very day Twilight hit theaters they announced that they were officially going to do New Moon. When this news broke out, hell occured. The whole world rejoiced (well the female half at least), all natural disasters stopped halfway, Global Warming ceased to exist, lost polar bears were found, World Peace was finally found and a snake finally found a way to mate with an elephant.

Fast forward a week or two and now they've just announced they were kicking off Catherine Hardwicke for a more competent director (meaning someone who actually knows how to do action scenes Oh yeah!). What's worse for her is that unlike the time when Marvel thought of kicking out Jon Farveau out of Iron Man (in which case fanboys around the world went on hunger strike until the producers stopped going crazy), the fangirls in turn seem to have no problem with the loss of the director. In fact, some of them want her out. So much for girl power eh?

CS4! YAH!!!! and some sick sick cartoon...

Hello Everyone! Been playing around with CS4 recently and I have got to say it is absolutely awesome. The Content Self Awareness feature is magnificent. I cannot, for the world of me understand how they manage to do that. Then again I cannot for the world of me understand how worms procreate, so nature and me are even.

Here are some videos detailing some of the cool new features of Adobe Photoshop CS4. Even the new interface is jaw-dropping. It's clean, smooth and very organized.





Anyway, I have to go to a party later on, might drop by Promenade's Fully Booked to get The Beetle and the Bard. Slow day for news. Will update on some stuff soon.

BTW Jean showed me this cartoon. It's wicked sick, my eyes bled out and did the cha-cha on my tablet. true story. In fact it's so sick, I feel guilty having seen it. Still, it's hilarious so bring your kids, they don't wanna miss this!

Latest News and Booze (Well not really, but it rhymes!)

Was passing by National Book store and I saw this. Almost shelled Five hundred pesos just to bring it home that day.
I think it's pretty damn awesome that they're giving proceeds to charity. I'm very curious though to how Rowling would fare in non-Potter books. I came out with this instead
Awesome cover if I must say. In the world of movies I just heard that MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE singer Gerard Way is doing the finale song for The Watchmen. The band is a hit or miss for me, but still, its a great choice, very fitting. The song is called Desolation Row. Now THAT's a title!!
I cannot friggin wait for this movie!!! Speaking of which, I heard that the Dark Knight is going to be re-released in theaters in the US. As of now it's 77 million short of Titanic's $600 m record. Now our fave bats actually stands a chance of getting toe-to-toe with Leo and the gang (punch that snotty lover's teeth out!). Also, it's 4 million short of being the 4th movie to reach a billion dollars worldwide. That's practically guaranteed by now.
And then there's the oscars, which are coming up. I'm pretty hopeful that Heath gets what he deserves with the oscar nod. But I am also hopeful, but doubtful, of a best picture nod.

A grassroot campaign by nerds came up and here it is. Pretty cool. It's called Dark Campaign.

Finally here's some final images on the campaign. The first is an awesome spoof of the Obama poster called The Audacity of Joke. The second is just some awesome poster they made to get Dark Knight some props for the oscars. Keep your fingers crossed!

Movie Roundup 12-3-08

Sorry about the late post, but I've had a pretty busy week with my INROSE project and ARCHORG departmental exam. Anyway, here's this week's post, featuring none other than the estrogen-induced Twilight.

MOVIE REVIEW OF THE WEEK

Twilight
Directed by Catherine Hardwicke
Starring Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson

Let me tell you my dirty little secret about the book. I am, despite all of my better senses, completely infatuated with the book. In terms of structure, pacing and even characters, it was highly uneven. In fact, a literary major would have spat on it and did all sorts of nasty things with the pages (toilet humor comes to mind). But the secret to the book's success did not lie in its literary quality, but in its undeniable power to infatuate and addict you in its tale of love. The mere words of Meyer, the author, made the romantic scenes so faint-inducing (at least to the eyes of a modern day teenager) that its appeal was undeniable despite all of its flaws. I do not love the book because it was a great book, instead i do so despite it being a pretty mediocre one. And that's the secret behind the book.

The movie adaptation lacks that very aspect. All the scenes were rushed, poorly handled and awkwardly shot. There were instances were I felt hints of the macabre love fest so temptingly hinted by the book, and at times I felt that the movie was about to finally find its stride. But every single time it did so followed it by completely losing its momentum. It tries very hard to capture the appeal of the book, so much so to a fault that it focuses on faithfully adapting every scene that it failed to leave room to its own creative inputs. A movie and a book are two completely different things. Following word-per-word does not make a good adaptation, as this movie clearly shows.

Finally the characters. Robert as Edward, for example, has been a bit of a mixed reaction. He's had quite a huge fanbase by now yet some are criticizing the pick. Well for me, he has the potential. There is something actually very appealing about him that may resonate to an Edwaresque vibe. You see, the key to the book as is to the film has to be the two lead cast. And indeed the two actually show potential in terms of looks. But their acting is mediocre at best, so much so that much of the sizzle is lost in the transition.

Long time fans of the books may be disappointed but inevitably will be clammoring for more in the end. I, for one, think that the movie had outlived way past its bearable point half way through the first film. So much for immortality.

6 out of 10

PREVIEW OF THE WEEK

Star Trek

I'm no Trekkie. I could never understand much of the appeal of the series, but then again I never watched them either except for the last couple of horrid Next Generation films. So conisder me basically a blank slate. So with this new trailer out, color me slightly impressed. I've liked JJ Abram's works so far and this trailer seems bursting with Trekkie goodness and shows it in an awesome cool new light that I've never seen before on any Trek installment. So yes, I am hopeful.

Trailer-> HERE

POSTER OF THE WEEK
There was a motion poster that came out recently and it featured a psoter that actually moved and played music. Though I doubt they'd ever use it outside the web, it's still pretty cool. The final screenshot of it, however is displayed above and even on its own static self it's still pretty kick-ass. So yah, pretty nifty stuff. You can find the full motion poster in all its cool glory here. Courtesy of Aintitcool