August 13, 2007

Aqua Teen Hunger Force - DVD

Being denied the theatrical release of Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters it will be out on DVD tomorrow. Here's hoping it's on the shelf at my store tomorrow.

Also coming out are the Anniversary editions of both Labyrinth (Anniversary Edition) and The Dark Crystal (25th Anniversary Edition) which I have no trouble admitting they scared the crap out of me when I was a kid. David Bowie still haunts my dreams.

Posted by hypnobee at 1:15 PM

July 27, 2007

Simpson Leno

I can't stand Leno's mannerisms when he's doing his monologue, it's probably because his jokes are so obvious you can see them coming down the tracks and he's always bracing and pausing for the wave of laughter that never comes.

The Simpsons' Movie is out today.

[Link]

Posted by hypnobee at 8:49 AM

July 20, 2007

King of Kong

This looks great. Should I go line up now?

Posted by hypnobee at 12:57 PM

July 16, 2007

Get Smart

Steve Carell was born to play this role. Also Anne Hathaway as Agent 99 isn't too shabby either.

June 20th, 2008

Can't wait

High resolution trailer available here.

Posted by hypnobee at 6:00 AM

July 3, 2007

Kwik-E-Mart

Ohhh.... I'd so be there!

A 7-11 is transformed to a Kwik-E-Mart as part of a promotion for The Simpsons Movie coming out July 27th.

Check out this fantastic Flickr set of the Store in Burbank, CA. This Blog is also following all the excellent Kwik-E-Mart action.

Mmmmm...Krusty-O's!

[Link via Drawn!]

Posted by hypnobee at 1:07 PM

May 11, 2007

Transformers In Full View

Here's a decent look at the new Transformers that we've only seen epileptic glimpses of in previous trailers. Michael Bay put up some crazy hi-res shots on his blog.

Personally I'd take the bigger, clunkier versions where you could actual distinguish what they had previously transformed from but I'm probably in the minority. Optimus and Bumblee look pretty decent but all the others could stand to have some colour added.

[Link via Gizmodo]

Posted by hypnobee at 11:32 AM | Comments (2)

April 14, 2007

Eagle vs. Shark

Looks similar to Napoleon Dynamite at first glance but the world is full of Napoleon Dynamite type people so why not more movies about them. Looks like a great movie.

Now if you'll excuse me I have to go back to drawing mythical creatures, practicing martial arts and being generally awkward around other people.

[Link]

Posted by hypnobee at 8:38 AM

April 9, 2007

Superbad

Another movie from Seth Rogen (Knocked Up and 40 Year-old virgin) It's also got the guy from Accepted. "Ask me about my weiner" and Michael Cera (George-Michael from Arrested Development)

Posted by hypnobee at 11:17 AM

March 30, 2007

Movie Trailer Friday

28 Days Later is probably my second favourite zombie movie. I'm not totally sold on this trailer but I liked the first so much I'll definitely go see this.


Resident Evil is my favourite zombie movie. The second Resident Evil was initially a bit of a let down but it's redeemed itself through repeat viewings. Can't wait for this one.

While we're on an apparent zombie theme, Shaun of The Dead was also amazing. The same guys have a new movie coming out, Hot Fuzz which isn't about zombies but still looks like it will be great.

Stardust is the first book I've read that's been turned into a movie after I read it. I don't like to use the word Fantasy because I'm not really into fantasy but I enjoyed this book.

Posted by hypnobee at 8:29 AM

January 29, 2007

Blades of Glory

Will Farrell, Jon Heder and figure skating....sold!

Posted by hypnobee at 12:54 PM

Aqua teen Hunger Force Colon Movie for Theaters

The latest trailer for the Aqua Teen Hunger Force Movie out March 23rd.

[Link]

Posted by hypnobee at 12:49 PM

January 15, 2007

Public Service Announcement - Alpha Dog

As a public service to everyone I would like to ask that everyone please avoid seeing Alpha Dog. Go enjoy 2 hours of your life, do something worthwhile like watching paint dry or sleep.

This movie is an absolute disaster. So poorly written. So poorly acted, way over the top. So poorly directed. I've never wanted to have a remote control where I could hit fast forward as much as in this movie. Specifically the opening credits of old home movie which just seem to go on forever with Somewhere Over the Rainbow playing in the background. This achieves nothing because you don't know any of the characters. It would've worked much better as the closing credits if they were trying to pull at your heart strings.

The other scene which is just absolutely ridiculous is the cut-away scene where Sharon Stone in a fat suit is being interviewed by a documentary film maker, trying her best to win an Oscar. But it comes off more like that scene from The Mask with Jim Carey. It so unbelievably over acted and drawn out that it had me looking anywhere but the screen, it was sheer torture.

And now for the positive. There was 10 seconds of Citizen Cope's Bullet & a Target in the background of one scene. And that's it!

Posted by hypnobee at 9:05 AM

December 20, 2006

More Glimpses of The New Transformers

Are you ready for some more epileptic glimpses of Transformers. Check out the new trailer.

I can't say I'm a huge fan of the tiny shard like transformation. It's probably because of my mechanical designer background it just feels like a cop out. I'd prefer them to be all big and clunky with distinguishable components moving around.

*warning it uses some crappy Vivadas applet that totally takes over your computer to play it full screen

[Link]

Posted by hypnobee at 11:56 AM

November 13, 2006

Simpsons Movie Trailer

A nice way to start off a Monday. If the crappy quality of the Youtube version (which will probably be taken down before you see this) isn't good enough for you check it out officially here

I was too busy laughing at Homer getting bashed repeatedly with the wrecking ball that I didn't see the additional joke, he's between a hard place and a rock until the second viewing.

***IRONY ALERT*** While the Simpsons is hand drawn this trailer has a lot of 3D elements (ie. crane and wrecking ball).

Posted by hypnobee at 9:52 AM | Comments (2)

November 10, 2006

Evan Almighty

I dub today 'movie trailer day'. Here's the trailer for Evan Almighty. Remember that Jim Carey movie, Bruce Almighty where God gave his powers to Jim Carey. In the movie his uses his powers on unsuspecting news caster (played by Steve Carell) to spout gibberish.

Fast Forward 3 years, now Carell's a huge star and we got us a sequel.

This seems like such a ridiculous stretch for a sequel or tie-in but it's Steve Carell and the premise seems great so it's gotta be good despite that this trailer which would suggest otherwise (or maybe its just the horrible Nathan Lane like delivery of "but then you shave again" line that's throwing me off)

Update - Evan Almighty will probably end up as the most expensive comedy ever made with an expected total cost of $250 mil. Will Smith currently holds the record and #2 spot for most expensive "comedy" with Wild Wild West - $170 mil. and Men in Black II - $140 mil.

Posted by hypnobee at 2:57 PM

Spiderman 3

Newest trailer for Spiderman 3. Still no sign of Venom.

Posted by hypnobee at 11:59 AM

November 6, 2006

Aqua Teen Hunger Force - The Movie

Details - In theaters at some point in 2007

Plot from IMDB - An action epic that explores the origins of the Aqua Teen Hunger Force (better known as Master Shake, Frylock, and Meatwad,) who somehow become pitted in a battle over an immortal piece of exercise equipment.

And they say they there's never any new ideas in Hollywood anymore.

I'm in, here's my $10.

[Link]

Posted by hypnobee at 3:27 PM

October 23, 2006

Jack Black - Piracy

Jack Black explains the effects of piracy.

No Cash = No Inspiration
No Inspiration = No Rocket Sauce
No Rocket Sauce = No Kick-ass Rock 'n' Roll or Movies

Posted by hypnobee at 11:17 AM

October 13, 2006

300 Trailer to Comic Comparision

Solace In Cinema has taken the time to match up the screen shots from the trailer of 300 to panels in the comic. While not as obsessive a Sin City, 300 appears to be extremely close to the book.

[Link via Drawn!]

Posted by hypnobee at 4:02 PM

October 11, 2006

300

Check out the trailer for Frank Miller's 1999 Graphic Novel 300 about The Battle of Thermopylae.

From what I've read it was done just like Sin City (also Frank Miller). Be sure to check out the production blog and video journals which has some really interesting stuff.

Also the song in the trailer is Nine Inch Nails - Just Like You Imagine from the Fragile (just so it doesn't drive you crazy like it did to me the entire way through The Departed).

[Link]

Posted by hypnobee at 11:00 AM

September 29, 2006

19 Midnight Movies

AV Club lists 19 Terrific Midnight Movies From The Last 10 Years.

The midnight-movie tradition that gave second life to films such as The Rocky Horror Picture Show and El Topo thrived in the pre-video '70s and early '80s, then shrank as viewers increasingly just stayed home to watch weird stuff at ungodly hours on their own. But there's much to be said for the pleasures of staying up late in a theater filled with strangeness-seeking, possibly under-the-influence fellow moviegoers, and watching something that makes more sense under those conditions than on the other side of midnight.

A few movies that are missing from AV's list.

The Big Lebowski
SAW
Being John Malkovich
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

This list would easily fill up the bulk of my list of favourites. What a great list.

[Link]

Posted by hypnobee at 1:00 PM

August 17, 2006

Comic Later Today

Look for today's coming somewhere around the midnight mark. I went to see Little Miss Sunshine yesterday and didn't get to finish today's comic.

Little Miss Sunshine wasn't the hilarous road trip movie I thought it was going to be but it was still very good and had many funny points. After watching this movie it only further confirms my thoughts that anyone involved with children's beauty pagents should be registered as a pedophile.

But that's just my opinion.

[Trailer]

Posted by hypnobee at 1:16 PM

August 14, 2006

Borat is My Friend

He could be your friend too.


I'm not big into Myspace but Borat's profile and video are worth checking out.

My occupation make reportings for Kazakhstan Television. Previous I gypsy catcher and icemaker. I also have work as computer maintenance - I the one who paint it and remove dead birds from its pipes.

Video

[Link]

Posted by hypnobee at 12:36 PM

July 26, 2006

Simpsons Movie Preview at San Diego Comic-Con

A couple animatic previews of The Simpsons Movie coming out next year.

Mmmm...Letterbox!

Part 1
Part 2

Posted by hypnobee at 12:47 PM

July 21, 2006

TMNT - 03/30/07

How freakin' sweet does this look?

[Link]

Posted by hypnobee at 7:46 PM

July 18, 2006

Word of the Day - SCABROUS

Is it just me or do you think movie reviewers read each other movie reviewer's work before writing their own. How else could you explain that at Rotten Tomatoes of the 6 reviews posted for Clerks II, 3 use the word SCABROUS. A word I have yet to come across until today.

In case there are more reviews up before you check this out the offenders are:

Justin Chang - Variety.com
Damon Wise - Empire Magazine
Emanuel Levy - Emanuellevy.com

I know this practice occurs in music reviews as well, where you see re-phrasing of elements of a band or CD that seem to come up again and again. It helps pigeonhole bands!

Lazy bastards, either that or they all have the same word-of-the-day desk calendar.

Posted by hypnobee at 3:25 PM

July 7, 2006

A Scanner Darkly

A Scanner Darkly opens today in limited release, unfortunately I have to wait until the 28th when it comes to the local art house theater in town.

Set in the near future in Orange County, Calif., the story tracks the intense paranoia felt by users of a mind-altering and horrifically addictive drug called Substance D. A single hit is enough to make an addict for life — a very short life.

YEAH!

[Link]

Posted by hypnobee at 11:20 AM

July 4, 2006

Superman Villians That Probably Wont Be In The Sequel

While Superman - Returns only generated $57 million in its opening weekend (a far cry from Spiderman). There will most certainly be a sequel.

A.V. Club highlights some of Superman's less spectacular villians he's faced over the years that probably wont be in the sequel. Included are a short bio, memoriable quote and why it's unlikely to be in the next movie.

Appeared in: Action Comics #396-397 (January-February 1971)

Bio: In this "imaginary" story set in the far-off 1990s, a nearly powerless Superman begs for change in the streets of Metropolis, watching as advances in science fight crime and prevent disaster with an efficiency that he couldn't even hope to achieve.

Memorable quote: "In this computerized, push-button world I'm useless, completely useless! Fit only to be a beggar! It's like a living nightmare!"

Why they're unlikely to make it to the movies: If the Superman franchise were to ditch the action and special effects and opt for an approach inspired by Italian neo-realism, this might work. But probably not.

[Link]

Posted by hypnobee at 3:47 PM

June 30, 2006

Official Transformers Trailer

Here's the official trailer / teaser for the live action Transforms coming out next year. It's hardly worth the time it takes to watch but I thought I'd post it anyway.


[Link]

Posted by hypnobee at 9:09 AM

June 23, 2006

American History X Meets The Country Bears

I can't help but think this would be 10 times funnier the other way around.

Someone get on that please.

[Link]

Posted by hypnobee at 10:43 AM

June 2, 2006

Transformers Movie 2007

For some reason I thought there was a trailer out for the New live action Transformers Movie that's coming out July 4th, 2007 but the best I could come up with was this 16 second teaser of Optimus Prime.

The more I dig into the movie the more leary I become with Michael Bay (Pearl Harbor and every other summer movie with massive explosions and car chases in the last 10 years) directing and John Rogers as writer. His credits include The Core and Catwoman.

If they come anywhere close to this copy paper commercial it should be amazing.

[Link]

Posted by hypnobee at 9:46 AM

June 1, 2006

Iron Man

Jon Favreau is set to direct Marvel's Iron Man which will be out in 2008. I'm not a big Iron Man fan basically because I never read the comic but I've always loved his suit/armor.

The best news about the movie so far is that both Tom Cruise and Nicolas Cage who have expressed interest will not be playing Tony Stark (Iron Man).

Stars bring too much baggage with them. I don't think Daredevil benefited by casting Ben Affleck at the height of his popularity, even if he did desperately want to play the character. Tobey Maguire was a relative unknown when he was cast in Spider-Man. That's the kind of actor I'm looking for. Someone with experience but a low profile.

I've heard enough, no Cruise or Cage I'm sold. Favreau has done decent work in the movies he has directed before with Made, Elf and Zathura that there's no reason to believe that Iron Man shouldn't come out well in his hands.

[Link]

Posted by hypnobee at 9:09 AM | Comments (2)

May 31, 2006

10 Directors That Know How To Make Comic Book Movies

I, much like everyone else was disappointed in X-Men 3 - The Last Stand. If this was the first instead of the third in the series you could've just written it off as a bad movie. But since there were two great movies before it we have to look at what changed from the past two to this and everything eventually leads back to the director change from Bryan Singer to Brett Ratner (Rush Hour). I don't think Ratner did as much damage as Joel "Nipple Armor" Schumacher did to the Batman series but I hope they find another director for the next X-Men movie.

Miami Poetry Review lists the Top 10 Directors That Know How To Make Comic Book Movies.

A director plays both roles of comic writer and comic book artist. While he may hire a scribe, the final decision is his when it comes to cutting a film. He must also see to it that the story is at once faithful to comic book readers even while remaining fresh for new audiences.

10. Bryan Singer
9. Sam Raimi
8. Christopher Nolan
7. M. Night Shyamalan
6. Robert Rodriguez
5. Terry Zwigoff
4. Shari Springer Berman & Robert Puccini
3. David Cronenberg
2. Tim Burton
1. Quentin Tarantino

For the most part I agree with this list but I think it's completely out of order. I'd also like to add Alex Proyas (The Crow and Dark City), who for some reason isn't on the list. I'd probably replace Sam Raimi or Shari Springer Berman & Robert Puccini. Raimi is responsible for the Spiderman series but I can't help but think he basically had the X-Men as a manual on how to make a comic book movie. It would be interesting to see how Spiderman would've turned out if it had been made before Singer's X-Men. Shari Springer Berman & Robert Puccini who did American Splendor is a tough choice to include in the list because it was an autobiographical look at Harvey Pekar but the comic American Splendar is just exactly that.

[Link via Largeheartedboy]

Posted by hypnobee at 12:41 PM | Comments (1)

May 24, 2006

Clerks II

I knew this was being made but I had no idea that it was coming out this summer, July 21st. Looks like it should be pretty decent...as far as sequels go!

[Link]

Posted by hypnobee at 6:47 PM

May 19, 2006

10 Things I Hate About Commandments

Maybe I'll go see this instead of The Da Vinci Code this weekend

[Link]

Posted by hypnobee at 1:45 PM

May 3, 2006

C For Cookie

[Link]

Posted by hypnobee at 8:30 AM

March 27, 2006

Good Movies

Since I posted about how many bad movie I've seen lately things have turned around considerably. With the exception of Scary Movie, which might possibly be the worst spoof movie I've ever seen.

V for Vendetta - I haven't read the graphic novel so I don't know how close to the source material it was. I found out just before sitting down to watch V that it wasn't directed by the Wachowski brothers, that they only wrote the screen play. That being said it was a bit misleading by associating the matrix with this movie. While V wasn't filled with your usual vigilante fair it was a solid movie.

She's the Man - I'll pretty much go to any movie if you ask me. I was surprised how decent this movie turned out to be. Amanda Bynes was a pretty convincing guy, albeit it she was a little emo-boy so it wasn't too much of a stretch. I could've done without the "mighty ducks" like soccer at the end of the film.

Stay Alive - I went into this movie not expecting much as every other horror / suspense movie I've seen lately has been a total let down. This movie was full of gut twisting suspense. Besides the sub-par acting the only fault in the movie was the classic downfall of so many movies; the love interest that appears for no reason, totally unnecessary.

Inside Man - Great caper movie. The movie had a great feel of real characters that acted and talked like you would expect them to. Every character had their moments which didn't show them in the best light, it was really refreshing.

Posted by hypnobee at 12:54 PM | Comments (1)

March 17, 2006

Alan Moore Interview Pt. 2

Here's a link to part two of The Beat's interview with Alan Moore regarding V for Vendetta as well as other projects he has in the works.

"Nobody knew. As Neil Gaiman pointed out to them later when he was saying, look it's a horrible situation you're in with Alan. You know as well as he did that back when he signed that contract, nobody could have predicted that these books would remain in print for that long."


Part 2

Part 1

Posted by hypnobee at 9:06 AM

March 15, 2006

V for Vendetta

V for Vendetta is out this week. It's the first movie from the Wachowski brothers since the matrix triolgy. I've been pretty pumped to see this movie for quite a while.

The movie V for Vendetta is based on the comic book of the same name from the late 80's written by Alan Moore. Although you won't find his name attached to any of the comics he's done that have been turned into movies. Check out these great articles detailing his falling out with Hollywood.

[NY Times Article]
[A for Alan pt.1]

Posted by hypnobee at 1:17 PM | Comments (7)

March 13, 2006

Soo Many Bad Movies

I haven't posted a movie review here in soo long. It's mainly because everything I've seen lately doesn't deserve the effort. I figured I've seen enough bad movies now that if I compress them all into a single post it might be worth it.

HOODWINKED - People knock the animation. I had no problem with the animation it was just a painfully drawn out movie (funny because it was only 90 minutes long). The only redeeming point was the always entertaing Patrick Warburton who voices the wolf. I hear they're making a sequel...joy!

UNDERWORLD EVOLUTION - Nowhere near as good as the first one. I appreciated the little catch up they did at the start of the movie to bring everyone up to speed but they should've handed out family tree charts so I could follow along for the rest of the movie.

ANNAPOLIS - I'm not sure this movie knew what it was about. It has some of the worst filmed boxing seen on the big screen ever.

FINAL DESTINATION 3 - I loved the first two but this one seemed way too gory and way too dumbed down and predictable with the whole photograph thing.

FREEDOMLAND - Just a mess. Not entertaining at all.

ULTRAVIOLET - The more movie Milla Jovovich does the more it seems the Resident Evil (only the first one) and The Fifth Element were just flukes. This movie was "give a 7th grader 50 million bucks to write and direct his own movie" bad.

16 BLOCKS - Bruce Willis as Bruce Willis in a movie that Bruce Willis is always in! I don't have a problem with Bruce Willis and usually enjoy whatever he's in. This was probably the best movie I've seen so far this year. I don't know if I could recommend it though, I was just throwing that out there as a guage on how bad the movies have been this year. Too bad the ending was so transparent.

THE HILLS HAVE EYES - If the movie was one tenth the preview made it out to be this movie would've been great. Instead it was boring and predictable. The director uses the same tricks (unsuccessfully) over and over to build tension. The opening credits filled with stock footage of nuclear explosions and pictures of mutated babies is about as good as it gets for this piece of garbage.

FAILURE TO LAUNCH - That's right I saw it. You got anything to say about that? Wanna Fight? Also it was a brutal chick flick which women seemed to find enormously entertaining for some reason.

Next up. V for Vendetta.

Posted by hypnobee at 6:00 AM | Comments (2)

December 19, 2005

King Kong

You have to see this movie.


Spectacle (n.)

1. Something that can be seen or viewed, especially something of a remarkable or impressive nature.

2. A public performance or display, especially one on a large or lavish scale.

3. So freakin' awesome if you don't go see it, I won't talk to you because you don't know anything.





Posted by hypnobee at 11:18 PM | Comments (7)

December 5, 2005

Aeon Flux

I was partly right on my assumption of why Aeon Flux wasn’t previewed for the critics. They tore it to shreds, currently sitting at 15% at Rotten Tomatoes. I on the other hand enjoyed the movie*

*(Well as much as you could enjoy a watered down PG version of a cartoon that is pretty close to an R rating. I didn’t know it was PG until I bought my ticket, it absolutely crushed any hope that I had that the movie was going to be good. I mean Harry Potter was PG-13.)

I never watched the original animated series but I did catch the odd glimpse of it from time to time back when it ran on MTV as part of Liquid Television. I can almost say with complete certainty that if you enjoyed the original you will be really disappointed with this version. Where the original is dark, cold and violent the movie has none of these things going for it. It’s just another case of Hollywood trying to play it safe and they end up make a mediocre movie that no one enjoys.

Posted by hypnobee at 12:58 PM

December 1, 2005

The Not-So-Secret History of Aeon Flux

So you've seen the preview for Aeon Flux which opens on Friday but you still have no idea what it's about or where the character comes from. You can't even turn to the critics for their opinion because there have been no advance screenings (often the case when a movie is really bad...I think in this case it's in an effort generate a strong word-of-mouth campaign instead of leaving it up to the close minded critics to decide)

If you're not sure what Aeon Flux is all about or where it's coming from, do yourself a favor and check out this awesome comic by Mike Russell which explains the origin of Aeon Flux.

And if that's not enough for you can check out Aeon Flux - The Complete Animated Collection which was just released, curiously enough just in time before the movie came out.

[Link] via Drawn!

Posted by hypnobee at 8:00 AM

November 25, 2005

Jarhead

Here's the last movie for Movie Week. I've left this one for last because I really don't know what to say about this movie.

Jarhead is an unconventional war movie it follows and is based on the true story of Anthony Swofford. It starts off as any war movie does, the story of why a character joins the army, hazing, training and so on. Pretty intense stuff but nothing that isn't already in Platoon.

Jarhead takes place during Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm. It follows Marine sniper team as they wait for action in the blistering heat of the Middle East desert for close to six months.

It was a very well executed movie, excellent directing and acting but leaves you wondering, why make a movie about a person that was in a war but never got a chance to fire his weapon?

I'm not saying that this is bad movie but that it just raises the question. It does show what happens to a person and how the experience changes them regardless of the action they see or dont, but the movie really doesn't get into it deeply enough to satisfy you from that perspective either.

I'm glad I saw it but I don't know if I could recommend it to anyone asking what movie they should go see. It will definitely be worth the price of the rental especially if they load it up with great commentaries and special features.

Posted by hypnobee at 6:00 AM

November 24, 2005

Saw 2

Welcome to what has now become Movie Week here at Mordant Orange! For the last few months my movie watching habits have sagged a little. It might be because of my schedule or that there hasn't been that much great stuff out there to watch. But as you can tell I seem to back in full swing of movie watching.

I went and saw SAW II as a result of being shut out for Just Friends. I really enjoyed the original Saw but I was curious to see how they would overcome the fact that everyone knows the hook from the first movie that made it so great.

Saw II doesn't quite live up to its predecessor. It has its fair share of twists but I was disappointed with the majority of the action that takes place in the house. I could've done with out the chase and gore sequence of the drug dealer chasing everyone in the house and more of the mind puzzles that Jigsaw uses to give people a chance to save themselves.

If you haven't seen it already you're probably not going to run out and watch it anyway. Do yourself a favor and rent it when it comes out on DVD.

Posted by hypnobee at 6:00 AM

November 23, 2005

Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire

I haven’t read the book but I can’t help but feel that despite being 2 ½ hours long that we got the Coles Notes version of the movie. The book is 734 pages and I can understand you can’t put everything into the movie but a lot happens in this movie and the character development suffers a little from it.

If you haven’t seen the first 3 Harry Potter movies I’d recommend checking them out before watching this one. There are a lot of characters which are in the previous movies that are in this movie and don’t slow do to explain why all of them are doing what they’re doing. The movie stands on it’s own but it can be more greatly appreciated if you’ve seen the others.

Having said all that this is by far and away the best Harry Potter Movie. A ton of action and the plot between the two characters Harry Potter and Voldemort progresses quite a bit.

Check it out.

Posted by hypnobee at 9:52 AM

November 22, 2005

Just Friends

I was pumped yesterday, I had won free tickets to go see an advance screening of Just Friends. I would be able to review a movie before it actually came out.

I took off from work early to go pick up my tickets in Kitchener. I arrived at the movie theater 25 minutes before the movie started to ensure a good seat, only to find out that the theater is already full.

What the hell... I was pissed. The manager explained that they overbook the theater to ensure that it's full. Apparently it says it right here on my ticket.

"Theater is overbooked to ensure capacity please arrive early. seating is on a first come first serve basis. Passes do not guarantee admission..."

I'd scan it to show you but the text is too small to pick up on a scanner. It's approximately 1/32" (0.79mm) tall. I don't know how I missed it.

While I was standing there trying to find another movie to watch so that the 20 minute drive and the 2 hours I took off work weren't a total waste, I saw approximately 20 people turned away with passes in hand. Do they not do any sort of research when determining the percentage to oversell by?

Let's see the theater capacity is 300 and it's free...and you know how people are when it comes to free stuff. Uninterested and hard to come by. I say we give away 900 tickets...yes that should do it.

They informed me that the pass can be used at another time to see the movie. I imagine that they will no doubt open the movie on Wednesday and it will have a "no passes" tag slapped on it so that I won't be able to go see it until it's been out for a month.

I understand that nothing in life is free and I thought the catch was that I was going to have to sit in a room for 2 hours with people that listen to 96.7 CHYM FM "Today's Lite Rock"

Posted by hypnobee at 1:32 PM

November 21, 2005

Walk the Line

Even if I wasn't a Johnny Cash fan or a Joaquin Phoenix fan I still would've went to see this movie because of the movie poster. I love this poster; it's quite possibly the coolest poster I've ever seen.

The movie doesn't quite live up to the poster though. It's a great movie but I think I've become slightly desensitized to the whole rise and fall and rebirth of a celebrity story. Everyone knows that with money comes drugs and either the drugs kill you or you quit the drugs.

The movie does offer more than this; it shows Cash from a boy up until he proposes to June Carter. It is a pretty good story and from other reviews I've read is pretty close to the actual events that occurred.

Filled with performances by Cash and the stars of the time he traveled with the smartest thing this movie did was make the actors sing all the songs themselves. Nothing could be worse than listening to the original and have some actor mouth along. Sure they don't standup beside the original but it gives the movie a more cohesive feel.

The only major problem I had with the movie was when they state the location of the venue in which Johnny proposes to June as "Ontario, Canada". Why not put the city?

Posted by hypnobee at 1:14 PM

November 16, 2005

Derailed

This movie was fairly entertaining, either that or I've let my guard down on what passes for a decent movie because of a summer full of crappy movies. Derailed was decent but it squandered so many possible opportunities where suspense could've been built and wasn't.

I blame the director. It might have been a weak screenplay but there are other elements of the movie that point to poor direction. Not to give any of the movie away but at certain points the plausibility of the situation is tested and requires you to follow along a little too blindly without asking questions for too long.

The movie runs 127 minutes but feels rushed at many points, especially the near the end. Again I have to think this is the directors fault, spending too long on building up elements than he should've and not realizing it until late in the editing process. Maybe there will be a directors cut that fully flushes out the movie into what it could've been when it gets released on DVD

Posted by hypnobee at 6:00 AM

November 14, 2005

Zathura

Obviously I'm not the target demographic for Zathura but I enjoyed Jumanji and I think Jon Favreau (director of Elf) is pretty good at creating a family movie that can be enjoyed by everyone. It looked entertaining enough so why not see it.

Despite pretty much being a carbon copy of Jumanji as far as plot goes it was still very entertaining and fun to watch. Siblings play a boardgame they find and crazy stuff happens. They have to finish the game to get everything back to normal.

Zathura isn't as heavy on the CG as Jumanji, done with mostly minatures and and actors in suits, it pulled off the level of believabilty that it needed to and it will probably stand up a little better as time moves on than Jumanji will. It has a very cool retro feel that is consistant with the game that they're playing.

I'm pretty sure if you will enjoy this movie unless you're brain has trouble abandoning the fact that they're in space and would freeze to death before they had time to suffocate from the lack of air.

Posted by hypnobee at 9:35 PM

November 9, 2005

WAL-MART - The High Cost of Low Prices

I dislike Wal-Mart as much as the next guy but I've become very wary of the documentary format lately. It's probably because people see a documentary and think it's the outright thruth and that's all there is to it. People forget that it's still just a movie and that it's one persons vision of what they want you to see about it.

Robert Greenwald's "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price" is not "Fahrenheit 9/11." There are no goofy takeoffs of old television series. You won't see H. Lee Scott Jr., the chief executive of Wal-Mart, the largest retailer on the planet, practicing his golf swing or making revealing comments on camera.


He doesn't have to. Mr. Greenwald's film features plenty of star witnesses, many of them former employees. Weldon Nicholson, a store-manager trainer for 17 years, says that when Wal-Mart came into a new town, management people would scan the stores along Main Street and make a game of predicting how long it would take each business to close.

Regardless of the level of truth or slanted view it presents the materail in I'd still like to see it. I don't know if I'd pay to see it but if I happened to come across it on TV I'd watch.

[LINK]


Posted by hypnobee at 8:51 AM

November 2, 2005

Grizzly Man

Here’s another reason I put absolutely no faith in Rottentomatoes.com, besides it’s deceiving ranking system which celebrates mediocrity. This movie is absolute utter garbage and it has an approval rating of 93%.

I went into this movie expecting a documentary about a man (maybe a little crazy) who goes and lives with bears and ultimately is killed by them. What I got instead was a washed up, never-was California man-boy who wishes he was gay and who has completely fried his brain on either alcohol and/or drugs out in the wild being too close to animals he shouldn’t be.

Timothy Treadwell comes across as someone who is very passionate about something but hasn't taken the time to do any research and isn't articulate enough to present what he's seeing to compel you to follow along. Seduced by the camera he's is even less convincing with his sincerity and the whole thing plays like a fame seeking exercise.

Werner Herzog is the director and narrator and in both efforts he fails miserably. As a narrator his accent is too thick and his pacing is terrible. Often times he moves from narration to commenting which seems totally inappropriate in this documentary style film. It also comes across as very weak backing up what he's showing you with his opinion. Why not let your film speak for itself?

Then there’s the direction, using Treadwell footage he weaves together the taping of a vain mad man who knows little about anything into an outright mess. Scenes go on for way too long and points that have been previously established are revisited. It’s just poor storytelling. Interviews with friends and authorities come off as terribly staged or acted out and rob the scenes of any sincerity there is.

At every attempt this movie tries to be, it fails.

Here are some clips of the movie
[LINK] [LINK 2]

Posted by hypnobee at 1:26 PM | Comments (3)

October 18, 2005

Domino

My name is Domino Harvey and I'm a giant liar!

In the preview for Domino they inform you that that this movie is based on a true story. In the opening credits of the movie it also states "Based on a true story..." but tagged on is "...sort of". What does that mean?

So far from my movie watching experience I've figured out the following.

- Biography - close as it comes to a true story told based on compiled research.
- Autobiography - what one person wants to you to see of a true story.
- Based on a true story - usually pretty close in terms of key events that take place but additional characters may be added to emphasis the point of the movie and other elements take place that probably didn't happen but the general story is there.
- Inspired by a true story - which in most cases are almost total fabrications and is only mentions "true story" to trick people into seeing it because they can't believe it's true. It was a true story at one time but not interesting enough to make a movie about so they added 90% crap to it and only add the "inspired by" to avoid plagiarism.

I know this, Domino Harvey was a real person who was a model and became a bounty hunter, beyond that I have no idea what else is true about this movie. Does it matter? Not at all.

Tony Scott (Man on Fire) the director pretty much assaults you with every known style of directing. If you do not enjoy heavily stylized movies you will not like this one. In some cases it feels a little forced or over the top but overall it works quite well. I can see this movie being studied in film schools for the styles it uses. Or maybe not, pretenious movie snobs could simply say that it's a hack rip-off of Natural Born Killer and every other Tarintino movie made.

All in all it's a pretty decent story, dragging in some part but has more than a few great moments (a must see for any Christopher Walken fan!) to make up for it, check it out if you're tired of sequels and play-it-safe action movies. This one will definitely give you something to look at.

Posted by hypnobee at 6:00 AM

October 10, 2005

Two for the Money

The second movie of the weekend. I knew going into this it wasn't going to be good, and I was right. 0-2 and still no Wallace and Gromit.

First off from the trailers they make it out to be a movie about gambling where there appears to be the typical arc where everything starts off fine, gets better, becomes unbelievable good and then everything spirals out of control and then possibly redemption or a lesson learned. This arc for the most part happens except it isn't about gambling but about a guy who picks football games. You'd think he'd fall into the gambling trap but instead falls into the traps of success and gets lazy and starts making bad picks. You'd think there would be reprocutions to making bad picks but utimately there isn't and he just walks away from it. It's a pretty big let down.

Anyone going in expecting this to be a great gambling movie will be really disappointed. The story just takes way too long to progress and ultimately has no pay off. Pachino is great at chewing up the scenery but in some scenes is just riduculous.

If you want to watch a real movie about gambling I suggest you check out Owning Mahowny with Philip Seymour Hoffman. Far and away the greatest gambling movie I've ever seen.

Posted by hypnobee at 4:21 PM

Waiting...

I had a chance to make it out to two movies this past weekend, sadly neither of which was Wallace and Gromit. I would've got to see it but because it's animated and I think they're gearing it towards children I couldn't find a show time later than 9:00 and it had started before we made it out to the theater.

Waiting is your typical slacker movie which takes place in Shenanigan's, your run of the mill cookie-cutter chain restaurant. The movie overall was decent and had enough laughs but with some minor tweaking it could've been made it into a great movie.

First off every slacker movie needs a killer soundtrack if you're going to achieve cult status. The music in Waiting was barely there and just as forgetable when it does surface. Secondly they could've gone a little further exploring each character. Sure everyone learns a lesson in the end but you don't end up caring because they never really fully developed the characters. On the plus side Ryan Renolds does a great job as the asshole/charmer who likes his women underage and is pretty much the only reason to see the movie.

Posted by hypnobee at 4:06 PM

October 9, 2005

Watch the First 9 minutes of Serenity on the Net

This is a pretty interesting marketing approach, Universal is making the first nine minutes of Serenity available on the net. This clip sets up the entire movie perfectly and would alleviate an apprehension of anyone that wanted to go see the movie but feared they wouldn't understand it without every seeing the TV series.




[LINK]

Posted by hypnobee at 10:53 AM

October 3, 2005

Serenity

I've never seen a single episode of Firefly, Buffy the vampire slayer or Angel but I've heard of the cult status they've achieved so I thought I'd check out Serenity. Serenity is the big screen treatment of Firefly which was cancelled after only 11 of it's 14 episodes aired.

Joss Whedon the creator of all the above and writer and director of Serenity is known for his fringe characters and witty dialogue. I could see why FOX would have to cancel something like this. Serenity has everything that was missing from the new Star Wars Trilogy and I can see why fans of the show latched on to it after only one season.

The movie was good but really didn't have the action packed excitement that you'd expect a sci-fi space epic would have but it was entertaining from start to finish non the less. Which is why it was probably released in late September and not in the middle of summer. I enjoyed the movie enough to go back and check out the TV show.

Posted by hypnobee at 6:00 AM

September 30, 2005

Thank You News Media – Flightplan Ruined

Apparently the plot twist in the movie Flightplan is news worthy and worth spoiling the movie for. I laid in bed this morning as the radio newscasters gave away the big twist in the movie. I hadn’t decided if I was going to watch the movie (mainly because the trailer appears to give away most of the movie) but now I don’t have to.

Isn’t there some other hurricane brewing somewhere that you should be milking and generating fear about?







Posted by hypnobee at 8:23 AM | Comments (1)

September 15, 2005

The Exorcism of Emily Rose

If you go into this movie expecting to see 2 hours of what they show in the trailer you'll be sorely disappointed. If you on the other hand read a few reviews or synopsis you'll have a better idea of what your getting yourself into.

I enjoyed the movie but I would be a little disappointed if I was going into to it thinking it was a full-on horror movie which the trailers imply and not the hybrid of courtroom drama and horror it actually is.

I doubt either part of the movie is strong enough to stand on it own but woven together it makes a half interesting movie. The horror part was done really well with an excellent job done Jennifer Carpenter as Emily Rose with all the crazy contorting and rigid moves, but I just couldn't seem them sustaining an entire movie with it and it not coming off as a rip-off of The Exorcist. The courtroom part of the movie was decent but I don't think the case nor the character were strong enough to pull it off.

I don't know if I can give it a full out recommendation as it wasn't a stand out great movie but it was at least entertaining... and really that's all it needs to be isn't it?

Posted by hypnobee at 6:00 AM

September 7, 2005

The Transporter 2

I should’ve known what I was getting into; the only scene I can vividly recall from the first Transporter is when Jason Statham deflects a surface to air rocket with a serving tray. Transporter 2 is pretty much the same thing, check your brain at the door and get ready for car chases and prop fighting.

I can accept when characters beat on each other senseless with pipes while busting through walls and falling off buildings only to get up, straighten their tie and shake the dust off their jacket but what I can’t accept is total disregard for physics. The Transporter shows a total lack of respect towards gravity and inertia, which I think when done to an extreme that they were done in this movie it tends to take you out of the movie and leaves you shaking your head.

People are starting to mention Jason Statham as a replacement for Pierce Brosnan as James Bond which I find absolutely ridiculous. Frank Martin is James Bond but without the cool gadgets and product placement. The Transporter looks to be spun into an on going franchise so I can’t see him jumping to Bond. Transporter 3 will probably be out in the summer of 2007 and I’ll probably go see it and I’ll only remember the ridiculous fight scene on the plane from Transporter 2.

Posted by hypnobee at 8:51 AM

August 31, 2005

Broken Flowers

This is a fantastic movie but I can’t recommend you go see it. If you hated Lost In Translation and don’t get Bill Murray in Life Aquatic you should pass on this movie because you’ll be too busy comparing him to those other movies that you’ll miss the point of this movie.

Bill Murray is receiving rave reviews for his work in this film. I think he did a great job and can’t think of another actor I could’ve substituted but I don’t know if it’s worth raving about. He should be congratulated on a job well done but we don’t need to blow the performance out the water with hype. It seems inappropriate to the character he plays. Some people can’t seem to wrap their heads around a comedian to being able to act so well, clearly they don’t understand what is involved in being a successful comedian as far as timing and subtlety and their relation to acting are concerned.

Jeffrey Wright (Winston) on the other hand did an amazing job and I think any praise he gets is well deserved. I’ll definitely have to keep an eye out for him in future projects.

Along with all the great acting in this movie there is the set design, as well the soundtrack which are integral parts to the movie as well and should not be overlooked. For example, I kept noticing in almost every interior shot, every wall had a single picture hanging in the center, the significance, I don't know. I'm sure this movie will be dissected at great lengths in film classes in the future. Just another aspect of the movie to soak in as you’re watching. The music is also fantastic, I’ll definitely be checking out the soundtrack.

I think that Broken Flowers deserves multiple viewings to fully absorb and appreciate it. This movie will definitely have you talking about it after you leave the theater which I think is it's ultimate goal.

Posted by hypnobee at 1:34 PM

August 25, 2005

Howl's Moving Castle

I got a chance to see Hayao Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle last night. It was fantastic, although I'd like to see it in the original Japanese with subtitles because I'm pretty sure Billy Crystal's performance as Calcifer had quite a bit of adlibbing and would like to compare it to the original (or as close as I can come without actually understanding Japanese). Don't get me wrong I still thought it was a good performance it just seemed a little over the top, it could be that his voice was so instantly recognizable that it was slightly distracting.

Howl's moving castle is full of great characters and settings that are wildly imaginative. The castle itself and the wicked witch of the waste's henchmen were my personal favourites as visual highlights go. The backgrounds were also great with tonnes of detail creating an entire believable universe.

The only fault I can find with the movie was that it ended with a nice little neat bow on it a little too quickly. For a 2 hour movie it just seemed rushed at the end. I've only seen the last 3 Miyazaki movies but this seems to be a trait they share. It might be that Miyazaki is trying to keep you wrapped up in the world he's created until the last possible instance until he has to release you.

It might seem like a bit of a stretch to sit through if you're not an animation fan but I still think it's a great movie.

Posted by hypnobee at 6:00 AM

August 16, 2005

March of the Penguins

Sorry Deuce you lose again.
I’ve always been a fan of the Emperor Penguin (my favourite tragically hip song) and would rank them as penguins go second only to the Jackass Penguin. I love the opening of the movie where they show a distant shot of penguins in silhouette as Morgan Freeman gives a brief history of the South Pole and how one tribe remained behind as the contents drifted apart and the tropical jungle that Antarctica was became the icy tundra that it is today.

The March of the Penguins follows the mating ritual of the Emperor Penguin as they instinctively travel to the center of the Artic tundra to mate and raise their young until they are old enough to fend for themselves while the fight to survive against the most brutual climate on earth.

I found the penguin’s movement fascinating and the glimpses of human-like mannerism to be mesmerizing. I generally don’t find myself rushing out to see many documentaries in the theaters but I’d say that if you’re looking to escape the mindless summer sequels and blow ‘em up films, this should do the trick.

Posted by hypnobee at 9:38 AM

August 15, 2005

Four Brothers

My plan was to go see Deuce Bigalow this weekend but I couldn’t convince anyone to come along, instead I ended up going to see Four Brothers.

I’ve driven through Detroit but I’ve never actually stopped. Man, do they love their gun there! I found it more disturbing that all the gun play that happened through out the movie seemed very matter of fact way, “well they killed my mother, now I’m going to have to go and kill them.” as if that was the only course of action that could happen. I don’t know if I had trouble connecting to the movie because I’m not from Detroit or anything that even remotely resembles it or it was just a crappy story that failed to draw me in.

People often cringe when they hear that a music artist is going to start branching out into acting. I like to give everyone the benefit of the doubt because they are not only musicians and/or singers, they’re entertainers. What do you think a music video is? It’s a short film and most of the time it involves them doing something other than standing there and singing. Andre 3000 (Andre Benjamin) from Outkast turned out a solid performance I can see him getting a lot more work.

Overall the movie had a couple moment but as a whole didn't really drag me into it. If you've enjoyed past John Singleton movies you should enjoy this one.

Posted by hypnobee at 12:53 PM | Comments (1)

August 12, 2005

I need to go to the movies.

Ah the weekend’s here. I need to go see a movie. I haven’t seen anything since Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and for someone who usually goes every week it’s been a long time since I’ve gone to the movies.

I check out rottentomatoes.com to see what’s come out this week. I really don’t put much weight behind their rankings ever since the led me astray with The Bone Collector. I might check out something if it’s getting really great reviews and I wasn’t previously interested. But mainly it's just to see what's coming out this week.

But this week I see something that makes me want to run out and go see the movie right now, Deuce Bigalow:European Gigalo 3 % approval. I think that’s the lowest I’ve ever seen of a movie on RT. Awesome! I probably wasn’t going to see this but now I have to. How could it be any worse than Fantastic Four which got a well deserved 26%. I saw the first one and thought it was pretty decent. I enjoy Rob scheinder and know what to expect going into his movies. Let’s see if all these reviewers have their heads so far up their asses that they don’t know a fart joke when it blows by their head.

Posted by hypnobee at 3:31 PM

July 22, 2005

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Tim Burton and Johnny Depp combine to make another fantastic movie. I have to admit I didn't expect too much going in. I was overly pumped for the last Tim Burton Movie; Big Fish which was good but not a good as I hoped it would be.

I did enjoyed Charlie and The Chocolate Factory from start to finish. As usual with any Tim Burton movie it's the attention to the details that push the movie to the next level. Depp's performance is creepy but not over the top. The Umpa Lumpa's are pulled off without seeming cheesy or knockoffs of the originals.

UPDATE
Despite the obvious physical appearance Depp insists Willy Wonka is not based on Michael Jackson [LINK]

Posted by hypnobee at 6:00 AM

July 17, 2005

The Fantastic Four

It's Sunday, I've missed Friday's post. There was a thunderstorm on Thursday afternoon that's knocked out my internet(which is still out), so I was unable to post. I would've like to posted this on Friday morning with the hope of preventing you from going to see the worst comic book movie I've ever seen but that didn't happen. Now I can only hope that you still haven't seen it and my message reaches you in time.

That's right I said, "the worst comic book movie I've ever seen", even ahead of the two Joel "Nipple Armor" Schumacher Batman's. His are actually worse movies but because Fantastic Four was made after those and they should've learned how he single handedly destroyed a movie franchise, I'm moving Fantastic Four to the top of the list.

Enough of that, Fantastic Four is soo bad for the following reasons:

1. It's the Fantastic Four: Who reads this comic anymore, if you're going to make a superhero movie choose some interesting characters, there's enough to choose from. I blame greedy credit taker Stan "It was all me" Lee for probably pushing this into development.

2. From the director of Barbershop and Taxi: Are you kidding me, is that the best they can do? I suppose and decent director took a look and the grade school level script and walked away.

3. The script: Sooo bad. The dialog and character development is almost non existent. Hitting you over the head again and again, Mr. Fantastic - Geek, Ben Grimms - Angry, Human Torch - show off...and so on. And where is the action, it's a superhero movie lets see some action.

4. Mr. Fantastic's head is enormous: His head is so huge that it's distracting. If you end up watching the movie try to estimate the percent of screen space Reed Richard's head takes up. Hopefully it's just his hair style, either that or actor Ioan Gruffudd's neck has gotta be pretty sore from lugging around that giant watermelon of a head all day.

I could go on and on but really it's just too easy. With all the progress Batman Begins may have made to changing the general public's opinion that comic book movies are childlike fluff and not to be regarded as a "real" movie, Fantastic Four manages to wipe out and possibly regress in less than 106 mins.

I think the MPAA should change their rating of this film which is currently rated PG-13 for sequences of intense action, and some suggestive content.

Intense action... that's totally misleading.

Posted by hypnobee at 8:38 PM

July 8, 2005

Batman Begins

Far and away the best Batman in the series. If you haven't seen it yet you're missing out. Standing on the shoulders of Tim Burton's Batman who made the dark night, dark and Brian Singer's X-Men who made a serious superhero movie and cut out the camp. This Batman serves it out serious and dark and you should love it.

Batman in full cape and cowl doesn't show up until an hour into the movie and yet the whole time you're drawn into the movie and not finding yourself begging for some butt kicking actin. An excellent retelling of the batman orgin. The movie provides some nodes to those who follow the comic without leaving out those who don't.

I don't think you'll find a better movie this summer to go see.

Also if you see Joel Schumaker feel free to kick him in the shin for me for making those last two batman's.

Posted by hypnobee at 6:00 AM

July 1, 2005

War of the Worlds

What can I say but what a disappointment.

The best think about War of the Worlds was the preview of Peter Jackson's King Kong.

I've come to expect more of both Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise. It's been a while since either have put out a dud. I wasn't that excited going into this because I thought Spielberg could've picked a better movie to make. I don't mind seeing remakes of movies I've never seen but I'm pretty sure that the ending of War of Worlds is hard wired into everyones brain and we are born knowing the ending.

Even knowing the ending the whole build up did nothing for me. It brought back bitter memories of M. Night's Signs, which I totally despised. And there was a fat Tim Robbins, who makes me angry just at the sight of him.

I think you could enjoy this movie if you had just recently recieved some form of massive head trauma that will allow you to suspend disbelief of Tom Cruise as a longshoreman and all the other nonsense that takes place.

Posted by hypnobee at 12:07 PM