SOMETIMES HOLIDAYS ARE FOR THE BIRDS

A perfect storm of personal difficulties required the staff to make an impromptu trip out of town to spend the Thanksgiving holidays with some family we didn’t think we would see until Christmas. Frankly, it’s turned into the kind of month that makes a person understand some of those Psalms just a little bit better. You know the ones; the Catechism describes them as “the distraught situation of the believer who, in his preferential love for the Lord, is exposed to a host of enemies and temptations, but who waits upon what the faithful God will do, in the certitude of his love and in submission to his will.” Yeah, those. Anyway, we’re back in town and although things are still bumpy around here, we should be back on schedule in a few days.

"Four Christmases," aka "Give Me More Comedies About Unappologetic Jerks"

Y'know what bothers me? We don't make many comedies about "iffy" people who STAY iffy anymore. Or at least it seems like we don't. Lots of comedies about all-around good people, LOTS about bad-to-iffy people who turn good in the third act... but very few where the main characters enter AND exit the film as just-this-side-of-dickish.

The original "Fun With Dick and Jane" was about a pair of people who were attractive and witty enough that we ENJOYED them... but who were also shallow, vain, lazy and obnoxious. And it WORKED because that delicate balance allowed the film to achieve that old saw about the having and consuming of one's cake: We enjoy watching Dick and Jane as they go through their adventure, but they've "got it coming" enough that we can ALSO enjoy circumstance conspiring to smack them around a little. The recent remake didn't have quite the same balls, instead framing it's leads as fundamentally good people stuck in a bad situation: a corporate raiding has left them unemployed and desperate, and they turn to crime as a last resort; while in the original they were a pair of pampered yuppie scum who turned to crime because it was easier than having to go get normal jobs. Unsurprisingly, the new version isn't very good.

See also: Part of the genius of the first "Vacation" is that Clark W. Griswold NEVER actually learns "his lesson" or anything else: He begins and ends the film almost psychotically-obsessed with his perfect family vacation, with his ultimate triumph being the final surrender of his family, the local police and even the proprietor of Wally World itself into joining him in the surreal fantasy-land where his perspective makes perfect sense.

The fact that comedies generally don't have those kind of balls anymore for the most part means that, when one goes to see a new comedy about "bad" or at least "socially unacceptable" behavior one must assume ahead of time that the film is going to turn - usually dishonestly - against itself in the third act... And it almost NEVER fully works, because most "bad behavior" comedies are at their core about letting the audience enjoy said behavior vicariously. See: "Wedding Crashers," which would have been even MORE hysterical and edgy if it had allowed Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson to remain committed to their sketchy-yet-effective sexual hobby rather than having them "grow up." Problem is, it's harder than you'd think to really muster up the artistic guts to DO that when, at the end of the day, people LIKE their entertainment to ultimately reassure them that the basic mythology of "mainstream" cultural institutions (particularly ones they're part of) is sound and desirable.

And so we have "Four Christmases," which has a plot structure that allows four pretty-good setups for "dysfunctional family gathering" movies to be boiled down to their funniest elements and served together for maximum impact... but the same aforementioned lack of follow-through that finally renders it only 3/4ths of a good movie.


The central figures are Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon as an urbane San Fransisco couple who are philosophically opposed to marriage, have no interest in becoming parents and are - this is important - completely and utterly in love. They ADORE one-another, spend as much time together as possible, and for all the world just can't be happier. And, for a moment there, it seems like the film might be more interesting than it seemed: Here are two characters SOMEHOW managing to live a life outside the social-strictures of "how relationships are supposed to go" who AREN'T poorer or flawed for the experience. But, you know it can't last: It's a modern American comedy, so you know ahead of time that the film will eventually contrive to punish their frivolity and cheer the triumph of Glorious Conformity. But they're fun while it lasts.

Understand, for the record, that I'm not griping about the film's message in and of itself - just the execution. The IDEA that these two people's rejection of the traditional holiday mythos represents a personal and relationship flaw that MUST be corrected... fine, no problem. Sure, it's trite and predictable, but nothing ultimately WRONG with it. The film just doesn't do a good job SELLING the premise: What we see of the relationship is perfectly functional, and the supposed "rifts" essentially boil down to their failure to reveal past family-related traumas.


Both characters are the children of messy divorces between colorful parents whom they make an annual ritual out of avoiding for the Holidays. But when circumstances collide forcing them to miss a vacation flight AND appear on TV looking guilty, they resign themselves to a marathon visit of all four eccentric households on Christmas day. This includes his boorish father (Robert Duvall) and roid-raging cage-fighter brothers, her born-again mother (Mary Steenburgen) and "cougar den" of sisters and aunts, his hippie mom (Sissy Spacek) and much younger boyfriend and finally her father (Jon Voight) the final uninteresting stop because thats where the "lessons" have to be learned.

The first three sketches, at least, retain a degree of the edge hinted at by the first act as, one by one, the various sacred cows of the American Christmas get trotted out for a swift kick in the ass: The kids aren't sweet and wonderful - they're brats. The babies aren't magical - they're loud and smelly. The Church nativity play isn't heartwarming - it's plastic and repellant. The thought ISN'T all that counts. Whack! Whack! Whack! Whack! It's all very funny and spectacularly cathartic if you can just forget that you're being set up for a "lesson" - especially the parts focusing on Witherspoon, who's natural I-practically-shit-fresh-baked-apple-pie All-American persona is here used to great ironic effect. She has a scene involving the improper holding of an infant that I actually felt a little bad about laughing so hard at, and several others involving her phobia about children. You haven't had this much fun watching a blonde chick whack the stuffing out of little kids since "Narnia."

But the fun DOES have to end, and end it does at the doorstep of John Voigt - who may actually be MORE insufferably treacly and heavy-handed here than he was in "An American Carol"... and in THAT film he was playing the Ghost of George Washington haunting the wreckage of 9/11. The guy's still a great actor, but he's allowed typecasting to turn him into a one-note effigy of The Repentant Boomer. I'm not sure how much of the goodwill the man garnered from his much-lauded 70s films and the much-appreciated fathering of your wife/girlfriend's secret gay crush he has left to throw away in these treacly cameos.

It's not a bad film, it's just a miss. And I just couldn't help but wonder if it wouldn't have been better to just follow through on that initial energy, kick the crap out of Holiday Cheer and leave the uplift to the other three billion Christmas movies.

How To Lose Friends And Alienate People

Californication

Thanks to Edgar Martínez

New OverThinker episode...

http://gameoverthinker.blogspot.com/2008/11/episode-fifteen-politics-of-gaming.html

"The Politics of Gaming," or "Bob Asks For Trouble By Trying To Divine - Even As A JOKE - What The Political Leanings Of Various Game Characters Might Be." The line to hurl invectives at me for "slandering" your favorite mascot by suggesting their theoretical politics might align differently from yours forms to the left, behind the angry man dressed as Dixie Kong.

LG Announces 3D TV For 2009

LG is one of my favorite gadget companies. We have one of their phones and a laptop too. Now comes word from Choon Lee, VP of their Digital TV Research Lab that LG will release at least one 3D TV in 2009.

Lee stated at the Digital TV Technology centre in Seoul: "3D TVs are the next big step for (LG) - we will try with one or two markets in 2009... Over the next few years we will see lots more 3D"

You've got that right Choon. Can't wait to get a 3D set up at home myself - the question is, what set up is best? When the time is right I will run down all the choices we will be able to make for 3D Home Theater. Stay tuned.

Source: T3

Get Smart

Quick Post: iZ3D Announces General Availability of Latest 3D Display Driver

New 3D Driver is First to Support Broad Types of Stereoscopic 3D Displays and Includes Expanded Features

San Diego, Calif., November 24, 2008 -- iZ3D LLC, designer, developer and pioneer of advanced stereoscopic 3D visualization systems, announced the latest release of its popular stereoscopic 3D monitor driver today. The Version 1.09 Driver began shipping with iZ3D’s 22” widescreen 3D/2D switchable monitor in October and is now generally available at www.iz3d.com.

iZ3D has been publishing regular S-3D driver updates since its first driver release in 2006. Since then, iZ3D has become the defacto-standard for stereoscopic 3D drivers among gamers, display OEMs, and system hardware providers wanting to enable 3D gaming and entertainment.

“iZ3D is committed to bring S-3D to the mainstream. We recognized the importance of software drivers when developing our second generation display in 2006 and began releasing our own drivers with the introduction of the 22” monitor model,” stated Thomas Streigler, iZ3D’s CEO. “Since then, our software group has worked closely with customer beta testers to regularly update and improve our drivers and expand functionality to support a broad range of 3D outputs,” he added.

Expanded Features
This is the first S-3D driver to feature a user-friendly interface, flexible per-game profile system, and compatibility with multiple popular dual output cards and 3D hardware. In addition to the iZ3D output, the new driver now also supports a variety of additional S-3D outputs enabling it to support a wide range of 3D viewing hardware.

The supported stereoscopic methods supported in Version 1.09 include:
- iZ3D output

- Anaglyph output

- Dual output

- Interlaced output

- Shutter output

- Stereo Mirror output

- VR920 output

- 3D DLP output

The driver is compatible with DirectX games and content and runs on Windows XP 32-bit, Windows XP 64-bit, Windows Vista 32-bit, and Windows Vista 64-bit operating systems.

Driver Price and Availability
The Version 1.09 Driver is available at www.iz3d.com with a licensing fee of $49.99 per driver output. Customers that are buying iZ3D’s 22” 3D monitor get both the iZ3D and Anaglyph driver outputs included as part of their 3D kit.
iZ3D also offers drivers for OpenGL Quad Buffer applications with a licensing fee of $99.99 to $499.99 and additional software applications for 3D movie and image viewing

The iZ3D Solution
The iZ3D solution includes a widescreen monitor, viewing glasses, and software drivers. iZ3D developed this unique technology to create an adjustable viewing environment that delivers 3D without the eyestrain, spatial disorientation, or headaches commonly associated with other 3D approaches.

The 22-inch monitor, which is optimized for 3D viewing, can also be easily toggled into a 2D mode when required for productivity applications or email. In 3D mode, viewers see bright, sharp 3D images or video simply by installing the software driver and wearing any of eight iZ3D passive polarized glasses. New or existing PCs equipped with a dual-output video card easily power the display.

Specifications include:
- 1680 x 1050 resolution

- Up to 170-degree 3D viewing angle

- 5ms response time

- 700:1 contrast ratio

- 16.7-million colors

- 300 nits


Most PC games released in the last five years, including many of the most popular multiplayer online, first person shooter, and role-playing games, have already been designed for 3D displays. iZ3D’s optimized driver unlocks the third (depth) dimension of these 3D-ready games to allow gamers to finally play them as they were written – in 3D.

Monitor Solution Availability
The iZ3D 22-inch monitor is currently available at www.staples.com, www.criticalbuy.com, www.pcmall.com, www.amazon.com, www.newegg.com, www.iZ3D.com, and other online retailers.

###

About iZ3D, LLC
iZ3D™ LLC is a leading innovator of 3D stereoscopic viewing display solutions. In addition to the design and marketing of 3D LCD displays, the company enables 3D content creation, and promotes the accelerated proliferation of 3D for entertainment and professional applications.

To present an uncompromised 3D experience, company’s development approach to 3D stereoscopic viewing includes optimizing solutions for gaming, home entertainment, and professional applications. Each solution is compatible with multiple graphics cards and includes iZ3D high-performance LCD displays, lightweight passive polarized glasses, and blazingly fast software.

The company is also developing next generation solutions and enabling content for home entertainment and professional applications needing 3D displays to view visually rich movies, photos, and 3-dimensional graphics with amazing depth, brightness, and resolution.

iZ3D was formed as joint venture of Taiwan-based Chi Mei Optoelectronics, a worldwide leader in TFT-LCD manufacturing and Neurok Optics LLC, a US-based 3D technology developer and marketing company. The company distributes its products directly at the iZ3D online store and through major online and retail outlets. Please visit www.iz3d.com or call 858.646.3015 for more information.

Quick Post: Panasonic Submits Proposal For 3D Standard On Blu-ray Disc

Jim here. It's happening very fast - Panasonic is jumping ahead of the crowd and moving for 3DHD standardization. Here is a quote from EngadgetHD:

"Just days after hearing that the HDMI specification could be updated to better handle stereoscopic 3D content, along comes word that Panasonic has submitted a proposal to the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) for an official BD standard to store 3D imagery formed of "left / right-eye two-channel Full HD images." Panny reportedly made the move early in order avoid a format war, but really, it's just looking to cash in on royalties for the next decade five years or less. It's no secret that movie studios are dead set on moving forward with 3D production -- might as well be ready on the other end, right?"

Looks like a powerplay, but of course it was coming. Let's see what pans out - there are a lot of players in the market! The sooner we get 3DHD into our homes the better.

Source: EngadgetHD

Quick Post: NFL Going 3D For Chargers - Raiders Game Dec 4th!

Awesome! Jim here. The NFL is again looking to 3D as an experimental option by the screening of a 3D NFL game to select theaters in LA, NYC and Boston - this time LIVE.

"The idea is a "proof of concept," says Howard Katz, NFL senior vice president of broadcasting and media operations. "We want to demonstrate this and let people get excited about it and see what the future holds."

"The several hundred guests at the three participating theaters Dec. 4 will include representatives from the NFL's broadcasting partners and from consumer-electronics companies. The event will be closed to the general public. Burbank, Calif.-based 3ality Digital LLC will shoot the game with special cameras and transmit it to a satellite. Thomson SA's Technicolor Digital Cinema is providing the satellite services and digital downlink to each theater, and Real D 3D Inc. will power the display in the theaters."

3ality filmed the 2004 Super Bowl in 3D and so it is nice to see them attached to the live event as well - the technology has improved a great deal in 4 years! Hopefully we will see live 3DHD sports and events in the home in a few years time. Football BEGS to be shown in 3D - it is a match made in heaven.

Source: WSJ

It's Baaaack: The James Cameron / Jon Landau Discussion At Microsoft Advance 08

Jim here. It disappeared for awhile (old link was here) - but an intrepid reader of MarketSaw (thanks Mirza!) sent me the link so that we can watch the excellent conversation between James Cameron and Jon Landau at Microsoft Advance 08. They spoke there as they used Microsoft to co-develop an digital asset management system to track all of the components of their shots (blades of grass, vines, buildings, etc).

They talk mainly about AVATAR and the technology that they used for the project. It's about 50 minutes long. A few things of note:

1. They have 120 cameras surrounding their performance capture volume.
2. Actors wore a headset similar to what Madonna wears for her concerts - but rather than a mike in front of her face, it is a camera - capturing all of their facial movements.
3. Cameron used a virtual camera that he held with both hands and he was able to scan around the volume in realtime and have a crude CGI mockup display for him with the actors and backgrounds in place - buildings, mountains, jungle - you name it. Very powerful.

Here is the link. It should spawn Windows Media Player.

If that one doesn't work for whatever reason, go here and then scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on "James Cameron and Producer Jon Landau of Lightstorm Entertainment".

If you have further notes that you would like to share from the video, by all means list them in the comments. I chose these as my highlights.

VOTE FOR GAME OVERTHINKER (aka ME)

I don't know which makes me feel like a bigger attention-whore: The constant self-promotion or the tactlessness of double-posting it into both blogs. BUT, that's the game.

ScrewAttack.com has informed me (and, I presume, many many many others) that I am elligible to be nominated for their Gaming 1337 ("leet") awards. So... if y'all dig my stuff, howzabout voting for me? ;)

Here's how it works: Go to this page: http://screwattack.com/Nominations Where you'll find a form with multiple fields in which to nominate folks/projects by their name and website URL for various awards. "Game OverThinker," for example, would best fit into the "best independent gaming show" category. Fill out each field (or only the ones on which you have an opinion) with the name and URL (my URL here is http://gameoverthinker.blogspot.com/ and the name is "Game OverThinker" remember,) then your name and email below and click "submit." Apparently you can do this once a day... I bet that would be a fun thing to do ;)

Thanks again for the support.

AVATAR Source: Teaser Clip Being Readied For Early December AND Our Exclusive Images Confirmed!

Jim here. A lot of excitement has been generated over the past few days about AVATAR and what is happening with this project. Security has been extremely tight, but that has never stopped us before right?

And so, I have been in contact with another source of mine (in a position to know) and he/she assures me of the following items:

1. The recent concept art from Jonay is not representative of what the Na'vi look like today and was his own work. Ok, fair enough - Jonay was clear about them being a way of getting a position with them and not the real deal. This also backs up this claim.
2. The silhouette version of the female Na'vi and the zoomed in close up of the male Na'vi in this exclusive high resolution shot ARE real. We should expect the female Na'vi to be extremely attractive to most, but the males will be very sinister and dark.
3. Ney'tiri herself will be exceptionally attractive and sexy.
4. James Cameron WILL HAVE a a video teaser ready for early December and it will have visual effects and CGI! We are not certain if it will be shown before Day The Earth Stood Still (DTESS), but the actual footage portion will be 2 minutes and 15 seconds long. I am guessing that the additional time will be filled with perhaps Cameron talking about the project and how awesome it will be, or even past box office successes from Cameron - we all know that the teaser containers said 3 minutes and 57 seconds. Or we could actually see the full 3:57 - the big message here is that we should expect to see this teaser. I still am hazarding a guess for the 3D Summit in LA or a teaser trailer for DTESS.
5. Weta is having a hard time pleasing Cameron on pieces of AVATAR. JC sometimes doesn't like what he sees (we know this already about him - he is a perfectionist) so Weta struggles at times with it. Not overly surprising, but still - Weta knows what they are doing!
6. Cameron has a great marketing plan in mind - no one knows what it is yet though!
7. The AVATAR footage that Jon Favreau saw was 90% pre visuals.

Interesting stuff! Nice to hear that the silhouette and high resolution zoom of the Na'vi is REAL. Many of you thought that Weta has borrowed something from KING KONG for the design of this sinister creature - you may be bang on. Apparently the Ney'tiri character will be a knock out and will be talked about a lot by guys everywhere! And how about seeing that teaser - he assures us that a large block of special effects and CGI has been readied for early December! Peculiar that he says that is only 2:15m, but hey lots of things could be put in to round it up to almost 4m. Man I hope it is revealed at the 3D Entertainment Summit, but it looks as though DTESS will be the vehicle to launch the first official teaser trailer based on the clip being ready in December.

I have asked some follow up questions and I will let you know more when I do... I hope this guy/gal continues to send us stuff, because the insight into AVATAR is amazing.

The Rocker

Thanks to Mikhail Abasov

New Jonas Brothers 3D Concert Poster

Jim here. The new Jonas Brothers 3D Concert movie poster is on the interwebs. Gotta say it looks a little lame - but maybe this is only the first of a few of them. Looks more like a high end luggage ad to me.

I was expecting a poster immersed in the actual concert footage - I think that would give a better idea of what was in store for them - unless there is a ton of behind the scenes storyline. Could be.

Has anybody heard if it will be just the concert or there is some 'reality' to it? Their lives must be pretty surreal to most 'tweens though. I hope the movie is a success, they seem like nice kids. Can't say I am into their music, but I will tap my feet to just about anything anyway!

Using U2 3D as my barometer, they have a long way to go to show me the goods on this movie - but I know technically it will be done EXTREMELY well. Vince Pace is involved. Vince is the co-inventor of the Pace/Cameron Fusion 3D camera system that is being used on AVATAR and many other projects. You can read more about PACE here.

Twilight

I'm hoping against hope that I get to review what is apparently the most successful work of Mormon Vampire Abstinence Porn ever produced "officially" under different circumstances, but let me offer a few thoughts in no particular order:

• Joss Whedon is a fucking genius. I know I'm late to the party on this, but honestly I was never MASSIVELY into Buffy at any point. Just not my thing. But now having seeing what "teen-angst vampires in high school" looks like as executed by people without the first clue at what they're doing? WOW. I never knew how good I had it.
• Lead heroine's name is "Bella." Ha. Ha. Ha. Wow, I've got WHIPLASH from the sheer force of how clever that is.
• This movie IS the Love Story of our time - as in the MOVIE "Love Story." And much like that earlier film, this one will be loved FIERCELY by it's audience and make a ton of money but less than a decade from now they'll all be pretending they knew it was lame all along and NO ONE will be able to explain why it was ever such a big deal.
• Just about everything you need to know about the mental-stability of the folks working the teen-abstinence/"purity ring" movements is that they've largely embraced THIS franchise - the story of a sullen, antisocial teenaged girl who instantly subsumes her entire being into a relationship with a much older manic-depressive creep who behaves (to put it charitably) like a full-blown stalker and worries about getting too close to her because he might lose control of the urge to rip her throat out - as presenting a healthy view of romantic relationships to young girls.
• Things this movie "removes" from the vampire mythos: bats, coffins, fangs, garlic, stakes. Things it "contributes" in their place: Vampires like to play baseball, but they have to do it during thunderstorms because their super-powered bat-cracks won't be noticed; and instead of bursting into flames in sunlight, vampires' skin spontaneously sprouts a layer of Body Glitter. Sparkly, baseball-playing vampires. I never thought I'd miss Wesley Snipes so much...

The sex and the city

Thanks to Sindro4ka

27 Dresses

Thanks to Mikhail Abasov

Jonay Bacallado And The "Avatar" Concept Art

**SAME DAY UPDATE: Just got another email from Jonay - he states: "The images were created before anyone at costume department was hired... These pics were my passport, just to prove I could handle the job, they gave me freedom to create".

You now understand my motivation and how these images first appeared. BAH.

You may have recently seen posts related to concept art from Jonay Bacallado - I have received a couple of emails from this guy and here is his last one:

"I'm Jonay Bacallado, the author of the images. They are part of my artwork, my personal artwork, and it has nothing to do with the actual concept art of the film. The interview will be removed from www.plansiete.com as well, I've spoken about his incident with responsibles of the program, becuase information it's not accurate, and things can be misunderstood. Please, I have to ask you to remove this information, because the images shown are part of my own portfolio, no one has asked for authorisation, and of course,and most importantly, those designs have nothing to do with the real concepts and designs. I spoke during the interview about my experience, images were taken from my website, and they asume they are real concept art, but is not. Just to emphasise what I'm trying to explain mention that the design of characters have been done by another team, and we only get invlolved in costume, and as I said before, Avatar is far from this personal creation of mine included in my portfolio. This would get me into trouble, and without a reason, because this is NOT AVATAR CONCEPT ART. So please, people who follows Avatar news deserve to know that this concepts are FAKES, they are my creation, but have nothing to do with the work done in pre-production. Thank you, Jonay Bacallado."

Here are my comments: Firstly, from my point of view the video (Spanish?) showed Jonay being interviewed on television with supposed authorized images of his work as a concept artist. I mean, what network doesn't get permission before showing an interview? Isn't that part of the due diligence of a television network? It was from this video that the original images were screen captured (by myself and apparently IO9) and this whole commotion started. One would assume that an NDA expired or he has permission from Fox.

Secondly, he is clearly listed as an Illustrator and Costume Designer for AVATAR on his IMDB resume page. Clearly he had access or even designed for the movie so why would these images not be real or at least heavily influenced by them? They would be.

Thirdly, the images did not have any text on them saying that they are fake, representations, fanart, or anything of the sort. To the contrary, they had text on them saying "First Concept", etc. Hardly the terms used for fanart by someone actually working on the movie.

Lastly, I am at a loss as to why someone who worked on AVATAR with obvious access to the creatures therein, took it upon himself to create creatures that in no way represent anything to do with AVATAR, yet are clearly from AVATAR.

I think the situation stinks quite frankly. I think Fox forced him to contact everyone under threat of a lawsuit to state that they are fake. In my opinion, they are not fake, but early representations of the Na'vi. I will stand by that statement too. Sure the final creatures in AVATAR may look slightly different - heck maybe quite a bit different given that huge sinister behemoth discovered in our exclusive AVATAR set photo - but the point is they started out looking like what we had the opportunity to look at.

Frustrated? You bet. Disappointed that Fox can't get their act together to appease their would be audience with at least teasers - so that young aspiring illustrators and designers don't have to worry as much about making a mistake and get sued? You bet. Your target market is hungry for material - it's time. Really.

So we are back to hoping that their is teaser material at the 3D Entertainment Summit in LA in early December and/or in front of DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL. Great.

As far as Jonay is concerned I have no ill will toward him - he is just doing what he is told. I wish him Godspeed.

Alex Aja's "Piranha 3D": Concept Art|

Yeah - what is this immaculate conception week? Yet another piece of concept art today, this time officially through The Weinstein Co. and Alexandre Aja for their 3D horror film PIRANHA 3D. The wonderful guys over at ShockTilYouDrop picked up this story.

Here is the movie's synopsis:

"What do they really eat?"

"You mean besides flesh and blood?"

A new type of terror is about to be cut lose on beautiful Lake Victoria. After a sudden underwater terror sets free scores of prehistoric man-eating fish, an unlikely group of strangers, including hot local cop Julie Forester, must band together to stop themselves from becoming fish food for the area's new razor-toothed residents. But out heroine is seriously outnumbered, and with only one chance to save the lake and her family from totally being devoured, she must risk everything to destroy the aquatic carnivores herself.

Did I just read "hot local cop" just now? Just who are they targetting for this movie's demographic anyway? Well the concept art looks sufficiently fierce and if you multiple that fish by oh 100,000 then you get the real meaning behind this pic. Don't forget Aja's pledge of a brutal blood bath - if anyone is capable of delivering on that pledge - it's Aja.

INTERMISSION: THE LAW IS AN... WELL, YOU KNOW

You want the truth. You can't handle the truth! Because the truth is that I've been asked to provide expert testimony in a proceeding involving the profession I occasionally make money at. Me. Expert testimony. How scary is that? Unfortunately, the hearing is this Monday, so I've got a bit of cramming to do before then, which means lite blogging for a few days.

The Catechism makes the distinction between a common law, which is "a rule of conduct enacted by competent authority for the sake of the common good", and God's moral law, which is "the work of divine Wisdom. Its biblical meaning can be defined as fatherly instruction, God's pedagogy. It prescribes for man the ways, the rules of conduct that lead to the promised beatitude; it proscribes the ways of evil which turn him away from God and his love... There are different expressions of the moral law, all of them interrelated: eternal law - the source, in God, of all law; natural law; revealed law, comprising the Old Law and the New Law, or Law of the Gospel; finally, civil and ecclesiastical laws." The hierarchy of the various expressions of the moral law is notable as it often calls Catholics to oppose otherwise legal actions because we (cliche or not) must ultimately answer to a higher authority.

Alas, my case involves only a lowly civil matter regarding financial matters, not some dramatic situation where I'll get to invoke said higher authority or fling a pocket knife into a table to save the life of someone falsely accused or anything like that. Oh well, at least it should be a more enjoyable experience than the one time I was summoned for jury duty. During the screening process (after a seven hour wait) I was asked two questions: "Are you self employed" and "where do you attend church"? After answering yes to the first and giving the name of my Catholic parish for the second, I was promptly sent home. So, was it the fact that I have to pay the IRS that 15% self-employment tax or the fact that I'm Catholic which made me unfit to sit in judgment of a wife-abuser? They never told me. Guess they thought I couldn't handle the truth.

The Simpsons

Three brief thoughts

Seeing "Twilight" later tonight. Y'know what's already bugging me? I get that the lead vampire guys all look like the Jonas Brothers because it's mainly a movie for teenaged chicks... But how do they get all their man-makeup and hair gel properly applied without reflections? Or is this another "everything you know about vampires is wrong" thing? I dunno. When was the last time there WAS a vampire movie where all the 'rules' were in place, to begin with?

Also: Now that "Captain America" has a director and two writers (Joe Johnston and the Narnia scribes, respectively, in all three cases ALARMINGLY good if on-the-nose choices) thoughts now innevitably turn to casting. Let me weigh in on one of the bigger sticking points right off the bat: I think Captain AMERICA should be played by an AMERICAN actor - not because of some notion of patriotic symbolism... I just know it'll be annoying as HELL to have to hear that particular question-and-stock-answer come up in every damn interview for the next year and half.

"Casino Royale" had no jokes, no inside-references, no gadgets, no henchman, no nicknamed bad guys, no funny-name Bond girls, no SPECTER, no hideout, etc. "Quantum of Solace" has a couple jokes, one inside reference (to Goldfinger, and cracking well-done by the way,) a couple sorta gadgets, a sorta-henchman, a bad who's kind-of nicknamed (mock-environmentalist named "Greene,") one possibly funny-name Bond girl, the SUGGESTION of a very SPECTER-like 'Quantum' society and something almost resembling a hideout. My question: At this rate, is it going to take two or three more sequels for James Bond to turn into James Bond instead of a slightly-less whiny-bitch version of Jason Bourne?

Can It Get Any Better? Concept Art: Na'vi Riding Some Sort Of Beast

**FINAL UPDATE Nov 22: Read what happened with these images here.

** UPDATE Nov 22: I am removing this content at the request of the copyright holder. More details to follow.

Another one! Jim here with yet another awesome pencil drawing of a Na'vi riding some sort of beast - the animal is a mere outline though unfortunately! She definitely looks to be in a saddle of sorts though...

Wow! More AVATAR Concept Art From Na'vi Artist Uncovered!

**FINAL UPDATE Nov 22: Read what happened with these images here.

**UPDATE Nov 22: I am removing this content at the request of the copyright holder. More details to follow.

James Cameron's AVATAR: The First Authentic Concept Art Of Pandora's Na'vi!

**FINAL UPDATE Nov 22: Read what happened with these images here.

**UPDATE Nov 22: I am removing this content at the request of the copyright holder. More details to follow.

**SAME DAY UPDATE #2: * Check out these fresh new images just in today! More from the same artist!

**SAME DAY UPDATE: And here we go!! Thanks to Liam who left a comment pointing to this link for the video! It is in Spanish and has the actual concept artist being interviewed - here is his photo too! Hope he doesn't get into too much trouble - but hey, it's the Interwebs right??

CONTENT REMOVED AT REQUEST OF COPYRIGHT HOLDER

Max Payne

Thanks to Mikhail Abasov

New Ice Age 3 Trailer "Scrat"ches Its Way Online!

Update (Friday night) -- I just got back from seeing BOLT, which is definitely Disney's best CG feature yet.  It's hilarious and full of action and heart and should definitely be seen in 3-D.  Anyway, I also saw this Ice Age 3 trailer in 3-D in front of Bolt, and it looked amazing--clear, smooth, and immersive.  I really felt an inch away from Scrat's funny-looking snout as he sniffed around for that acorn.  So all indications are that Fox is nailing the 3-D in Ice Age 3!

Hi everyone, Michael here with a brand new Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs trailer featuring everyone's favorite squirrel/rat hybrid, Scrat! And this time, Scrat may even have a love interest. But who will win Scrat's heart--The Acorn or the girl-squirrel?

Watch the trailer over at Apple for high def!

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs stomps into 3-D and regular theaters on July 1.

Decalage Horaire

Quick Post: Cameron Will Not Make 3DX - "Avatar" teaser NOT shown

**SAME DAY UPDATE #2: Quote from my source: "The JC video showed him in his screening room editing Avatar. Sigourney Weaver could be seen (it was an intentional 3D c*ck tease, totally unfair - she was on the screen and you couldn't make anything else out) and it looked like he was cutting on final cut pro (perhaps at home?). He said the usual blah blah about 3D being great and him being a pioneer etc. I thought it was okay and a cool thing but in talking with the others, it seems most were disappointed."

Here is the big kick the rear: Jon Landau alluded to NOT SHOWING ANY AVATAR MATERIAL FOR 1 YEAR. That, my friends, brings us to the release of the movie - December 2009. What do you think - he is pulling or leg or what??

BAH.

**SAME DAY UPDATE: Downer. Big time. NO AVATAR material at all. The video clip shown was a 3D Titanic test (that was impressive apparently) but again the much anticipated AVATAR material never surfaced. Unless there is a surprise unveiling later this week, all bets are now on the 3D Entertainment Summit for the AVATAR reveal (where Cameron is still on to be physically there). We hope. Jon Landau's presentation was excellent by the way. Overall, the buzz died down significantly after no AVATAR.

The 3DX event is still an outstanding venue let me point out! Awesome material and a wicked lineup of industry leaders definitely made it the place to be - and it still has more events to come.

According to my source, Jim Cameron will NOT make an appearance at the 3DX Festival in Singapore today but that he is sending in a video! Gee - I wonder if it is this one? Details are sketchy, but we should have a clearer picture very soon. In fact, Jon Landau is present at the show and is scheduled to present at 11:30am Singapore time. He can certainly talk to what is happening on the screen.

Here's hoping. Oh and security is tighter than John McCain's clenched fists. STAY TUNED for more details as I get 'em!

Quick Post: Disney Will Show The 3D Trailer For "Up" In Front Of "Bolt"

Great news - I have been wanting to see that trailer that was released for UP in 3D for a little while now - can't wait to see what else is placed in front of BOLT this weekend.

If you check out BOLT - please let me know what trailers are playing in front of the movie, different regions may have different trailers as well... THANKS.

Will BOLT Light Up TWILIGHT This Weekend?

**SAME DAY UPDATE #2: Box Office Mojo just released their Theater counts and guess who comes out on top? BOLT has 3,651 and TWILIGHT has 3,419. Don't mess with the mouse...

**SAME DAY UPDATE: Peter over at /Film has TWILIGHT collecting $64m+ with BOLT coming in at $40m - but I think a lot of people are forgetting the power of 3D. Look at what Hannah Montana (Miley Cyrus voices Penny in Bolt) did with her concert last winter! Could be some heads shaking after all that turkey...

Hey guys - Jim here. You know, there has been a flood of viral word of mouth for Twilight and justifiably so based on the literary achievements of the best selling books. There is a certain female demographic that has pushed this movie to the edge with advanced ticket sales and "must see" status.

But I am thinking that it won't be enough. Sure, that is a strong demographic but so is Disney and it's traditional November family movies. Top that off with the 'tween factor of Miley Cyrus and what looks to be an outstanding work of animation from John Lasseter (the brains behind Pixar) and crew - look out.

This weekend will be very exciting to see who comes out on top! Of course I am vying for the 3D masterpiece to bring home the spoils and I am biased slightly - but I feel very comfortable in predicting that BOLT will shock a lot of TWILIGHT fans this weekend in relegating them to second place.

So how do you feel? Will BOLT light up TWILIGHT this weekend? Don't forget to vote in our poll on the left hand column!

Pirates Of The Caribbean 4 To Be Shot In 3D? Could Happen!

Jim here. To be frank, any future tentpole from Disney could be 3D. We know all of their animated features will be 3D (both Disney AND Pixar) and so it is easy to speculate that since Disney is 3D empowered lately (BOLT is opening this weekend and Hannah Montana led the way earlier this year), why not start guessing about their leading franchises?

Like PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN. Variety speculates that an announcement could happen very soon - well, there is certainly opportunity with 2 major 3D conferences going on within the next couple of weeks 3DX in Singapore (on NOW) and the 3D Entertainment Summit in LA on December 1-2. Expect a LOT of noise from these events!

We know the 3D trailer for Disney's TR2N was shown at the 3DX Festival in Singapore and it absolutely rocked the house. Of course when they start whipping out their classics like BEAUTY AND THE BEAST for 3D conversion, you know the time has come.

Yes, I agree. Expect a POTC 3D announcement anytime...

Now A New "Coraline" Official Trailer Online!

First we saw an update to the official website for CORALINE today that showed us some new production videos of the 3D stop action movie - now another new trailer has been made available.

Check out all the (stop) action below!

New Coraline Production Videos Online! Codes Revealed...

**SAME DAY UPDATE: Even more codes available (and therefore more video clips!) - try these too: MOUSTACHIO, ARMPITHAIR, PUPPETLOVE and SWEATERXXS - Thanks Moonrover!

Jim here. Want to see more Coraline production video clips? (Others are available here). These new ones look great too - I can't believe the attention to detail that they are putting into this movie! Here's what you do:

1. Go to www.Coraline.com
2. Enter in one of these codes (each has a different video clip):
BUTTONEYES
STOPMOTION
3. Enjoy!

Coraline is a stereoscopic 3D stop motion movie adapted from a very popular Neil Gaiman story - directed by Henry Selick who also is famous for A NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS.

Tell me what you think of them... Thanks P880 for the scoop!

3DX Festival: Beauty and the Beast 3-D Announced

Michael here.  Disney Pictures president Mark Zoradi announced yesterday at the 3DX Festival in Singapore that Beauty and the Beast will be remastered into 3-D over a 10 month period by Walt Disney Pictures Animation for a 2010 release.

Original Beauty and the Beast producer Don Hahn said the re-rendering of the film would take 9 months.  He described the process as follows:

"By going back to the original animation files, which have been carefully archived for 17 years, and using the separate background, effects and character animation elements, we're able to come up with a fun and unique 3-D experience for existing and new fans of the film"

Beauty and the Beast is the 11th 3-D feature film that Disney is set to release in 2009-2010.

New Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs Poster!

Michael here with a new poster for Fox's July 1 third installment in the, in my opinion, greatly entertaining Ice Age franchise. 

I'm very interested to see how Fox's animated 3-D efforts compare to those of Dreamworks and Pixar, both of which also have their first from-the-ground-up 3-D films (Monsters Vs. Aliens and UP, respectively) releasing in 2009.  The 3-D flood is almost upon us! Or was that the last Ice Age movie?

source: eu.movieposter.com

OUTTAKES #021

Because I know you’re gonna ask, I’ll go ahead and tell you the stills are from 1985’s Attack Of The Beast Creatures. You think some filmmakers were scarred by a certain Zuni fetish doll as children?