Nostalgia de la Luz (Nostalgia for the Light)

Had to close 2011 with my take on a film. Most particular is that I’m closing the year with comments about a documentary and not a fiction film. 2011 had some outstanding films but my top films are definitively documentaries and yes, it’s a first! Really loved Pina it is truly outstanding but my top film for 2011 absolutely is a documentary about a Chilean desert and everything that once happened there, is currently happening there and will continue to happen there. Is about the Atacama Desert.

In life there are many things that make us deeply wonder, like the infamous question “where do we come from”, we being the human race or better, life in planet Earth. The Atacama Desert is “the” driest place in planet Earth, there is no humidity –so, there are no clouds making it the best place to have the largest telescopes on Earth. From there astronomers are learning about the beginnings or the big bang -if you wish-; but actually are learning about the past, a very-very-very far away past that could explain us, life, and the very ephemeral present. Documentary starts telling us about all this with the most mind blowing images of the universe, which are so good that honestly made me feel tiny, very tiny and humble.

I already felt small and deeply humbled by what I saw, but nothing prepared me to what followed.

The first fateful September 11th came with brutal repression that killed many and yes, I have seen several movies about that date and what followed after; BUT, never like what I saw here. The Atacama Desert during Pinochet had several concentration camps and one is quite close to where the marvelous and huge telescopes are. Was an old mine from the times when mining was like slavery, so easily became a prison for political prisoners. Prisoners from those camps and elsewhere were killed and dumped into massive graves that were “moved” to erase their existence. In the “moving” process bodies, cadavers were split with broken feet and heads parts flying out and bodies placed on trucks to be thrown elsewhere (mostly in the sea). Many, many Chileans mothers walk the Atacama Desert searching for their sons and daughters, brothers and sisters; and some found something that allow them to finally realize that they are dead. These mothers, as the close-by astronomers, are searching the past for clues.

I know I’m telling a lot about what this film is about, but I’m doing it so when you watch this film you’ll be prepared, you will have an idea of what you will see and after watching you will be able to “digest” everything a lot faster. See, the situation with this film is that is not horror, NO, on the contrary is so beautiful, then so real, then so crude-real (and beautiful), so painful to watch (everything hurts), so beautiful, so beautiful, so horrific, so beautiful and finally an ending that strongly blends both stories into one. Ah!!

Patricio Guzman’s oeuvre is so well-done that will impress you beyond your imagination as flawlessly and most delicately will tell you his story (he narrates), a slice of the story of his country, the story where most likely Scientists will find more and new answers about our past, and where Chilean people found, are finding and will find knowledge about their recent past. Chapeau Master Guzman.

Strongly recommend this marvelous film that was screened in 2010 Cannes, won the 2010 European Film Award for documentary plus many more well-deserved honors in the festival circuit. Film has impressed general audiences but most interesting for me was to find that also impressed scientists, still after watching you’ll understand why so many have succumbed to Patricio Guzman incredible narrative and narrative style.

BIG ENJOY!!!

Watch trailer @MOC

Escape to the Movies: "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo"

Liked it, didn't love it.

"Intermission" does the year look-back thing.

The Escapist : Escape to the Movies : The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

American Classic Arcade Museum Seeks Your Help!

hat-tip: Kotaku.

The American Classic Arcade Museum is seeking donations to aquire several rare classic arcade machines - including Discs of Tron! - from a private collector. I've made a donation, and I encourage any readers who are able/willing to do the same. Read on past the jump for details.

The American Classic Arcade Museum (ACAM) is located within a famous New Hampshire family entertainment complex called "The Funspot," which many of you may have seen in the film "King of Kong." While "Funspot" itself is a business, the ACAM is a registered nonprofit operation dedicated to not only collecting vintage arcade machines but also preserving them to be played by "Funspot" visitors. A private collector has offered to sell them five classic game machines that would be "new" to their collection - Space Dungeon, Mad Planets, Discs of Tron and Black Widow - and ACAM is asking for donations to raise the $1,840.00 needed to purchase the lot on their main website page via the "chip-in" widget.

Some of the happiest memories I have are of going to The Funspot during yearly family vacations to the NH area. The "museum" concept is relatively new, a response to the place's newfound prominence at the start of the Retro-Gaming boom - for the longest time they were simply a place that chose to keep their HUGE collection of game machines in working order rather than junking them for new ones. As a result, they have one of the BEST collections of vintage games - many of them extremely rare (they have a standup "Chiller" cabinet!) - that you can visit and play.

They have not asked me to post this information on these blogs - I am doing so to give back to both a good cause and a specific organization that has brought me a lot of good times over the years. I encourage any fans, readers etc. with a few bucks to spare to considering kicking some their way. The amount they're trying to raise is not very high, and you'll not only be supporting the good cause of classic game preservation - you'll be helping these games be placed in a REAL arcade where they can be rediscovered and enjoyed by new generations of gamers who might otherwise never have the chance.

Here is the link once again. My sincerest thanks to everyone who chips in, and to Funspot/ACAM for doing what they do. I'm planning to visit the place again this Summer, and it sure would be a kick to take a turn at that Discs of Tron machine when I do.

84th Academy Awards Poster

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has unveiled the poster for the 84th Academy Awards®. The art features the iconic Oscar statuette alongside memorable images from eight films spanning eight decades: "Gone with the Wind" (1939), "Casablanca" (1943), "Giant" (1956), "The Sound of Music" (1965), "The Godfather" (1972), "Driving Miss Daisy" (1989), "Forrest Gump" (1994) and "Gladiator" (2000). All the films featured on the poster won the Academy Award® for Best Picture, except "Giant," for which George Stevens won the Oscar for Directing.

Supported by the tagline "Celebrate the movies in all of us," the design is meant to evoke the emotional connections we all have with the movies. "Whether it's a first date or a holiday gathering with friends or family, movies are a big part of our memory," said Academy President Tom Sherak. "The Academy Awards not only honor the excellence of these movies, but also celebrate what they mean to us as a culture and to each of us individually."

The artwork was created by award-winning graphic designer Anthony Goldschmidt, and Mark and Karen Crawford of the design firm Blood&Chocolate.

The 84th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 24, 2012, at 5:30 a.m. PST in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater. Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live at 7 p.m. EST/4 p.m. PST by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

To read the official announcement go here.

Told You So

So... yeah, after doing two episodes about "The Simpsons" still being funny, I realized I hadn't actually watched this year's Xmas episode, so I did. Fox made it available HERE on their website, though I watched it On Demand.

It's another "possible future" episode, this one set in a timeline where Bart and Lisa both grow up to be parents themselves. To my mind, it's easily one of the best episodes I've seen in awhile - good enough to have been a Season 5 or 6 episode (or at least a current installment of Futurama.) Seriously, give it a watch. (SPOILERS after the jump.)



SPOILERS:

This is the first "future" episode where Homer and Marge actually seem to have personality changes beyond "older" - Marge has a shorter temper and seems a touch jaded, while Homer is sober(!!!) and seemingly more intelligent and good-natured as result. I like that.

Running joke about Dearborn, Michigan is edgy as hell by Simpsons standards, to the point where it verged on being out of place. But yeah, I laughed.

So, at least according to this timeline, Lisa Simpson is bisexual as a grownup. I like that the "reveal" passes without comment, but it runs one extra beat so you can tell they wanted you to catch it. I know a few BIG fans of Lisa who I can picture turning cartwheels at this... and also a few desperate continuity-obsessives who'll be furious that this contradicts the character in the "President Lisa" timeline's claim to being "the first straight female president.

This is the first "Simpsons Future" I can say I'd be legitimately interested in seeing them revisit. In particular, I'd LOVE to know the story behind the blink-and-you'll-miss-it detail as to the fate of a certain ex-Krusty Sidekick - I feel like it must have been either Bart or Homer who finally did the deed, but I can't decide which would be more awesome (leaning toward Homer.)

Big Picture: "The Simpsons Is Still Funny - Part II"

The Escapist : The Big Picture : The Simpsons Is Still Funny, Part 2

Escape to the Movies: "War Horse"

Happy Holidays.

"Intermission" is about the Batman Trailer.

The Escapist : Escape to the Movies : War Horse

History

As part of a longstanding tradition, U.S. Navy ships will - upon returning home - select a sailor to descend to the dock ahead of the others and share the first "homecoming" kiss with their significant other (and, one presumes, with new photographers looking to take "their version" of the famous V-Day photo.)

On December 21st of this year, said tradition once again became part of history as - for the first time ever - an "official" first-kiss was shared by a same-sex couple:

PHOTO: Brian Clark, The Virginian-Pilot

The lucky couple in question are Petty Officer 2nd Class Marissa Gaeta and Petty Officer 3rd Class Citlalic Snell. Gaeta (in the hat) was the returnee, having purchased $50 worth of tickets in her ship's (The USS Oak Hill) charity raffle where the honor was the prize.

Photo is credited to one Brian Clark of The Virginian-Pilot. I hope his contract let's him retain some rights to it so he can get a cut of the royalties as this almost-certainly winds up in history books, newsreels and museum displays from now until the forseeable future.

The Greatest Adventure Is What Lies Ahead

Fuck. Yes.

Ten years ago, the "Lord of The Rings" movies stepped into both a blockbuster-filmmaking realm and a movie-geek culture realm - both of which hurting in the wake of "The Phantom Menace" debacle - and completely rewrote the book. I don't think that's exaggerating - I firmly believe that the "21st Century Model" of film-geekdom begins with this series, which took every concievable creative and financial risk and paid them off with a singular filmmaking achievement that in my mind has yet to be equalled.

...and now we get to go back.



Ye gods... hearing that Howard Shore score kick back up on the soundtrack... seeing The Shire again... it feels like coming home. This is, literally, the LEAST stressed I have felt all December.

This, my friends, is THE movie of 2012 as far as I'm concerned. Batman? Small potatoes. Avengers? Slightly-prettier small potatoes. Spider-Man? Don't even start.

Here's That Batman Trailer

Somehow or another I forgot to post this in the wake of every other website on Earth posting it. Here we go.

Big Picture: "The Simpsons Is Still Funny - Part I"

The Escapist : The Big Picture : The Simpsons Is Still Funny - Pt. 1

"Wrath of The Titans" Will Probably Sucker You In, Again

I didn't dislike "Clash of The Titans," but I also don't remember hardly any of it. In any case, even though no one seems to have really "loved" it it managed to make a MASSIVE international profit theatrically; so Warner Bros. made another one.



The trailer is selling "monsters, monsters and more monsters;" and I wish I wasn't such an easy lay for this stuff: Show me a Cyclops (and guy made of lava, and what I think is a gryphon) and I've pretty-much bought a ticket. Oh well...

16th Annual Satellite Awards Winners

Last night they had the award ceremony and winners are in *BOLD. To check winners in all categories including TV go here.

--//--

12/2

Last night the International Press Academy announced the nominations and here they are from the official site that’s here. Have to mention that have read in other sites a different list, so I’ll be checking to confirm if they made a mistake in the official site or to identify what’s going on.

Best Picture
The Artist
*The Descendants
Drive
Hugo
Moneyball
Shame
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
War Horse

Best Animated or Mixed Media Film
Kung Fu Panda 2
The Muppets
Puss In Boots
Rio
*The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn

Best Foreign Film
Miss Bala, Mexico
A Separation, Iran
The Kid With The Bike, Belgium
The Turin Horse, Hungary
Las Acadias, Argentina
13 Assassins, Japan
Mozart's Sister, France
*Mysteries of Lisbon, Portugal
Le Havre, Finland
Faust, Russia

Best Director
Tate Taylor for The Help
Alexander Payne for The Descendants
*Nicolas Winding Refn for Drive
Steven Spielberg for War Horse
Martin Scorsese for Hugo
John Michael McDonagh for The Guard
Tomas Alfredson for Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris
Steve McQueen for Shame

Best Actress
Vera Farmiga in Higher Ground
Michelle Williams in My Week With Marilyn
Emily Watson in Oranges and Sunshine
Charlize Theron in Young Adult
Glenn Close in Albert Nobbs
*Viola Davis in The Help
Olivia Colman in Tyrannosaur
Michelle Yeoh in The Lady
Elizabeth Olsen in Martha Marcy May Marlene
Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady

Best Supporting Actress
Janet McTeer in Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer in The Help
*Jessica Chastain in The Tree of Life
Vanessa Redgrave in Coriolanus
Rachel McAdams in Midnight in Paris
Lisa Feret in Mozart's Sister
Judy Greer in The Descendants
Kate Winslet in Carnage
Elle Fanning in Super 8

Best Actor
Leonardo DiCaprio in J. Edgar
*Ryan Gosling in Drive
Michael Fassbender in Shame
George Clooney in The Descendants
Brendan Gleeson in The Guard
Michael Shannon in Take Shelter
Tom Hardy in Warrior
Woody Harrelson in Rampart
Gary Oldman in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Brad Pitt in Moneyball

Best Supporting Actor
*Albert Brooks in Drive
Viggo Mortensen in A Dangerous Method
Hugo Weaving in Oranges and Sunshine
Kenneth Branagh in My Week With Marilyn
Colin Farrell in Horrible Bosses
Andy Serkis in Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Nick Nolte in Warrior
Jonah Hill in Moneyball
Christopher Plummer in Beginners
Christoph Waltz in Carnage

To check nominees in all film categories as well as check TV categories go here.  Awards ceremony will be on December 18.

The International Press Academy changed the categories this year as before categories were more similar to Golden Globes than to Oscar, as had separate categories for Comedy or Musical, including nominations for Actors. Still having so many nominees in each category is a bit confusing yet there are not really any surprises at least in the main categories listed here.

Kim Jong Il is Dead

Reports are still coming in, but the title says it all: North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, one of the worst and most brutal dictators on Earth, is dead tonight.


Power will almost-certainly pass, however symbolically, to his son Kim Jong Un - who is reputed to be either legitimately insane, mentally-impaired or both - though it's almost a foregone conclusion that the myriad military/government officials who're alleged to have been the real operators during the elder Kim's dotage (he's been in failing health for years) will be vying to either take power themselves OR get the hell out of dodge with whatever they can carry in the event that the house of cards collapses entirely.

I feel more than a little crass doing to the "blah blah something HUGELY important happened somewhere that's not America... but here's how it will effect America!" hard-segue, but this is really the only thing definite you can say about this right now: Any illusions that Barack Obama or his various would-be Republican challengers may have had that with Iraq "finished" and Afghanistan winding down this would be a strictly meat-and-potatoes "domestic issues" presidential election just evaporated. If you are the "China Policy Advisor" to an American politician, you are very likely about to learn that you are working this Christmas.

Here's the situation: Setting aside the very real long-held concerns that Kim Jong Un (who is essentially a mystery - no one even knows how OLD he actually is outside of the NK government) will not have the official loyalty or ability to hold the system together; this is almost certain to cause a significant amount "rumbling" in the nation itself, which will be most-directly felt at it's borders with China and South Korea (the former of which is seperated by a demilitarized zone patroled by U.S. forces) both of whom will be looking to their American allies to help out (or, in China's case, "back off") with management of what could be a 'failed state' crisis at their respective borders. Here's to hoping things don't get too much worse for North Korea's impoverished citizens, in any case.

Place your bets now as to which GOP Presidential candidate will have the dumbest thing to say about this tomorrow morning.

Green Goblin Makeup Test Appears Online

Below, test-footage of an unused makeup-concept for Willem Dafoe's "Green Goblin" makeup (before they went with the mechanical helmet design instead) by ADI. Left unsaid is whether this was intended to be a (very) elaborate rubber mask like in the comics or some kind of full-on physical transformation...



Characters like this go through LOTS of designs on their way to the screen, and it's not unusual at all to see full-functioning suits, appliances and props being made to test them out. The reason you very seldom SEE any of them is that the studio/license-holder owns the rights to the character AND the work and usually doesn't want them shown for one reason or another.

So why would you be seeing it now? Probably no reason. Maybe because Sony is testing the waters for what GG should look like when he innevitably turns up in the rebooted series? Who knows.

Escape to the Movies: "The Adventures of Tintin"

Very, very good.

Wondering where my feelings on the (extremely mediocre) "Mission: Impossible" and (shockingly terrible) "Sherlock Holmes" sequels are? Right here...

The Escapist : Escape to the Movies : The Adventures of Tin TIn

2011 Prix Louis-Delluc Award Winners

Today the most prestigious award in French cinema was announced by Gilles Jacob, jury president and pleases me to share with all that the winner is Le Havre by Aki Kaurismäki and Donoma by Djinn Carrenard, both films are extremely worth-watching. Winners are in *BLUE.

To check the news in French go here and in English go here.

--//--

11/22

Yesterday the nominees were announced for this most prestigious French award and these are the nominated films.

Best Film
L'Apollonide (Souvenirs de maison close) (House of Tolerance) by Bertrand Bonello
L'Exercice de l'Etat (The Minister) by Pierre Schoeller
La Guerre est déclarée (Declaration of War) by Valérie Donzelli
*Le Havre by Aki Kaurismäki
Hors Satan (Outside Satan) by Bruno Dumont
Les Neiges by Kilimandjaro by Robert Guédiguian
Pater by Alain Cavalier
The Artist by Michel Hazanavicius
Tomboy by Céline Sciamma

Best First Film
17 filles (17 Girls) by Muriel Coulin and Delphine Coulin
*Donoma by Djinn Carrenard (WOW! Movie budget: Euros 150 … have to see this! Very curious about film check this)
Jimmy Rivière by Teddy Lussi-Modeste
Mafrouza (5 films) by Emmanuelle Demoris
Nous, Princesse de Clèves by Régis Sauder

I’m so happy as have seen many, not all but many of the films; still there are some, like Aki’s film that I’m really “dying” to see and hopefully will be the great winner this year but I know that Pater, Les Neiges du Kilimandjaro and The Artist are also great contenders. As we realize in the best film category all –except one- films come from Cannes; the exception is Céline Sciamma’s Tomboy that is a very interesting film but in my opinion not as good as her extraordinary Naissance des pieuvres that won the Prix Louis Delluc for first film in 2007.

Awards ceremony will be in Paris on December 16. To check the news at allocine go here; for English go here.

Extended Teaser For "Expendables 2"

Better? Worse? I dunno...

Best Actress Tally for Current Award Season

As there are good surprises let me share the tally that up-to-today has Michelle Williams leading in wins and nominations, unexpected but quite pleased as she’s a very good actress that in my opinion needs/deserves more recognition from peers, industry, journalists, and yes, audiences too.

Michelle Williams in My Week With Marilyn
Wins: 4 (Boston, Toronto, Las Vegas, DC)
Nominations: 10 (Globes, BFCA, SAG, Phoenix, Houston, Detroit, Spirits, St. Louis, San Diego, Satellites)

Close by is Tilda Swinton that’s another actress that in my opinion needs more honors as every single role that she does is award worthy.

Tilda Swinton in We Need To Talk About Kevin
Wins: 4 (SF, NBR, EFA, Houston)
Nominations: 7 (Globes, BFCA, SAG, Indiana, DC, BIFA, San Diego)

Next surely the most honored actress in the planet and all well-deserved, Meryl Streep; followed closely by Viola Davis and not so far away newcomer Elizabeth Olsen.

Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady
Wins: 2 (NYFCC and NYFCO)
Nominations: 10 (Globes, SAG, Phoenix, BFCA, Houston, Detroit, Boston, DC, St. Louis, Satellites)

Viola Davis in The Help
Wins: 1 (African-American critics)
Nominations: 10 (Globes, SAG, Phoenix, BFCA, Houston St. Louis, Detroit, DC, Satellites, San Diego)

Elizabeth Olsen in Martha Marcy May Marlene
Wins: 1 (Indiana)
Nominations: 8 (BFCA, Phoenix, Houston, DC, Spirits, San Diego, St. Louis, Satellites)

These are the ladies that lead the race to Oscar and surely nominations probably will be among them and maybe, just maybe Charlize Theron will make it even do up to day her tally reads with only 4 nominations (Globes, BFCA, Detroit, Satellites). Also hoping for a spot is Glenn Close that has 3 nominations but from “big/relevant” groups as Globes, SAG, and Satellites.

Is still too early to find a clear trend, but I will not be surprised if Oscar nods look like the tally. I know that this category could be less predictable than last year which of course makes it more interesting to follow.

Cheers!

84th Academy Awards Live Shorts Shortlist

A few minutes ago the Academy announced that 10 live action short films –out of 107 that qualified-will advance in the voting process; these are the films.

Je Pourrais Être Votre Grand-Mère (I Could Be Your Grandmother) by Bernard Tanguy, France
Love at First Sight by Michael Davies, UK
Pentecost by Peter McDonald, Ireland
Raju by Max Zähle, Germany and India
The Road Home by Rahul Gandotra, UK and India
Das Rauschen des Meeres (The Roar of the Sea) by Ana Rocha Fernandes and Torsten Truscheit, Germany
Sailcloth by Elfar Adalsteins, UK
The Shore by Terry George,
Time Freak by Andrew Bowler, USA
Tuba Atlantic by Hallvar Witzø, Norway

I’m impress the shorts shortlist is very European! Quite unusual. To read the official announcements go here.

THE B-LIST: QUESTIONABLE MUSICAL MOMENTS #10 – THE MIDNIGHT HOUR

Remember when made for TV movies were good? Okay, maybe not good, but you know, enjoyable in a cheesy kind of way? Or at least watchable? I know, it’s been a long while, but there really was such a time in days of yore. And just in case you can’t remember those fabled days, maybe this little ditty from the made for television magnum opus The Midnight Hour will jog your memory. (And before you ask, yes, that’s Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge busting a move. Sort of.)

“I’m dead, you’re dying, everybody should try it, get dead!” You know, that sentiment kind of reminds me of that old question you occasionally hear from aggressive atheists (usually on message boards where they almost inevitably believe you’ve never heard it before), “If you REALLY believe in heaven, why aren’t you in hurry to die and get there already?” I guess it’s supposed to be one of those oh-so-hip gotcha questions that’s meant to  leave a person gaped mouth and speechless, their beliefs exposed as a fraud, their faith crumbling away into dust.

Alas, I’m afraid to inform our secular friends, there are a number of good reasons we Christians don’t just do the non-believers of the world a favor and drop dead. Here’s just a few.

First off, we’re kind of busy at the moment working out our own salvation with fear and trembling. You see, just because we walk into a church every Sunday, that doesn’t mean we’re guaranteed a spot in heaven. Even St. Paul, who wrote thirteen of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament, noted in 1 Corinthians 4:4 that “I am not conscious of anything against me, but I do not thereby stand acquitted; the one who judges me is the Lord.” So if Paul’s resume didn’t guarantee him a get out of jail free card, I’m pretty sure the rest of us would appreciate as much time as possible to get our acts together so we have a decent shot of actually making it into the heaven we believe in.

Next, besides the monumental task of whipping our own souls into shape, we also have quite a list of duties Jesus left for us to attend to in addition to all the normal day to day stuff like raising a family and going to work. While there’s no comprehensive lists of what those duties are, the corporal and spiritual works of mercy are a pretty good primer. The seven corporal works of mercy are: To feed the hungry; To give drink to the thirsty; To clothe the naked; To harbour the harbourless; To visit the sick; To ransom the captive; To bury the dead. The seven spiritual works of mercy are: To instruct the ignorant; To counsel the doubtful; To admonish sinners; To bear wrongs patiently; To forgive offences willingly; To comfort the afflicted; To pray for the living and the dead. That’s quite a bit to do, and you kind of have to be alive to do it all.

And finally, this life was given to us by God, and as the Catechism reminds us, “We are obliged to accept life gratefully and preserve it for his honor and the salvation of our souls. We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of.”

So, sorry secularists, as much as some of you might wish all of us religious types would just voluntarily kick the bucket, I’m afraid we just can’t do that. We’ve just got too dang much to take care of in the short time we’ve been alloted. Nice try though.

Big Picture: "If The Oscars Were The VGAs"

What if Hollywood's big award show sucked as much as gaming's?

The Escapist : The Big Picture : If the Oscars Were the VGAs

Cobra Commander Looks Like Cobra Commander

I'm "that guy" who really liked Stephen Sommers' first "G.I. Joe" movie. Yeah, it was far from perfect - mostly thanks to having been a "strike script" victim - but from where I sat it more-or-less delivered a faithful-in-tone adaptation of the animated series and comics (read: aggressively silly scifi-military nonsense as-envisioned by 8-year olds playing with action figures) and I maintain that most of the excessively-negative reactions would've been greatly reduced if it had been the same movie but with more source-accurate costuming...

...which more or less seems to be what the out-of-nowhere AWESOME debut trailer for the sequel, "G.I. Joe: Retaliation," is offering:



The new director is John M. Chu, who's mostly made dance and concert movies up to this point. At some point he'd made some noise about this one going "dark and gritty," but this looks like anything but: It's the same basic look and feel as the first one, just with bigger action heroes in the cast (The Rock is "RoadBlock," who is apparently our new lead, while Bruce Willis is supposedly playing a retired soldier named "Joe" from whom the organization derives it's name) and characters like Cobra Commander, Snake Eyes and Jinx (Jinx? For real?) looking more like they're "supposed to." But does that make it look "better?"

...Yeah, kinda. I'll admit it: Seeing Cobra Commander in the blue uniform with the mirrored-faceplate is all kinds of awesome, I'm always a sucker for color-coded ninjas and the 'money shot' of the Cobra Flag flying over the White House is sort of incredible.

I wonder how "seriously" to take the storyline implications in this particular trailer, though - are they really so committed to the "sorry about the last one" angle that they'll kill off everyone from the first one except Snake Eyes, which is what the trailer is implying?

2011 AFI Awards

Today the American Film Institute announced their annual honors and here are the ten AFI Movies of the Year.

Bridesmaids
The Descendants
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
The Help
Hugo
J. Edgar
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse

To read the official announcement that includes the AFI’s Ten TV Programs of the Year go here.

The following is AFI's video with their top 10.

14th British Independent Film Awards Winners

I was not pleased with the results, so much that I forgot to publish the winners, LOL! But here they are in *BLUE. Obviously there are exceptions and definitively I was really glad that Lynne Ramsay was honored with the award.

10/31

Today were announced the nominations for current year BIFA’s and statistics tell us that three films have the most nominations, Shame, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Tyrannosaur with seven each. Here are the nominations for some categories and to check the full list go here.

Best British Independent Film
Senna, Asif Kapadia
Shame, Steve McQueen
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Tomas Alfredson
*Tyrannosaur, Paddy Considine
We Need to Talk About Kevin, Lynne Ramsay

Best Director
Ben Wheatley for Kill List
Steve McQueen for Shame
Tomas Alfredson for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Paddy Considine for Tyrannosaur
*Lynne Ramsay for We Need to Talk About Kevin

Best Debut Director
Joe Cornish for Attack the Block
Ralph Fiennes for Coriolanus
John Michael McDonagh for The Guard
Richard Ayoade for Submarine
*Paddy Considine for Tyrannosaur

Best Actress
Rebeca Hall in The Awakening, Nick Murphy
Mia Wasikowska in Jane Eyre, Cary Fukunaga
MyAnna Buring in Kill List, Ben Wheatley
*Olivia Colman in Tyrannosaur, Paddy Considine
Tilda Swinton in We Need to Talk About Kevin, Lynne Ramsay

Best Supporting Actress
Felicity Jones in Albatross, Niall MacCormick
*Vanessa Redgrave in Coriolanus, Ralph Fiennes
Carey Mulligan in Shame, Steve McQueen
Sally Hawkins in Submarine, Richard Ayoade
Kathy Burke in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Tomas Alfredson

Best Actor
Brendan Gleeson in The Guard, John Michael McDonagh
Neil Maskell in Kill List, Ben Wheatley
*Michael Fassbender in Shame, Steve McQueen
Gary Oldman in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Tomas Alfredson
Peter Mullan in Tyrannosaur, Paddy Considine

Best Supporting Actor
*Michael Smiley in Kill List, Ben Wheatley
Tom Hardy in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Tomas Alfredson
Benedict Cumberbatch in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Tomas Alfredson
Eddie Marsan in Tyrannosaur, Paddy Considine
Ezra Miller in We Need to Talk about Kevin, Lynne Ramsay

Most Promising Newcomer
Jessica Brown Findlay in Albatross, Niall MacCormick
John Boyega in Attack The Block, Joe Cornish
Craig Roberts in Submarine, Richard Ayoade
Yasmin Paige in Submarine, Richard Ayoade
*Tom Cullen in Weekend, Andrew Haigh (gay interest)

Best Foreign Film
Animal Kingdom, David Michôd, Australia
Drive, Nicolas Winding Refn, USA
Pina, Wim Wenders, Germany
*Jodaeiye Nader az Simin (A Separation), Asghar Farhadi, Iran
La Piel Que Habito (The Skin I live), Pedro Almodóvar, Spain

The awards ceremony will take place on Sunday December 4th, 2011. There are many that haven’t seen but from buzz Shame will get some top awards (for sure Fassbender as Best Actor) plus yes, I vote for Mia Wasikowska for Best Actress –but I know that is Tilda time and she has to get accolades for her role in Ramsay’s film.

37th Annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards

A few hours ago the perhaps most powerful group of critics voted and here are some of the winners.

Best Picture: The Descendants
Runner-Up: The Tree of Life

Best Director: Terrence Malick for The Tree of Life
Runner-Up: Martin Scorsese for Hugo

Best Actress: Yun Jung-hee in Poetry
Runner-Up: Kirsten Dunst in Melancholia

Best Supporting Actress: Jessica Chastain in Coriolanus, The Debt, The Help, Take Shelter, Texas Killing Fields, and The Tree of Life
Runner-Up: Janet McTeer in Albert Nobbs

Best Actor: Michael Fassbender in A Dangerous Method, Jane Eyre, Shame, and X-Men: First Class
Runner-Up: Michael Shannon in Take Shelter


Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer in Beginners
Runner-Up: Patto Oswalt in Young Adult

Best Screenplay: Asghar Farhadi for A Separation
Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki for The Tree of Life
Best Production Design: Dante Farretti for Hugo

Best Foreign-Language Film: Nanjin! Nanjin! (City of Life and Death), Chuan Lu
Best Documentary/Non –Fiction Film: Cave of Forgotten Dreams, Werner Herzog
Best Animation: Rango

To check winners and runner-ups in all categories go here.  Some selection really puzzle me as find them rather odd, for example last year Best Actress went to a Korean actress and this year again; Best foreign-language film to magnificent –yet very hard-to-watch- Najing! Nanjing! a 2009 production and not to A Separation; but seems that with the few announcements up-to-date one category seems will have a lock: Best Supporting Actress. Most glad that Fassbinder is collecting honors and hope he will get an Oscar nod.

Seems this year critics will not agree as they did last year when The Social Network became the predictable Oscar nominee; this year could be a little bit more interesting. Let’s hope.

Good "Dark Knight Rises" Poster

I'm not quite ready to change my "innevitably recieved as a dissapointment, regardles of it's actual merits" projection of "The Dark Knight Rises." But the new poster, which builds on the idea that this is the end of the story as opposed to just the part where they stop, has a lot of promise.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: If they did go all the way and kill Batman, that would be the kind of ballsy move that could concievably "top" the last one.

All Wet

Here's that new trailer for "Battleship," the naval-centered sequel to "Battle: LA" (remember that?) that nobody asked for:



I'm still fairly curious about this, as I kinda like the idea that Berg basically wanted to make a navy vs. aliens movie and got it done by offering to name it after the board game... but it's hard to stay optimistic when it still looks so much like "Transformers" on the water.

Also: Is that the Freedom Tower they're blowing up?

Also: Is Rihanna doing a Carribbean accent? EDIT: Apparently that's her real speaking (as opposed to singing) voice... which I now realize I had never actually heard until now.

"The Amazing Spider-Man" Lies His Ass Off In NEW Poster

When I first saw this (origin: SuperHeroHype) as a partial-view on my smartphone I kind of loved it - great design, if nothing else. Then I scrolled down to the bottom and burst out laughing in public.

They're really selling a revisitation of what may be (at least!) the 3rd most widely-known superhero "origin story" EVER as "The Untold Story?" The origin of Spider-Man is the definition of a TOLD story! It's not even as though it's a "prequel" to the previously-made movies and is going to reveal some "untold" part of that continuity; it's just a new version of the same exact fucking story! That's as close to a full-blown lie as a poster can tell!

But... whatever. What it does make me wonder (again) is what they might have meant when they put this together. What is "the untold story?"

Of all the things that set off my alarm bells about the godawful first trailer for the film, the most glaring was that the death (dissappearance?) of Peter Parker's actual parents - and satchel full of mysterious-documents they left behind - was revealed as some kind of big driving point for the plot (the big final line of the trailer was "We all have secrets. The ones you keep... and the one's kept from you.")

Of all the convoluted nonsense that Spidey's backstory has accrued over the years, the detail that Richard and Mary Parker were actually Bond-style secret agents is one of the dopiest; but as part of a movie continuity it gives off the bad vibes of some "big thing" that 'coincidentally' connects all the current and future characters together as opposed to "weird super-science stuff happens all the time around here" worldbuilding.

Best guess? They'll be revealed to have been "taken out" because of some nefarious doings related to Oscorp (the company's name is on Gwen Stacy's and Curt Conners' labcoats in the trailer) which will in turn be the "source" of both The Lizard and sundry baddies to come (oh, and they'll tease The Green Goblin at the end a'la The Joker.)

Am I the only one that hates when they do that? Joker being the Wayne's killer in the Tim Burton "Batman," Sandman shooting Uncle Ben in "Spider-Man 3," etc? It always makes the "world" so small and narrow. I know why it's there from a screenwriting 101 standpoint, connecting the threads and whatnot - but it kills out the "scope" factor of having the various villains and/or other "super" people existing independently of the main character until their paths cross. Like... in "Captain America," I LOVE that the Cosmic Cube has zero connection to Cap until The Red Skull has it, and that even then it has nothing to do with why The Skull is what he is; or how S.H.I.E.L.D. is not exclusively devoted to looking for Thor, they're just "there" and they've brought an archery-themed superhero with them "because why not?" It makes everything so much more expansive and adds so much more potential.

Escape to the Movies: "The Sitter"

Not great.

"Intermission" is about movie theaters.

The Escapist : Escape to the Movies : The Sitter

ANNOUNCEMENT: Come See MovieBob At ARISIA '12!

...And, hey! Did you see the NEW "Game OverThinker?"

Anyway, I can now announce that I'll be out and about at Arisia '12 - a big Boston Area scifi/fantasy/fandom convention running January 13th-16th you can learn more about HERE. At this time I can't officially announce where/when you'll be able to see me appearing in an "official" capacity (i.e. panels, speaking, discussions, etc;) but I'll also be around "the floor" so feel free to say hi if you happen to be onhand as well.

I'm also planning on being at PAXEast again this year as well, though details on that are still aways off. Stay tuned!

OOPS, I DID IT AGAIN!

Forgive me. What with all the little calamities that I’ve been plagued with over the past half year (look’em up in the archives, I won’t bore you with a recap), I once again completely forgot that I had promised one of my readers a review. This time around, it’s Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls, that tragic tale of “the super-octane girls who are old at twenty. If they get to be twenty.” I might have forgotten it forever if a recent post by Simcha Fisher at the National Catholic Register hadn’t started a small argument in the comboxes about movies one should or shouldn’t watch, which in turn jogged my memory about this one. So, since a promise is a promise, I’m going to get this review done in the next week or two, although it’s likely to be one that would have been better NEVER than LATE. Anyway, here’s a reprint of the original Coming Attraction post to remind everyone what’s coming up.

In case there’s still some of you out there who weren’t aware, I take requests for reviews, many of which come in the form of challenges. Of course, that can result in something of a mixed bag. Requests have brought us everything from Santa Claus Conquers The Martians to Satisfaction to I Spit On Your Grave. That’s a pretty wide range of (questionable?) tastes. But even so, there’s still lots of different kinds of movies out there I’ve never touched on. So it was no surprise a few weeks back when an email arrived suggesting that perhaps I was playing it safe and avoiding some of the darker corners of the cult movie universe, that maybe it was time I dealt with… Russ Meyer.

Fair enough, but which one of his movies to review? Obviously, about 80% of Meyer’s oeuvre is automatically disqualified for being nothing more than soft porn. I got some standards, after all. So after going through the list, I narrowed it down to three. Now while Mudhoney contains every theme typically associated with Meyer, there’s really not much to it, so I passed. Trashmeister John Waters called Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! the best movie ever made, and it is the very definition of a cult movie, but after watching it again, I actually found it pretty tame compared to the rest of the director’s output and I don’t think that’s what the requester was going for. So that pretty much left me with Beyond The Valley of the Dolls, the first collaboration between Russ and Roger Ebert.

It goes without saying this is one review that won’t be for the kiddies. Wish me luck.

"Three Stooges" Looks Worse Than You Thought

Apple has the trailer for the Farrelly Bros. modern reboot of "The Three Stooges." I'll post an embed when I get one, but for now go and feel my pain.

Ye gods, what did anyone do to deserve this? For all the care taken to get the actors looking "right" and match the old-timey sound effects; how did NO ONE notice (or care) that they have NONE of the actual Stooges' gift for physical comedy? And are we really, honestly doing "sexy nun" jokes in 2011?

Big Picture: "Favorite Ms.Take - Part II"

And so it ends. Watch the first part HERE.

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Favorite Ms. Take - Part 2

"Cabin in The Woods" FINALLY Has a Trailer

Put together by Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard YEARS ago but shelved when MGM collapsed, "Cabin in The Woods" is finally coming out. You should just watch this trailer. Now. Without any other context:

That'll do.

THIS Is Why People Think Republicans Are Stupid.

It is, let's be honest - just as it's not fair that my "Liberal" friends get stereotyped as weak and/or wimpy; it's a little unfair that my Republican friends get stereotyped as being idiots. Granted, running presidential candidates who reject the scientific facts of things like evolution, climate change, or in general hold science and knowledge as inferior to "belief" doesn't really help their case.

Also not helping their case? Doing a 7 minute segment on Fox Business attacking "The Muppets" for "brainwashing" children with an anti-corporate message. (Summary of charges? The bad guy is an oil magnate named Tex Richman.)

Less-Than-Thrilling "Star Trek" Bad Guy Rumors

EDIT: Somehow, this initially went up without the page-break I intended. My appologies.

This has been "news" for a few days now, but I wanted to chew it over before posting anything. Plus, weekend and all that...

So... Internet Lore has it that I "hated" JJ Abrams' "Star Trek" reboot; which is basically untrue - I didn't really care much for it, and I think it's kind of telling that the "return of Trek as a super-relevant franchise" thing that it was supposed to kick off has more-or-less failed to materialize - let's be real for a moment: the Geek Culture "organism" has been obsessing over "what's gonna happen in 'The Avengers'" since the end of "Iron Man"... how much chatter or even excitement has there been over "New Trek" since the movie? - but mostly I was underwhelmed.

Anyway! Latino Review claims to have the scoop as to the identity of the (presumed) villain Benicio Del Toro is playing in the sequel. POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING FROM HERE ON OUT!/

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According to LR's sources - and they are known for having really, REALLY good intel - he'll be Khan Noonien Singh, pretty-much THE most widely-recognized Trek villain (moreso because of "Wrath of Khan" than his origins on the original series.)

This has pretty-much been what most people have been assuming (again, Khan is really the only Trek heavy that EVERYONE has heard of) since the beginning... and while there have already been a slew of denials from the filmmakers that means very little at this point, as Devin at BAD points out "extreme truth-stretching" is standard-issue for movie rumor denials these days.

In any case, IF true it's kinda dissapointing news from where I sit.

Mainly, it smacks of taking the easy route: This was what everyone assumed the 2nd movie would be before they shot the FIRST movie. By the same token, it smacks of Abrams and company's strictly-superficial read of the franchise: Khan is iconic mainly because of "Wrath of Khan" - which they probably aren't going to remake (in no small part because they already 'borrowed' the basic skeleton of Khan's story in that film for Nero in the last movie.) "Space Seed" - the Young Kirk era episode that introduced the character - had previously been  prized mostly for it's world-building; one of the few Original Series episodes to offer some tidbits about what had happened in Trek's history between the audience's present and the Federation-era future (short version: Khan is a genetically-engineered superhuman who became a would-be conquerer during the delightfully-named "Eugenics Wars," later discovered hibernating in a spaceship by The Enterprise.)

Basically; if this is true it means that despite re-booting the entire Trek universe and thus having the option of using ANY character (or making up a new one) they'd be going for a retread of the most popular movie in the pre-reboot series. This isn't automatically indicative of anything, of course - maybe THIS will be the screenplay where Team Abrams finally delivers - but it's not a terribly encouraging sign.

Also... not to nitpick here, but if it IS going to be Khan... with all due respect to Del Toro, it would've been nice if they could've found an Indian actor for the role. Khan is supposed to be a Sikh, after all - and it's not like there aren't a metric-ton of good Indian actors who could really benefit from a breakout part like this (not to mention it could mean HUGE boxoffice in the increasingly-important India market.) Casting him with another Spanish actor - a good one, don't get me wrong - once again smells unpleasantly of a surface-only read of the series. Plus, let's be honest, the ONLY way for a new Khan to stand on his own merit is for him to be as far removed from Ricardo Montalban's version as possible.

We'll see.

24th European Film Awards Winners

Today awards ceremony live streaming was not flawless like last year as honestly, was truly awful probably due to a bad server that wasn't enough for the demand; still had to watch live and so I did. Winners are in *BLUE. To check the award winners at official site go here.

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05/11

Today at the Seville European Film Festival the European Film Academy announced the nominations and in my opinion is one very good films selection that surely will make the more than 2,500 EFA members work not easy as how can you chose one movie from the six nominated for best film? Here are the nominations.

Best European Film
The Artist, Michel Hazanavicius, France
Le Gamin au Velo (The Kid with a Bike), Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne, Belgium, France and Italy
Haeven (In a Better World), Susanne Bier, Denmark
The King’s Speech, Tom Hooper, UK
Le Havre, Aki Kaurismäki, Finland, France and Germany
*Melancholia, Denmark, Sweden, France and Germany

European Director
*Susanne Bier for Haeven (In a Better World), Denmark
Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne for Le Gamin au Velo (the Kid with a Bike), Belgium, France and Italy
Aki Kaurismäki for Le Havre, Finland, France and Germany
Béla Tarr for A Torino Lo (The Turin Horse),
Lars von Trier for Melancholia, Denmark, Sweden, France and Germany

European Actress
Kirsten Dunst in Melancholia
Cécile de France in Le Gamin au Velo (The Kid with a Bike)
Charlotte Gainsbourg in Melancholia
Nadezhda Markina in Elena
*Tilda Swinton in We Need to Talk About Kevin

European Actor
Jean Dujardin in The Artist
*Colin Firth in The King’s Speech
Mikael Persbrandt in Haeven (In a Better World)
Michel Piccoli in Habemus Papam
André Wilms in Le Havre

European Cinematographer
*Manuel Alberto Claro for Melancholia
Fred Kelemen for A Torino Lo (The Turin Horse)
Guillaume Schiffman for The Artist
Adam Sikora for Essential Killing

European Screenwriter
*Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne for Le Gamin au Velo(the Kid with a Bike)
Anders Thomas Jensen for Haeven (In a Better World)
Aki Kaurismäki for Le Havre
Lars von Trier for Melancholia

European Composer
*Ludovic Bource for The Artist
Alexandre Desplat for The King’s Speech
Alberto Iglesias for La Piel Que Habito (The Skin I Live In)
Mihály Vig for A Torino Lo (The Turin Horse)

European Editor
*Tariq Anwar for The King’s Speech
Mathilde Bonnefoy for Drei (Three)
Molly Malene Stensgaard for Melancholia

European Production Designer
Paola Bizzarri for Habemus Papam
Antxón Gómez for La Piel Que Habito (The Skin I Live In)
*Jette Lehmann for Melancholia

European Documentary
*Pina, Wim Wenders, Germany
Stand van de Sterren (Position Among the Stars), Leonard Retel Helmrich, Netherlands
¡Vivan las Antipodas!, Victor Kossakovsky, Germany, Netherlands, Argentina and Chile

European Animated Feature Film
Le Chat du Rabbin (The Rabbi’s Cat), Antoine Delesvaux and Joann Sfar, France
*Chico and Rita, Tono Errando, Javier Mariscal and Fernando Trueba, Spain and Isle of Man
Une Vie de Chat (A Cat in Paris), Jean-Loup Felicioli and Alain Gagnol, France and Belgium

European Discovery – Prix FIPRESCI
*Adem (Oxygen), Hans Van Nuffel, Belgium and Netherlands
Atmen (Breathing), Karl Markovics, Austria
Michael, Markus Schleinzer, Austria
Smukke Menesker (Nothing’s All Bad), Mikkel Munch-Fals, Denmark
Tilva Ros, Nikola Ležaić, Serbia

To check the nominated shorts go here  or here. Awards ceremony will be on December 3 in Berlin. As in previous years ceremony will be streamed live in the awards site that you can find here.

I do like the selection a lot more than last year but still believe that Academy members like “American-style” films more than what I imagined as Melancholia is the most mainstream (American) movie that Lars von Trier has ever done –according to what he said and me, I absolutely agree with him. Is not a bad movie but definitively Melancholia is far-away from The Antichrist for example. Since I’m talking about this movie have to say that I don’t agree with Cannes as I believe Charlotte Gainsbourg performance –and movie segment/story- is superior to Kirsten Dunst, so hopefully the record could be straighten by the European Academy. But won’t be an easy task as the Best Actress category has very good performance by Cécile de France and even if haven’t seen it yet I know that Tilda Swinton has a very good performance in We Need to Talk About Kevin, so good that has strong Oscar buzz; of course I’m “dying” to watch Elena but sometimes is so hard to be able to finally watch Russian films.

But going back to the best film category, the selection is fabulous (sans Melancholia) as you have the film that won the Best Film Oscar last year as well as the film that won the Oscar in the Foreign Language category, then the film that won the Cannes Jury Prize, the film that everyone is talking about because is black and white plus silent, and the film that I’m “dying” to see by one of my favorite directors that always mesmerize me with outstanding and out-of-the-ordinary films, yep Aki. My award goes to Aki even when haven’t seen his film, that’s how loyal and enthusiast fan I am.

But when we review the director category I’m not that sure about Aki as I know that Béla Tarr is a more than amazing director and no, haven’t seen his latest oeuvre but I’m sure will be mesmerizing; the Dardenne Brothers particular realism style has always puzzled/marveled me. Hope the award stays within these three directors.

Best Actor first impulse is –of course- Colin Firth! But have to admit that I was absolutely taken by Michel Piccoli in Habemus Papam, fantastic performance that should get more accolades than the ones I’ve been hearing.

Almodovar’s film didn’t made it to the top awards but got two nominations for music and production designer, hmm he won’t be pleased! (Lol!) I have been delaying watching Essential Killing as imagine that will be the kind of film that I don’t enjoy but always wondered about the beautiful images I saw in clips plus trailer, so now that got the cinematography nomination maybe I’ll watch.

I have no doubt which film will win this year in documentary HAS TO BE the outstanding, mesmerizing and visually impressive Pina by Wim Wenders, I could give this film the BEST FILM award as to my eyes this film is a lot more than a document about dancing and Pina’s life/oeuvre … is SO well done that becomes a very complete cinematic experience that stimulate ALL your senses.

Last but not least, I’m going to watch some (if not all) of the animated films as I know that French animation is really evolving too fast –still is the best in the world- and have to see the state of their development but who could not enjoy two films about cats? Lol!

As you can see have seen many movies and there are only a few that haven’t seen but are absolutely must be seen for me and for a trio I’m really counting the days until I finally will watch them. Sigh. So we will see what happens on December when we watch the awards live as always.

Cheers!

Today's Pointless, Doomed-to-Suck Reboot is "Starship Troopers"

The problem with Robert Heinlein's "Starship Troopers" is the problem I worry "John Carter" has - being a 'seminal classic' also means that by the time you get to the movies everyone else has already borrowed all the original stuff. Which is why, to my mind, Paul Verhoeven's "Troopers" movie did the only thing you could really DO with the propert after decades of military scifi had picked it's bones clean: Turn Heinlein's quasi-fascist army-fetishism into a scathing - and kind of brilliant - scorched-earth throttling of every bullshit pro-war propaganda flick ever made. I still maintain that, if not for pre-dating the "War On Terror" by many years, it would be the best movie about the "War On Terror" ever made.

So, of course, it's being rebooted.


It would be crazy for them to try and mimic the tone of the first film (or the sequels,) so expect talk of "going back to the source," which will probably also include actually utilizing the "powered robot-suits" that the first film skipped for budgetary reasons. I'm sure it'll result in a serviceable, visually-attractive film... just not one with much going on under the hood.

I could be wrong, of course..

2011 National Board of Review Awards

Yesterday the NBR announced their awards recipients for this year and here they are.

Best Film: Hugo
Best Animated Feature: Rango
Best Foreign Language Film: A Separation

Best Director: Martin Scorsese for Hugo
Debut Director: J. C, Chandor for Margin Call

Best Ensemble: The Help
Best Actress: Tilda Swinton in We Need to Talk About Kevin
Best Supporting Actress: Shailene Woodley in The Descendants
Best Actor: George Clooney in The Descendants
Best Supporting Actor: Chirstopher Plummer in Beginners
Breakthrough Performance: Felicity Jones in Like Crazy and Rooney Mara in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Best Documentary: Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory

NBR Freedom of Expression: Crime After Crime and Pariah
Spotlight Award: Michael Fassbender in A Dangerous Method, Jane Eyre, Shame, and X-Men: First Class


Top 10 Independent Films
50/50
Another Earth
Beginners
A Better Life
Cedar Rapids
Margin Call
Shame
Take Shelter
We Need To Talk About Kevin
Win Win

Top 5 Foreign Language Films
13 Assasins
Elite Squad: The Enemy Within
Footnote
Le Havre
Point Blank

Top Films
The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
The Ides of March
J. Edgar
The Tree of Life
War Horse

To check winners in all categories go here. I’m really glad that Tilda is starting to collect honors for a role that I imagine has to be spectacular, like almost everything she does. So major groups from the east coast have announced their honors, let’s see what happens with the east coast organizations, which somehow imagine could be different as seems this year there will be no clear front runner.

Today I Like McDonalds

I understand and sympathize with the attitude behind San Francisco's goofy "Happy Meal Ban." Yeah, my latent libertarian streak says that if your stupid enough to think a $1 hamburger (which is NOT, by the way, the cheapest food you can get in most areas where such poverty is a major problem so please spare me the histrionics) prepared in 30 seconds is proper day-to-day nutrition you deserve what you get. To some people "too dumb to live" is a cute hyperbolic insult - to me, it often sounds like a solid catch-all public policy...

BUT, that said, I completely "get" not wanting children to suffer for the stupidity of their parents. So yeah, I get where they're coming from; but it's still a foolish, pointless move from a city that seems to have lost it's ability to distinguish between worthwhile liberal social-policy and cartoonish parodies of what right-wing dipshits think liberals are about.

Which is why - despite my mixed feelings on the Fast Food industry (on the one hand I'm not "against" corporations 'preying' on idiots, on the other hand... y'know, kids don't get to choose whether or not they're born to idiot parents) I straight-up LOVE McDonalds' ingeniously dickish "fuck you!" to the ban:

See, SF made a law that said you can't include FREE toy prizes in "kids meals" that don't comply with city nutritional standards; which, of course, seem precisely built to exclude pretty-much anything McDonalds might sell. McD's solution? Raise the price of a Happy Meal by a dime, make the toys something you have to ask for, and call the dime the "price" of the toy. Oh, and that dime? They're giving it to charity. Fuck yeah. Take a bow, Ronald.

To show my solidarity, one appreciator of a high-quality loophole-leaping "fuck you" to another, I'll be making it a point to eat some McDonalds today - y'know, after a 2,000 calorie workout, of course. I haven't been in awhile, what should I get?

Escape to the Movies: "Hugo"

I liked it.

"Intermission" is about movies mimicking movies.

The Escapist : Escape to the Movies : Hugo