Just another Movie Geek blog

2011-10-14T20:58:00.000-07:00

Samuel L. Jackson as the 12th Doctor:

"I want these mother fucking Daleks off this mother fucking TARDIS."

"...and you will KNOW my name is The Doctor when I lay my vengeance upon thee" [Activates sonic in bad guys general direction]

Ancient world Fantasy Weekend

2011-08-29T12:06:00.001-07:00

This weekend turned out to be an interesting foray into the Ancient World Fantasy film genre. First up:

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)

Not sure why this film got a bad rap. It is a fun little adventure, captures the feel and movement of the games quite well and gives us a great little twist on the whole time travel genre. Jake Gyllenhaal does a great job (although his accent was a bit wobbly surrounded by a cast primarily made up of British citizens)bringing a likeable character and a physicality to the role I didn't know he was capable of. Beautiful scenery and decent script. For a good action adventure film, this one is just fine.

Overall: 7.5 out of 10

Conan the Barbarian (2011)

I will freely admit I am a huge fan of Jason Momoa primarily from his work on Stargate: Atlantis and Game of Thrones (I like to ignore the fact he was on Baywatch) so I went into this film already planning on enjoying it due to his presence. However, I walked out of the film realizing I had just seen something great. Not spectactular or "oh my god you have to see this" caliber, but a fun adventure that met every expectation I would imagine out of a Conan film.

If your only exposure to Conan has been the early 80s film, please clear it from your head when considering the new one. While Arnold and John Millius gave us a fantastic film, it really morphed into it's own thing and shied away from the original source of Conan. The new film manages to be much closer in spirit to the original books and has a great time doing so. Let me share with you the Just Another Movie Geek Official Conan Check list©:

-Copious sword play with blood lettings: check
-Ample bosoms on screen: check (and before I am accused of misogyny, I would say the male and female bare chest time was fairly even in the film)
-Evil bad guy that only our stalwart hero can bring down: check
-The riddle of steel: check (and I liked it better in the new one!)
-Witchcraft, sorcery and other black magics: check
-Other worldly-ness and ancient-ness to the setting: check

The only fault I found in it was as fantastic as the world we were given was, it did seem that travel time was completely ignored in favor of quick narrative. Not that I wanted a LOTR rehash showing Conan riding the sand for hours and hours, but things just seemed to happen a bit quickly. And not a complaint, but I was actually expecting a bit more gore. Sure there was plenty of blood flying, a few dismemberments and the such, but when shows like 'Spartacus Blood and Sand' manage to up the sword level gore gratuity to a new level I feel a bit let down when I don't get it here as much.

If you like yourself a good sword, sandal and sorcery flick, ignore the bad reviews this one is getting and check it out.

Overall: 8 out of 10

Side note: The universe apparently wants me to have more Alfred Molina in my daily life. Over the past 4 days he showed up in 3 films we have watched and then he was in a trailer before Conan.

Captain America: The First Avenger

2011-07-24T17:52:00.000-07:00

Let me first say that when it comes to reading comic books, I am a DC fanboy. I collect primarily Batman titles and keep a good grasp on the rest of the "DC Universe." So why is it that of all the super hero movies of the last 10 years I have enjoyed the Marvel-Verse films greater?

Maybe they adapt to films better. Maybe I am not as critical of them as I am with the DC films. Regardless, Captain America: The First Avenger is a marvelous film.

For being as bored with the origin story in comic films as I am, this one managed to make it interesting. As an action film, its got some wonderful pieces and the pace was perfect. Casting was spot on and the fx were well funded. The patriotism of such and "american" character was dealt with evenly. Not overly in your face jingoistic, but portrayed a time when the group dynamic of our country was a bit more nobler. Chris Evans gave us a stoic and approachable Steve Rogers and Hayley Atwell delivered a breath of fresh air to the female character in the genre. She wasn't just eye candy, or the damsel in distress nor merely just the love interest. She was an equal. Director Joe Johnston (who proved he can handle the genre and the time period with The Rocketeer) created a wonderful film for fans of fun and entertaining cinema.

Some spoilery points of interest:

-A wonderful reference to Raiders of the Lost Ark
-Tommy Lee Jones steals every scene
-Stay after the credits for a nice set up for next years Avengers. I am probably going to have to break my Joss Whedon boycott
-Favorite Line: "I'm from Fresno, Ace."

Space Battleship Yamoto

2011-06-30T21:51:00.000-07:00

Finally got a chance to see this. I will freely admit my knowledge of the original is rather limited. Starblazers was on before I watched toons as a kid so I never got to actually see it. I have seen random bits of it here and there and have a decent grasp of the story. So with that in mind, I must say they did a great job with this film.

Story wise is what you would expect out of the show. A few logic jumps did occur but (they managed to pump a 26 episode tv show into a 2 hour 18 minute movie) none to jarring to interrupter the flow. Visually the fx are top notch (amazingly done on a 22 million dollar budget) with some amazing battle sequences.

They definitely went to the Galactica playbook for this film. From the utilitarian look of the ship interiors to the helmets and flight suits this film borrowed heavily but still managed to maintain a Japanese esthetic and stay close to it's anime roots.

Fans of the show and fans of a rolling space adventure should check it out.

Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain

2011-06-25T17:13:00.001-07:00

Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain: this film is made of pure chinese crack.

Quick Movie Reviews: 4.4.11

2011-04-04T12:53:00.000-07:00

Got a chance to watch two flicks over the weekend.

1. The Expendables

A decent time with some great action scenes, but unfortunately not that great of a film. Script could have used some serious polish and it probably would have been a much better film. But for going back to the basics of "lots of gun fights and ass kicking," the film works. RED managed to pull off the "old guy" action film a bit better. Terry Crews (who should have been given more screen time) stole every scene he was in.

2. The Green Hornet

I did not understand the hate and bad reviews this got. Mrs. JAMG and I had a great time with it. Was Seth Rogen nothing but Seth Rogen? Sure, but it did not really distract from the film at all. Jay Chou turns out an amazing role as Kato and manages to shine throughout. The car was cool (as it should be) and the bad guy (Chrisoph Waltz) was just the right amount of over the top but still subdued. I felt Micheal Gondry did an amazing job offering us a deconstructed look at the super hero genre.

Title Card for a Sunday Afternoon

2011-03-27T13:33:00.000-07:00

It's raining outside, chores are done. Scotch in my hand, neat. In theater:

It's a good day for a movie.

Frame Within a Frame Series-Spotlight on:

2011-03-20T18:53:00.000-07:00

Frame Within a Frame Series-Spotlight on:

Click to see larger:

2011-01-05T12:37:00.000-08:00

So it looks like there is a lot of scifi/fantasy films coming out this year.
(http://io9.com/5725740/55-science-fictionfantasy-movies-to-watch-out-for-in-2011)

From that list, what im interested in (and theater/rent quality):

The Green Hornet (January 14)
Yah, I actually want to see it. Micheal Gondry is an amazing director so I am curious to see what he can do with the script which probably isn't that great.
Rent

The Adjustment Bureau (March 4)
I love a good mind tweaker.
Rent unless it gets good reviews.

Battle Los Angeles (March 11)
Love me some Aaron Eckhart. This one will hopefully be decent.
Rent

Suing The Devil (March 11)
Malcom McDowell pretty much played the devil in the remake of Fantasy Island and we loved him there (totally un-appreciated and ahead of its time show) so I am in.
Rent.

Limitless (March 18)
Sounds possibly interesting.
Rent.

Paul (March 18)
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as UFO nerds on a road trip in the US and pick up a hitchiking alien? What could you not love? The fact they are working without Edgar Wright however is the deciding factor. Without his guidance will they flounder?
Rent.

Sucker Punch (March 25)
Zach Snyder (love him or hate him) has yet to visually dissapoint me. So far his source material has been already loved and he has treated them with respect. Will be interesting to see what he does with something original.
Theater.

Source Code (April 1)
Moon was fabulous so I am in on that factor alone. Add in Jake G and some time travel/groundhog day action? Im in.
Rent.

Thor (May 6)
Very interested to see where Marvel is really going with all this but mostly excited to see what Mr Shakespeare himself can do with a comic book. Plus, all you racist haters about the casting? Suck it. THE ASGARD ARE ALIENS THEY CAN BE WHAT EVER WE WANT THEM TO BE.
Theater

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (May 20)
Sigh. Yes...i will probably see it. I just dont know anymore.
Rent

The Tree of Life (May 27)
Didnt we already see this in "The Fountain"?
Skip it.

Super 8 (June 10)
Someday you people will understand that JJ Abrahms is a gimmick director with no talent. Until then, keep lining up.
Skip it. Boycott it. Leave a bag of flaming poo on his porch.

The Green Lantern (June 17)
Im actually looking forward to this one.
Theater

Rise of the Apes (June 24)
BAHWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

no really?

skip it.

Sinbad: The Fifth Voyage (July 18)
Trailer looked fun. Plus Patrick Stewart.
Rent

Captain America: The First Avenger (July 22)
Again, interested to see where Marvel is going. So glad they are going with the original WWII Cap.
Rent

Cowboys and Aliens (July 29)
James Bond vs Indiana Jones as cowboys vs Aliens? It's like they asked my subconscious how to make a movie. Unfortunately, the source material was weak so hopefully they will make it good.
Theater

Conan 3-D (August 19)
Love Jason Momoa and looking forward to him stepping into the sandals.
Rent

Fright Night (August 19)
So torn. Original has its place and shouldn't be touched. But they went and cast David Tennant.
Not sure

Now (September 30)
Isn't this just a weird take on Logan's Run?
not sure

Real Steel (October 7)
Sounds like a great drinking game
Rent

The Thing (October 14)
Hmmmm. Still unsure. Great original. Doesn't need a prequel. But RDM wrote it.
not sure

Sherlock Holmes 2 (December 16)
Best Bromance ever. Count me in.
Theater

The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn (December 23)
Im in for the power behind it alone.
Rent

Doctor Who odditity

2011-01-05T12:15:00.000-08:00

Check out this brain conundrum

1. David Tennant played the 10th doctor
2. David Tennant starred alongside Peter Davidson (5th doctor) in the Time Crash mini episode. David slightly breaks the 4th wall by proclaiming "You were my Doctor"
3. David Tennant stars in a 3rd season episode along side Georgia Moffett (daughter of Peter Davidson)
4. Georgia Moffett plays the Doctors Daughter in that episode (so she is the daughter of 2 Doctors)
5. It was announced today that David Tennant and Georgia Moffett are engaged.

So. He is marrying his own daughter, sired by both himself and a previous incarnation of himself. And that previous incarnation will be giving away his daughter to himself.

2011-01-02T00:31:00.000-08:00

For all my friends who are awesome parents (and those soon to be) I give you a lullaby to soothe your baby to, sung by the dark and sarcastic Tim Minchin.

no, no, no, no, no, YES! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no no......

2010-12-24T13:45:00.000-08:00

Wait a minute.....

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!

We miss you Madeline. Thank you for all the wonderful times.

If something gets in your way, turn.

2010-12-19T17:10:00.000-08:00

As one of my family's favorite movies and part 4 of my modern Christmas Film Trilogy* it is now time to give you some of my favorite scenes from Better Off Dead

Two dollars.

Oh Badger. Such a misunderstood ginger.

[Howard Cosell accent] Language lessons.

CHRIST--MAAAS.

Gee, I'm real sorry your mom blew up, Ricky

Now that's a real shame when folks be throwin' away a perfectly good white boy like that.

*The modern Christmas Film Trilogy

1. The Ref
2. Scrooged
3. Die Hard

4. Better Off Dead

Tron double post.

2010-12-18T16:58:00.000-08:00

Since Dr. Mrs Just Another Movie Geek I and saw Tron Legacy today, we decided to revisit the original again last night. I must say, Disney's pulling of it off the shelves in fear that it would hurt the new films chances are ridiculous. The film holds up amazingly well and still looks great. As I am sure has been discussed before, we found the parallels between Flynn and Jesus (the user/God who walks the earth) and Tron and John the Baptist to be very interesting.

I will let the film speak for itself with some cool shots:

If I ever worked in this Cube Farm, I would be so very sad for my life:

Something I never noticed before, Alan is a "Day the Earth Stood Still" fan (look at yellow banner on left wall of cube):

"Mine is an evil stare"

And some Frame within the Frame shots:

Tron Legacy:

I would like to thank everyone who had a hand in making Tron Legacy. That was truly a great early christmas present for my eyes, ears and brain. A rare occurrence of a sequel that actually felt like a natural evolution from the first. The film (while treading in very similar waters) managed to become its own creation. Homages a plenty were throughout the film and brought many a smile to my face. The amazing soundtrack (provided by the ever wonderful Daft Punk) also did not betray its evolutionary roots from Wendy Carlos' ground breaking original score. This film was clearly a love letter to the original and to the fans. Just Another Movie Geek highly recommends.

-Smallish Spoiler: I can think of no better actor than Cillian Murphy to appear as David "the bad guy in the first one" Warner's son. I was quite surprised by that cameo.

Cyrano...

2010-11-12T14:17:00.000-08:00

Of all the versions of Cyrano out there, Roxanne will always be my favorite:

More legally required rap

2010-11-02T13:20:00.000-07:00

As we have mentioned before (see here) in the 80s it was required by law for all actors to perform at least 1 rap video/song.

More proof: C3P0 schilling for Star Tours

More Hitchcock

2010-10-06T08:45:00.000-07:00

Came across this today. Interesting project. 1000 frames from each Hitchcock film. Makes for an interesting view on his work:

1000 Frames of Hitchcock

genesis

2010-10-04T12:39:00.000-07:00

Martin Landau in North By Northwest. The original Creepy Crispin Glover:

Frames Within a Frame 01: Highlander

2010-09-27T22:08:00.000-07:00

A new series for this blog, I give you the first "Frames Within the Frame"

Highlander (1986)

today's movie question to ponder...

2010-07-30T15:07:00.000-07:00

Misunderstood classic...

or

early signs of Eddie Murphy's inevitable fall from greatness?

Dear Martin Scorsese fans

2010-07-20T08:45:00.000-07:00

While the 2006 film The Departed was a good film* with some great performances and won some little awards...it can't hold a candle to the brilliance of it's source material:

The 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs

Mrs. Just Another Movie geek and I gave it a viewing last night (her first, my third) and I was once again floored by its masterful creation. A gripping thriller that really kept you wondering the whole time about the duality of each character. Even Mrs. JAMG who wasn't in the mood for a cop drama when we started was enthralled by the film at the end. If you have never seen either or only seen The Departed, I highly recommend you check out the original.

*Full disclosure: I have actually not seen The Departed. Few reasons why: A. Leo isn't my favorite actor in the world. B. The original was so wonderful, I never understood the need to remake it.

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue...

2010-06-27T20:27:00.000-07:00

who knew a TARDIS could fill all of those at once.

Stephen Moffat's freshman season of Doctor Who just came to a close and I must say I have enjoyed the ride. I have heard a lot of random complaints about this season and I was never quite sure what people were not enjoying. But this ending showed me that Moffat had some big pieces in play all season and they came together beautifully. I can't say much more without spoiling it but I am happy to say that the new Doctor is great and the show couldn't be in better hands. Bring on christmas 2010.

And on a closing note, as a wearer of one of the greatest hats ever...Fezzes are cool.

Action Movie-O-Rama

2010-06-14T12:34:00.000-07:00

Can two films actually make an "O-Rama"?

Mrs. Just Another Movie Geek and I recently viewed two action films that we enjoyed greatly.

1. The A-Team (2010)

Who would have thought that a film made from an 80s cheesy tv show could actually entertain me? I will admit I was never a fan of the original show. Came on to late for my 8 year old viewing habits and on the rare chance I could stay up, Dad didn't like it so we didn't watch. I never felt I was missing anything but being a child of the 80s I knew enough of the concept to carry me through. Going into the film I had no expectations other than it needed to be "The A-Team." Team of ex-military guys forced into being mercs by being setup for a crime they didn't commit. The film hit all of the tropes of the original series but made them work. From Hannibal's catch phrase and cigar chomping, Face being the ladies man, Murdock being nuts and BA being afraid of flying (which the film manages to set up perfectly) the characters were all spot on. As well as the most important aspect of The A-Team was also present; their outlandish plans and technical prowess to get things done. As a good friend of mine recently proclaimed "I only watched The A-Team when I was a kid because I loved watching them weld shit together!" the film pulls this off twice and made me smile at the ingenuity involved there in. One liners flew as fast as the bullets did and most managed to make me chuckle if not seriously cackle out loud. A few moments of suspension of dis-belief caused my reality sensor to ping, but they were all handled well enough that they didn't bug me too much. Outside of one moment of a bad guy monologuing I found this to be a quite enjoyable action romp and well worth my attention. I am just sad that the remake of The Karate Kid beat it at the BO this weekend.

2. Banlieue 13: Ultimatium (2009)

6 years ago a little French action film came my way starring the creator of Parkour, David Belle. Quick action and alot of parkour helped shape this films dystopian future of Paris into a great action/fight movie. Last year gave us a sequel to the film that continues the story. Of course we have some great action and some parkour, but something felt off to me. Maybe I have seen and appreciated so much parkour in the last few years since the first film but this sequel didn't seem to focus so much on that aspect. A great early scene shows our hero cop giving a great homage to Jackie Chan by fighting a large group of bad guys while protecting and using an original Van Gogh painting during the fight. Canvas-Fu has never looked better. Even with the less than shiny parkour, it was great to visit this world again. Outside of one moment of the application of the law of inverse ninjas, the film manages to have a great time and keeps the pace well.

All in all if you are hankering for a decent action film with some good fights, great explosions and a fun time...you can't go wrong with either of these films.

Iron Man 2

2010-05-09T20:24:00.000-07:00

Jon Favreau and team deliver a worthy sequel to one of my favorite modern super hero film

A great visual treat and an enjoyable story I highly recommend it especially if you liked the first one.

A few direct thoughts and potential spoilers down below.

-Don Cheadle as Lt. Col Rhodes. Don't get me wrong, I love Don Cheadle and I have never understood the details on why Terrance Howard left but Don didn't really do that much for me here. If there is a third and he's back, I am hoping the role is a little beefier.

-RDJ continues to shine.

-For the first time ever, Scarlett Johanssen didn't bore the crap out of me.

-Oh and Micheal Bay...The final suit battle at the end? THAT is how you do big robot battle action.

-John Favreau? I again applaud your work. Thank you for being a director who understands his source material properly. (and I loved your beefed up role..I always love you just as much in front of the lens)

Final rating:
On a comparative scale of modern Super Hero sequel films:
In second place behind Spiderman 2 and just beating out The Dark Knight*

On its own.. a great fun film.

*I know..sacrilege from a hardcore Bat-fan like me right? Guess I should someday back up that rating.

The Return of JAMG...a review of NInja Assassin

2010-05-09T20:00:00.000-07:00

Ninja Assassin.

It's a ninja flick. Not much more you need to know about it than that. It's a bit bloody but it's over the top. As a saturday night actioner, you can't go wrong.

Rain (the Korean pop sensation) played a decent ninja fighting back against the evilness of the clan he grew up in. Having previously enjoyed his appearance in Speed Racer, I was happy to see him get lead role and hope he gets more opportunities in film.

Thanking the master movie reviewer Joe Bob Briggs, I would like to return to the "INSERT TYPE HERE-Fu" classification system.

-LaundryFu

-Blind Fold-Fu

-Highway-Fu

-Burning Dojo-Fu

-Silhouette-Fu

Other great points of interest:

Ninja Hidey-Holes
1000 Shuriken Barrages
Telepathic Heart beat Mutual Masturbation (don't ask)
Best advice: When you come home to find two ninjas fighting in your living room...run.

And on a unrelated note, in this film we got to enjoy the presence of the British actor Ben Miles.

Best known here in Just Another Movie Geek headquarters as Patrick Maitland, the Well Endowed, Tory Voting, Loveable Sexist Pig from Coupling. His character as a flirt and "player" is a trait that seems to be carrying over to other roles. In both this film and his small role in Speed Racer, certain "Patrick-isms" have come through. Conscious decision on behalf of the actor or production, I can't say..but I can only offer this hypothesis:

Patrick will always be Patrick

A question...

2010-02-25T08:29:00.000-08:00

Is it humanly possible to hate Ned Beatty?

I mean seriously. Think of any role you have seen him in.

Pure genius.

He plays both slimy/evil and sweet/good with equal gusto.

call me one to commit Anime Sacrilege...

2010-01-29T22:37:00.000-08:00

..but I have an interesting idea.

Remake the original Super Dimensional Macross.

Don't get me wrong, I love the original Macross. From its humble dubbed roots as the first chapter of Robotech, to the original Japanese versions deep and compelling story. This anime is a cornerstone of my love of animated works from Japan. However the original run looks a bit worn at this point in time. There was even one studio who worked on it who did some rather shoddy work. This master piece needs a facelift.

But I do not really want to see it just remade* ... just reanimate it.

Use all of the original sound fx, voices, story and script. Just update it to the same animation level Macross Zero was done at and you would have a winner. However, I do not want just a frame for frame remake. At least not entirely.

You could do the following and still keep the original feel:

-Flesh out many static scenes.
-Make life on the Macross even more believeable.
-Make the battle scenes even more impressive (you could even cheat a little with new animation on many of the unfortunate re-used scenes)
-Erase Minmei entirely! (just kidding..I actually like her)

Its a dream for sure, but I for one think it would be beautiful.

*I know Hollywood keeps banging around the idea of live action Macross. Even with the CGI beauty of Avatar, I don't feel the world of Macross can be condensed so easily. Yes, I do know Macross DYRL did kind of what I am asking for, but I don't care for the changes to the story it made nor do I enjoy that it has been retconned into continuity.

ignore me too

2010-01-06T07:55:00.001-08:00

Cause I am nothing unless acted upon by an outside force.

this is a test

2010-01-06T07:40:00.001-08:00

ignore this post...it means nothing to me.

Avatar, Holmes and The Doctor

2010-01-03T17:33:00.000-08:00

It's been an entertainment filled end of year for us here at Just Another Movie Geek headquarters. We hosted our last Saturday cinema for 2009, got to the real cinemas twice in less than a week and said goodbye to a very good fictional friend.

AVATAR:
I don't have much to add to what has already been discussed about this film. I enjoyed it, but fully accepted I was just looking at something pretty with the simplest of stories to tie it all together. To all the animators and visual people who worked on this film I salute you, you did a great work and I look forward to what we will be entertained with in the future with the new techniques and technology you have invented. However, 3D still isn't doing anything for me. It's a gimmick just to get more people to pay lots of money at the theater. When the only thing that impresses me in the 3D in the movie is the ash falling from a fire, then something isn't working. There are those that like it I am sure, but it just aint for me.

SHERLOCK HOLMES:
Just saw this today actually and Dr. Mrs Just Another Movie Geek and I thoroughly enjoyed it. RDJr gave us an excellent performance as the tortured genius side of Holmes we rarely see in the visual realm. And Guy Ritchie, thank you for finding your skills again, it's good to see you back to good things. While I will admit my actual knowledge of Holmes is limited to the few movies I have seen and a random spattering of some trivia, I must say this portrayal and the world created worked very very well. The script was tight and funny. Not to hard of a plot but didn't pander to the LCD. For all the talk of "Holmes and Watson are gay!!!" stuff, sure...you can see that. But what I saw was the tortured soul of Holmes and his support and friendship of his best friend and Hetero Life Partner Dr. Watson. If you like a fun movie or just find RDJr dreamy, I recommend checking it out.

DOCTOR WHO:
No spoilers here for those who haven't seen it yet. The ending is wonderful, and pure Russel T Davis. But of everything that was great to these episodes, the greatest of course is the final performance of David Tennant.

While Christopher Eccleston will still and probably always be my favorite Doctor, David gave us such a brilliant run in the last 4 years. I look forward to the new guy and Moffat's direction but David, you will be missed.

Okay, one spoiler:
Who was the old woman Time Lord who appeared to Wilf and was Crying to the Doctor? My money: The Doctors Granddaughter

Sure, the last we saw of her was The Doctor locking her out of the TARDIS but who is to say she never got back to Gallifrey?

Movie of the week shot(s) 3 & 4:

2009-12-18T14:03:00.000-08:00

Fire

Water

I think i'm turning Japanese...

2009-12-16T19:02:00.000-08:00

In order to complete Dr. Mrs. Just Another Movie Geek's viewings of all Sean Connery Bond films (she has seen all the good ones) I am suffering through "You Only Live Twice." Oh Sean Connery, I am glad it was a big check.

Movie of the week shot #2

2009-12-16T12:46:00.000-08:00

Shot #2:

Air

Final Akbar Cinemas for 2009

2009-12-15T10:55:00.000-08:00

This weekend will be the final showing of my successful Saturday night movie series for 2009. 2010 will continue the fine tradition but we decided to ring our 2009 with a classic boom. A big bada boom.

Shot #1: Earth

On Bruno and Silent Bob

2009-12-12T10:46:00.000-08:00

Last night Dr. Mrs. Just Another Movie Geek and I watched the 3rd Q&A session with Kevin Smith. For those unfamiliar this series is just him on a stage taking questions from audience members and telling funny and interesting stories about life in the movie biz and randomness in the world of Kevin Smith. If you are a fan of Kevin Smith (and especially like his film commentaries) then I recommend these films.

In last nights viewing he tells of his time working on Die Hard 4 and dealing with Bruce Willis. Bruce has a bit of an ego and is a bit hard to work with and Kevin figured after he was done was over and he wouldn't be dealing with Bruce again. He then mentions later on the 4th of July he got a call from Bruce to which Bruce said "You are from Jersey. I'm from Jersey. You write and direct. I act. We should do something together sometime." Kevin was floored but he figured he had nothing that he could make that Bruce would ever want to be in.

But then it dawned on me. A sequel to Unbreakable written and directed by Kevin Smith. The boy knows how to write some great comic books. And Unbreakable was a great example of how superheroes could exist in the real world. It will probably never see the light of day but this movie geek would love to see it happen. Fate, get to work on that.

final goemon shots

2009-12-04T12:47:00.000-08:00

(please click through to see them all big and beautiful)

Todays Goemon

2009-12-03T12:09:00.000-08:00

I've upped the res for the rest of the shots I will be posting so I suggest clicking through to see it in full screen awesomness.

(the sword says "Beneath Heaven")

(I am still researching what this sword says)

todays Goemon and a theory.

2009-12-02T08:23:00.000-08:00

Forgetting Sarah Marshall is simply a remake of Better Off Dead.

Discuss.

Todays Goemon pic

Goemon-Screen cap

2009-12-01T13:54:00.000-08:00

I had a great time posting cool screen shots from Blade Runner two weeks ago so I am going to continue with my weekly movie. This weeks Movie: Goemon.(trailer here )

bonus:

New Addition to the Theatre

2009-11-27T19:02:00.000-08:00

My home theater is an ever evolving process. Each new step and addition to the overall room adds more levels of awesomeness to my entertainment space. The latest addition is not so much to enhance films but to enhance the room when in between, before and after them. When we don't want to bring up the full house lights, but want to be able to see more than the low level theater light.

I give you, the new light.

This is mounted on the west wall of the theatre between the slider and window.

Here are a couple of close ups of the cool light patterns.

And here is what it looks like in regular light.

This is only v 1.0 of this light. I plan on tweaking it up a bit for better light direction. But overall a success!

Technical specs:
3/4" re-claimed cedar siding cut to 4" x 32" that is french cleated to the wall
Lights: 50 strand blue LED xmas lights mounted on pegs at each end
Cover: 1/8" frosted plastic sheet

2009-11-20T12:19:00.000-08:00

Geish eating candy/taking pill on Video Billboard: "Meeeeeeeeeeei koto kyuuuuuuuuuuuuunn*"

*Translation:

Well, really I have no idea what it truly says. But my awesome friend Billy and I would always joke around that what she is really saying is "taaaaaaaaaaake ouuuur druuuuuuuuuuuuugs!"

2009-11-20T11:54:00.000-08:00

"Is this to be an empathy test?"

2009-11-19T11:44:00.001-08:00

"Death; ah..well that's a little out of my jurisdiction."

2009-11-18T12:38:00.000-08:00

To celebrate Blade Runner I am offering a daily quote and screen shot of one of my favorite films of all time.*

Here is yesterdays and todays.

"Have you ever retired a Human by mistake?"

"Lo fa, ne-ko shi-ma, de va-ja Blade... Blade Runner."

*I do prefer the original theatrical cut over any other version, but all have their merits.

Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars

2009-11-16T11:06:00.000-08:00

Last night across the pond our lovely friends at the BBC released the 3rd to last David Tennant episode of Doctor Who (supposedly at xmas we are getting a 2 parter) and I must say that we are once again watching greatness. While I have my issues with RTD and many of his dues ex like endings he pulls out of no where sometimes these last episodes of the Doctor in action have been amazing. I really can't talk about much of the plot or ongoing story without spoiling it at all so I am gonna just say, watch it and you will not be disappointed. David pulls out some of his best work in an amazing script. It is hard hitting and ends up being one of the darkest episodes that is leads us right into the end.

I will add that this latest episode also adds more fuel to the fire of my theory of the future of Doctor Who. More on my theory here. I will add this additional evidence to this theory in this original post at the bottom so don't look if you dont want to be spoiled.

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan

2009-11-16T08:41:00.000-08:00

Got a chance to visit (of what I imagine to be the last time) the Battlestar Galactica universe this weekend with a viewing of the new film "Battlestar Galactica: The Plan"

Viewers who have not finished the original series should not watch this movie until they have. While all events in this film take place very early in the series, it reveals all of the Cylon Models and takes away that suprise if you haven't experienced them yet. Also, with out background of much of the Cylon reasoning for their actions, most of the film will be lost.

What we were given was a wonderful Appendix to the Galactica story and one that focuses primarily on the Cylons and their actions. We see more of the attack on the colonies. More of survivors on Caprica and many questions that were left somewhat unanswered are dealt with in acceptable manners. Edward James Olmos (Commander Adama) went behind the camera again and directed a tight piece that at times felt disjointed but at the end it all came together perfectly.

Some fans might consider this appendix to be a retconn or just made up to fill holes that the story was too weak to earlier explain. To them I say hogwash, you guys are just bitter that the ending of Galactica wasn't what you wanted it to be. Me, I felt it was perfect.

mini movie review:

2009-11-14T12:44:00.001-08:00

GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Well I will say this for sure, it did not fail at being GI Joe.

The military tech was cool. The story was...well, it was. But its GI freaking Joe.

Lack of education scares me

2009-10-29T21:24:00.000-07:00

During this weeks Top Chef, Natalie Portman guest starred as a judge. One of the younger chefs in a off camera comment proclaimed:

"Wow I get to cook for Natalie Portman. The only important thing she ever did was Star Wars and really thats all that matters."

o_O

The only important thing she as ever done? How about a little thing in her career called Leon (aka The Professional)?

The state of today's youth. Makes a man weep.

Dr. Mrs. Just Another Movie Geek even yelled at the TV "Oh my god... I would totally punch that guy if he said that to me"

Review Dump

2009-10-20T14:20:00.000-07:00

Been watching a few random things lately so here two mini reviews.

Adam and Steve

A quirky indie film about a gay couple in NY who had a disastrous* first date in 1987 and then met again in 2004. Way more entertaining than I thought it was going to be and for the first time ever Chris Kattan made me not want to put my fist through his face. The film unfortunately plays into a few too many gay stereotypes but manages to make them fairly funny. It does manage to take a step into surreal territory with a Gay Cowboy Dance Off near the end of the film that still has me wondering what the hell I just saw.

JUST A MOVIE GEEK Recommendation: Check it out

*I wont spoil how disastrous this date was. Its shocking nature worked in the film and should be experienced with eyes open.

Where the Wild Things Are

Let me get this out of the way right now. If you loved the book when you were a kid, do not fear this film will touch, alter, or change your love of the original book. The book and the film are not even in the same ball game. So in the book we have Max. A difficult child who gets sent to his room and then imagines a world where superb monsters live and he becomes their king and great monstrous things happen. Right there is where the similarities between the two end.

Visually the film does not disappoint. The monsters are exactly as the should be as if Sendak himself drew them on screen. The combination of practical and CGI for the beasts is amazing. The monsters island while quite desolate works perfectly and allows Max and his monsters to frolic as should be. The only thing that bothered me was that none of the monsters sounded like they were beasts. They all sounded like humans inside. At first this bothered me but when I realized what Jonze (director) and Eggers (screen writer) were doing with this story it all fell into place.

The film expands upon the 9 sentence long children's book by taking numerous points of Max's Id and transferring them to each monster. Dealing with many issues that children must face the monsters represent all that Max can't handle. This is not a film for children. At least not young ones that the book is normally targeted to. Whereas Terry Gilliam gave us the Imagination Trilogy with Time Bandits, Brazil and Munchasen I would say that Where the Wild Things are goes hand in hand with Eternal Sunshine on the Spotless Mind as Jonze's own foray into the way mans mind works.

JUST A MOVIE GEEK Recommendation: Check it out but put aside all feelings you may have towards the original book

2009-10-13T14:20:00.000-07:00

One of my fellow younger co-workers was severely lacking in some classic geek cinema so I felt I was required to help set him straight.

After loaning him a few titles he came back to me today with an ecstatic grin loving what I had given him.

Film 1: The Last Starfighter

He was amazed at the level of decent CGI for being a film from the 80s and found its innocent plot to be worthy of the praise. Success!

His favorite bit?

Alex Rogan: Wait a minute. We knock out the turret to get the fighters. But to get to the turret, we gotta get THROUGH the fighters. We're dead.
Grig: I'll have it all figured out by the time we reach the Frontier.
[alarm sounds and Grig's face falls]
Alex Rogan: What's that?
Grig: The Frontier.

I will report back on his findings on the other films I have loaned him but it warms this movie geeks heart to be able to share the cinematic love.

For the future of Doctor Who

2009-09-22T16:04:00.000-07:00

The following is posted as speculation/theory only. More than likely I am reading way too much into things but I believe I am onto something.

If you are a fan of the new Doctor Who, then you probably know by now that David Tennant only has a few more goes in him this year as the Doctor. Next year we will be given new adventures with the "11th" Doctor.

However, I am not convinced that we will actually be seeing the 11th Doctor at all. My feeling is that we will be seeing the 1st Doctor again and that the BBC is "rebooting" the whole show.

Let's review some facts that have led me to this line of thinking.

FACT 1: "The Doctor's Song is ending" The Ood told him this, as did the psychic woman in "The Planet of the Dead." Now, this can mean many things but it pointing to the Doctor finally dying and not regenerating could easily be considered. And with SPOILER the rumored return of John Simm in the final Tennant episode END SPOILER who else could kill him completely.

FACT 2: The new actor playing the Doctor is the youngest ever. Normally this wouldn't give me pause since the age of the actors from Doctor to Doctor has varied over the last 40+ years. But take a look at the following shot of him from the set:

Wearing what I call a "1950's professor chic" look, Matt Smith gives us an interesting look for this incarnation. It just seems younger and more representative of the time when Doctor Who first aired.

FACT 3: The TARDIS looks shiny and new. Another shot from the set:

Technically, one could easily theorize that the Doctor has repaired the long broken chameleon circuit and makes the box look a bit nicer but still retaining it's classic look. But one could also theorize that this TARDIS was recently stolen from the Time Lords and doesn't have many miles on it.

FACT 4: A certain symbol is back on the TARDIS.

Take a look at this shot of the original first doctor and his TARDIS:

Now, look at this close up of the new TARDIS:

That is the St. Johns Ambulance symbol that was only on the first Doctors TARDIS.

OTHER POINTS OF SPECULATION:

SPECULATION 1: The Sonic Screwdriver looks a bit "retro"

Again, could easily be considered a new Doctor makes a new driver (wouldn't be the first time) but the potential for a younger Doctors tool is there.

SPECULATION 2: It's now the 21st century, everything changes. Captain Jack's famous lines from the opening of Torchwood. And after everything the earth has gone through recently (Cybermen/Dalek, Children of Earth aliens, Daleks moving the earth across the Galaxy) I think it is safe to assume that the earth of Doctor Who is well aware they are no longer alone in the universe. This changes everything in how the story progresses. The Doctor is no longer a secret myth, everyone can know about him. Not much potential for good storytelling there in my opinion. As grand as RTD's stories have been these last few years, they do seem to write themselves into a corner. Moving the show back into "the past" has potential.

SPECULATION 3: If we are to accept the mythos that a Time Lord only has 13 re-gens available that means we only have 3 more Doctors to see. The BBC could very easily be looking ahead at its most popular property and sees a need for a reboot to protect the life of the franchise.

So all in all I have no idea what truly is going to happen. This is all theoretical based off of what I am seeing from set photos only and my own imagination. What ever direction the show goes I am excited to see it and can't wait.

ADDENDUM:

The following additional speculation is based off of the 15/11/09 airing of the episode of Doctor Who "The Waters of Mars" the following is considered spoiler based off of this episode.

SPECULATION 4:

At the end of the episode "The Waters of Mars" the Doctor starts to go a little nutty. He is upset with viewing so many "fixed" points in time and not being able to do anything about it so he decides to take time and fate into his own hands and becoming a walking god. Due to the actions of one "stupid ape" he is then shocked to realize that perhaps he can't change things at all. But I do not see this happening. I feel he is going to continue on this path. With the final episodes being labeled as "The End of Time" and now with confirmed proof of the return of the Master (he who will knock 4 times) I feel we are on course for a major cataclysm in the universe of Doctor Who that can result in a reboot of the franchise. Or something along those lines.

RIP Patrick Swazye

2009-09-14T18:12:00.001-07:00

You will be missed Patrick. You taught me how to never put Baby in the corner, guided me to always catch the ultimate wide and passed the greatest knowledge of "its your way...or the highway."

I share with you the best honor ever for any actor. To be honored on the Satellite of Love.

Ponyo. Ponyo. Ponyo.

2009-08-24T08:35:00.000-07:00

Miyazaki once again hits one out of the park.

While I tend to love his older films more than his newer ones, Hayao Miyazaki always manages to pull off an amazing feat of an animated film. His latest offering, "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea" gives us an interesting take on the whole "little mermaid" story infused with his grand style and amazing visuals. Story wise it is a fairly simple one (especially compared to other deeper films he has done) but it makes up for that in a unique and captivating visual style. I managed to catch the original Japanese version so I can't speak for the english dub that is in theaters right now but for a visual treat alone I highly recommend this film. Just remember, when you see the water in this movie remember that Miyzaki likes to hand draw every key frame. Every one.

Check out this nice little animated gif (courtesy of the FourFour blog) from the film

a grave injustice has occurred....we must correct it.

2009-08-21T08:16:00.000-07:00

Came across this last night in Wil Wheaton's blog. Spooky indeed:

(after recanting the strangeness he felt as a 12 year old promoting Stand By Me)

"I've always said that Stand By Me was so successful because Rob cast four young actors who were so much like their characters, but I think it's spooky how the four of us ended up being so much like our characters: River died too young, Corey struggled like crazy to get his personal demons under control, Jerry found success and happiness, and I'm a writer."

Wow.

And then of course I realized that I have never seen all of Stand By Me.

A child of the 80s and I have not reveled in its greatness properly. I am fairly certain I have seen every bit of the film, just never all at once in a proper showing. That will be rectified soon in a future Akbar Cinema showing.

How I got over my fear or I how I learned to stop worrying and embrace the freakin undead

2009-08-13T11:55:00.000-07:00

The horror genre has never been one I have really enjoyed. Some of it I can respect but one in general just has never done a thing for me. And I really wouldn't call it a fear of them either. I just never really found any interest in them at all.

I speak of course of the Zombie.

Two films recently have allowed me to actually enjoy a Zombie flick and possibly see what other see and love in the Mortuus Vivens * genre.

Film #1:

Fido (2006)

Check out the opening "educational film" from the movie that sets up the world. After seeing this I knew I was in for a treat.

Fido-Edit-Uncompressed_agk
Uploaded by akbar56. -

From there the movie is your standard "boy and his dog" story about a boy and his pet Zombie (who he of course names Fido.) But when Fido eats the next-door neighbor the boy has to go to the ends of the earth to keep Fido a part of the family.
This black comedy allowed me to experience Zombies on an acceptable level and have a good laugh.

Film #2:
Shaun of the Dead (2004)

After being a huge fan of this groups other outings (Spaced and Hot Fuzz) I still had not ventured into their Zombie parody/homage. Luckily Fido had opened my eyes and I decided it was finally time to see it.

Wow.

Their homage/parody style was well defined for me by Hot Fuzz so I was ready for that. So many details are layered in this film you can just see they put forth maximum effort. For example, early on in the film while the main character is riding the bus a kid sits in front of him listening to techno on his walkman. The song? Zombie Nation by kernkraft 400. Cute.

For those who haven't seen it, here's the basic plot:

A man decides to turn his moribund life around by winning back his ex-girlfriend, reconciling his relationship with his mother, and dealing with an entire community that has returned from the dead to eat the living.

While I had been enjoying the film all along the way, there was one point later on that fully sold me on it's awesomeness. I will let you enjoy the scene in it's entirety. Spoiler I guess for those who haven't seen it, the main cast does have to fight against zombies. There, I ruined it for you ;)

(Unfortunately, Youtube and Dailymotion both seem to not want to show my nice HQ verison of this scene so all I can offer you is this low res/bad audio version. It will still suffice.)

After that moment I was sold.

Unfortunately, shortly after this scene the beyond believable gore started. It was then I discovered what I don't like about zombies (and most horror) is. I wouldn't really call myself squeamish, but there is just something about horror gore that turns me away from it. However, I was able to look past it and enjoy the rest of the film quite well.

Spoiler for end of the film: Now, for those who have seen Shaun of the Dead you may be looking at the opening intro to Fido and thinking that looks very familiar. Yes, SotD does end very similarly. It would be silly to think Fido wasn't influenced by that but I would like to think they took the general concept in a great direction on their own. Coupling it with a 1950s idyllic life and the "red/zombie" scare was genius.

*Yes Mom, the latin for Zombies is technically wrong.

damn you copyright infringement

2009-08-12T07:50:00.000-07:00

Well there would have been a big update today but youtube decided that one of my clips was too copyrighted so they pulled it. Hopefully I can find somewhere else that will allow me to host the video and not take it down and I can continue the post.

Quick review time:

Young Guns- Decent, but no where near as good as I remembered it from when I was 13. A viewing of Young Guns II will have to take place.

Pump up the Volume- I had never seen it before (I still don't know how that happened) and for the most part I found it enjoyable when viewed as a film from the early 90s. But today it's message seems still vital but our technological jumps in the last 17 years really date the film.

Legend of 1900- Got a chance to watch the full directors cut. Still a great film and the directors cut fleshes out so much more. Got to share it with a good friend and it was a fun treat to watch her totally get sucked into the narrative. If you have only seen the 2 hour US cut of the film, you are missing about 40 minutes of film. I highly recommend seeing it if you have a chance.

Men With Brooms- Yes, I have watched this film a thousand times but I still stand by it's awesomeness. Curling is truly the greatest sport. I offer this quote from the main character:

"It's forty-two pounds of polished granite, beveled under belly and a handle a human being can hold. And it may have no practical purpose in itself...but it is a repository of human possibility...and if it's handled just right, it will exact a kind of poetry..."

A moment of silence please

2009-08-06T14:18:00.001-07:00

A great auteur has left us.

-You let me see Molly Ringwalds panties.
-You gave me the confidence that even dorky geeks can get girls (via a computer created lifeform of course)
-You gave me the great life advice that when sharing a bed with a stranger, your hand is probably NEVER between two pillows.

You will be missed John Hughes

"Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

no relief in sight

2009-07-29T10:45:00.001-07:00

For the first time ever, watching "Mystery, Alaska" failed to psychosomatically make me cooler in this August heat.

Perhaps I have grown immune to its magical cooling power. Still a great underdog sports movie.

2009-07-26T20:04:00.001-07:00

The last four days have been a wonderful blur. A one night visit by one of my most awesomest friends (the Unstoppable force known as Hudson) turned into a four day visit. This extra visit allowed me to share some awesome entertainment.

1. Green Lantern: First Flight

DC comics lately has been doing some direct to video, PG13ish rated comic book animated movies. This new outing has continued the excellence. If you are familiar at all with the tale of the Green Lantern (and espcially Hal Jordan) then nothing here will be new, but it will be very well presented and is a great ride. I will let the trailer speak for the rest of this.

Green Lantern has always been to me the ultimate blend of Comic Book hero and Sci Fi world. Green Lantern: First Flight is a great tale and I hope that DC actually continues with more stories in this world.

2. Time Crimes (Los Cronocrímenes)

We here at Just Another Movie Geek headquarters are huge fans of time travel. As much as Quantum Mechanics sometimes gives me a headache, I thoroughly enjoy the discussions Dr. Mrs J.A.M.G. and I have afterwards. So it seemed appropriate that I choose a time travel movie to open up Akbar Cinemas.

This is one of those time travel movies that really just has to be experienced. In fact, I don't even recommend checking out the trailers (since they give way too much away) and just check it out. I would put it on par with 12 Monkeys but with a European slant to it's story. Warning: Some of the crowd last night thought it was a slight bit too suspense/thriller so keep that in mind.

Cross one more off of the "why have I never seen this?" list

2009-07-20T08:02:00.000-07:00

Didn't watch many new movies this last week. Most of this week was spent elsewhere, or enjoying high def versions of older films (Highlander has NEVER looked this good, Speed Racer continues to be awesome.) Dr Mrs. Just Another Movie Geek and I did happen to watch one new to us film, and it is one that I am ashamed to admit I had never seen.*

The Adventures of Baron Münchhausen

Terry Gilliams final film in his loosely connected "state of imagination" trilogy (Time Bandits and Brazil being the others) we are given one more grand adventure where the lines between what is real and what is fantasy are constantly crossed and blurred. A fun film but at the same time it took a serious look at what it means to become old and still wish one was useful. As usual Gilliam creates a fantastic world that is a joy to experience. Excellent cast and great cameos from Robin Williams, Oliver Reed and even a very young Uma Thurman.

*I am not quite sure why I never saw this one. The only thing I can figure is it came out at that awkward time in my teenage years (I was 13) when I thought I had to put away childish things and be an adult. Glad that idea didn't stick.

Akbar Cinemas 2.0 leads to cuddly supernovas

2009-07-13T12:00:00.000-07:00

Another ~~quick~~ lengthy update here at Just Another Movie Geek re-capping what was enjoyed over the weekend. As some of you know Akbar Cinemas upgraded late last week to a 52" rear projection HDtv. This weekend I wanted to put the unit through it's paces and ran a wide gamut of entertainment through it.

Movie #1:Stir Crazy

Growing up the parents were always fans of Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor. Silver Streak got alot of airplay and random solo gigs from each did as well, but there was one earlier film of theirs that I had never seen. After viewing the film, I can tell why. A large amount of foul language and some nudity (ah the late 70's, my favorite decade for on screen boobies) would have already kept my parents from sharing it with me but in the end I realized it would have mostly been that this was not a film my parents would have enjoyed. And that is just sad because it was a laugh riot. It was clear that the script was just a loose guideline for filming and Gene and Richard were just allowed to ad-lib much of their performance.

Media viewing specs: DVD through upscaled DVD player connected with Component outputs. Result: Probably the best a 30 year old film with a fairly basic transfer rate could possibly look.

Movie #2: Wing Commander

I make no apologies, this film is not good. It was a huge endeavor to turn a huge video game franchise into a film franchise. it failed badly, but for it's noble effort (and the production design I really dig) I enjoy it. High upon my guilty pleasure list, it seemed like a fitting film to watch at midnight on a friday night.

Media viewing specs: Compressed avi through DVI connection on computer. Result: Looked really decent actually. The blackness of space came across fairly clear and not muddled.

Show #1: Torchwood-Children of Earth

I am not going to spoil this one at all for those who haven't seen it yet (maybe next week I will do some deep analysis) but they really hit it out of the park on this one. Deciding instead of a full season and doing a 5 part mini-series, the BBC gave us a fantastic SciFi story. Everything I have come to love about this darker spin off of Doctor Who got covered here. Humor, dark scifi, drama, pathos, and everything else that comes with hanging around Captain Jack Harkness was brought together very well.

Media viewing specs: 720p avi files through DVI connection on computer. Result: Who knew Gwen Cooper had so many freckles!

Movie #3: Sharpe's Peril

Episode 16 in a long line of action/adventure films based upon a series of novels set in the Napoleonic Wars (and beyond). 2 films ago saw what we thought would be the end of the characters film story. Ending with the defeat of Napoleon would have been appropriate but the producers decided to keep going and tell us some tales of Sharpe in India in 1817. While this and the last film had their share of good action and an excellent performance (as always) from Sean Beane, the story in these has been a bit lacking. The character is getting old and isn't bringing to the table what he always did. There is talk of doing at least one more Sharpe film and I would hope they make it the last and send him out appropriately.

Media viewing specs: Compressed avi through DVI connection on computer. Result: Source already was a bit washed out and compressing it down didn't help any. However, it looked quite good and artifacting was kept to a minimum.

Show #3: Stargate Atlantis

While I was doing some computer work and Dr. Mrs. Just Another Movie Geek wanted to play with some Lego, I threw on this scifi staple of ours as background.

Media viewing specs: Compressed avi through DVI connection on computer. Result: These episodes are a little more compressed than others and artifacts were noticeable. However, not so much that is a bother and the quality of the image was just fine.

Movie #4: Speed Racer

After we got done with Sharpe's Peril sunday evening, the Mrs. decided to go read in bed and I decided to stay up some more. I needed some more background film material that I could leave running and dive into it at any moment in between the little projects I was working on. Well, that didn't work so well as I once again got sucked into this magnificent film.

Now, (for those who haven't seen it) you might be saying: Magnificent film you say? But its only Speed Racer! How can something as simple and cheesy as Speed Racer be magnificent? All I can say is, trust me... this film is pure genius. I would even put it up on my top 5 greatest films of all time list. It is such a good film, that it has allowed me to forgive the Wachosk'is for the 2nd and 3rd Matrix films. It is that good.

Reasoning for being such a fine film:
1: It is the perfect adaptation.
When jumping mediums (ie comic book to film, stage to film, etc.) you always run a certain amount of risk that something from it's primary medium is not going to translate well. Some film makers try too hard to make it work and we are given mediocre results. Or, in an attempt to make the world more "real" certain aspects from the original source are missing or just plain don't work in the new medium. In this, Speed Racer excels. Nothing was changed from the original anime concept, all the characters and themes presented before were re-created to a delicious level. Sure most characters were over the top to begin with, but that is part of their beauty. Even the littlest of details (like how Pops Racer used to be a champion professional Greco-Roman wrestler or how SPOILER how we all know Racer X is actually Speed's older brother but the story requires us to always pretend he isn't and allow him to hide) are portrayed properly. In addition to the characters, the world created is so outlandish and colorful it exists truly in an animated realm. However, the level of attention and detail presented works on every level possible.

2: Not a plot hole in sight.
Now, if you are a regular reader you know I take plot holes fairly seriously. (see my rant about the new Star Trek for an example) I can forgive some minor plot holes but huge holes that pull me out of the movie when simple logic fails the narrative really bother me. I have yet to find fault in this films plot. Some might claim that since it is Speed Racer it has a really simple plot but the script actually has some depth to it.

3. It's a visual treat.
Films are primarily a visual medium. It's up to the director to keep it minimal, realistic or hyper realistic. Where as Star Trek went over the top with the shaky cam and forcing lights into your face at ever turn, Speed Racer went with the hyper-realistic approach and gave us such a vivid colorful world that every frame is filled with goodness and beauty. This beauty gives the viewer the desire to see the film again to soak in all of the little details and feel the love that went into its creation. (for example, a military themed racing team's sponsor is "Semper Fi-ber Dietary Supplements)

4. Casting.
Spot on. There is not a single character in the film who is out of place and does not distract. Even (actually especially) ChimChim the helper monkey.

I could continue to gush about this film, but Dr. Mrs Just Another Movie Geek has reminded me that I am a bit obsessed with it so I will leave it at that.

Media viewing specs: Blueray disc through DVI connection to computer. Result: Holy hell, its like my eyes were painted with candy fueled by the power of cuddly supernovas dipped in Sake and served by red-headed, green skinned wenches wearing lederhosen.

Writers Block becomes Johnny Love

2009-07-06T12:51:00.000-07:00

This post was supposed to be a huge recap of my birthday movie marathon. Unfortunately, every time I sat down to write it writers block would get the best of me.

For now, just a quick update from yesterdays cinema* outing:

Public Enemies

Took Dr. Mrs. Just Another Movie Geek to see her number one Boyfriend Johnny Depp (back off ladies, he belongs to her.) Directed by Micheal Mann we were given a very fascinating look into the life of John Dillinger. The film hits upon all of the "high" points of his famous bank robbing career (even if it takes some liberties with a few historical details.) However, for Mann I felt this was a rather subdued effort from him.** Christian Bale pops up as the FBI agent leading the hunt for Dillinger but manages to give a rather non-memorable performance. Don't take that badly though, I feel he and the director did that on purpose for the single fact alone that this is Johnny's movie, and he shines throughout. Even for Mann I felt there was an abundance of extreme close ups on Mr. Depp and allowed us to just fall into his man beauty***. And boy have those lips have never been more succulent. First thing I mentioned to Dr. Mrs. Just Another Movie Geek walking out of the film was "yep...I would go totally gay for him." The only draw back I felt in the film was within the script itself. In a desire to cover as much detail in Dillinger's life, I felt his standing as a almost Robin Hood like character were glossed over. SPOILER (kinda): At one point in the film Dillinger is arrested and being driven to the prison. The streets are lined with his fans cheering him on but at no point in the film are we ever given any reason as to why this is. For anyone unfamiliar with the actual history of this case, the script falls short.

Dr. Mrs Just Another Movie Geek adds:

I agree, the script could have gone into more detail as to why the public loved him. There could have been more to the love scene or more of them.

There was this beautiful line: (paraphrased)

(seeing girl in the bathtub)

Johnny: You look like you could use some company?
Girl: Why dont you and Prince Albert get in here then?

I also agree this film was all about Johnny, and I think that is a good thing. If one is looking for an action movie I would not say that this is it. Yes there were quite a few shoot outs, but that was not the intention of the movie. I think if you are an adult and like more subtlety and finesse to your movie going experience, this is a great choice.

*I will admit that I have fallen out of love with the "cinema" experience for all the usual cases (price, commercials, people, etc..) and most discussions here at JAMG are from my home theater experience. However, the local AMC at the mall has early (before 10am) showings for cheaper so I have decided that is the only way I will actually go to a theater for the most part. (The Big Picture (for booze) and Cinerama (for "big" films) witstanding)

**After Miami Vice I think he felt he needed to dial things back a bit and let this one carry itself. It was a fine film, but it just didn't have that normal "oomph" that I usually get from Mr. Mann.

***Oh man the closeups. Mann is still in love with his HD cameras and it truly shows. If you ever wanted to be able to count the pores on Johnny's nose, or see Christian Bale's razor burn ...this is the film for you.

What a weekend!

2009-06-29T08:45:00.001-07:00

Just Another Movie Geek Headquarters was proud this weekend to partner with Akbar Cinemas (aka my redesigned living room) to host the first annual Movie Marathon.

12 hours.
5 movies.
10 people (total spread out over the day)

Perfection was met.

Pictures of the "theater" and a more detailed review/crowd reaction of each film will follow here later this week. For now, just wanted to throw up quick post as to what we watched. The overall unifying theme to my marathon was "Fun" As it turns out (as we will review later) there were alot of unplanned but amazing sychronicity between the films.

Films: (presented in their viewing order)

Castle of Cagliostro

(one of my all time favorite Animes)

Big Trouble in Little China

(easily one of the greatest action films ever made)

The Good, The Bad and The Weird

(my new obsession film)

Iron Man

(comic book personified perfection)

Mystery Film:

????

I think I am going to reserve revealing this until the full review comes up. It was well received at the marathon so that made me very happy.

Then on Sunday, Dr. Mrs. Just Another Movie Geek and I gave the theater a second run and watched:

Galaxy Quest

Still hilarious and STILL a better Star Trek film than that recent waste of celluloid.

Outlander

Way better than its concept should have let it be. Alien Monster, Spaceman and Vikings. Really, what more could you have asked for?

The Muppet Movie

We decided to bring the Lego out and needed some back ground noise to carry us along. The film seemed like a perfect way to go.

A movie, a show and a theater upgrade

2009-06-21T21:12:00.000-07:00

Movie Review:

The Frisco Kid

Pulled up an older film this weekend to re-visit. Re-visit isn't the right way to think about this. I recall bits and pieces of this from my youth but I think it was a bit beyond my young age so I don't think I actually saw it. A period comedy set in 1850 we see the tale of Gene Wilder as "not the worlds greatest Rabbi" be sent from Poland to San Francisco to tend to a new Jewish community.

I'm a Rabbi!

Hijinks ensue along the way as he treks across the old west. Hooking up the Bank Robber Harrison Ford

I'm a Bank Robber

( Dr. Mrs. Just Another Movie Geek says "damn that boy is hot.... Young Harrison is going back on my List")

Early on into the film characters start to become almost one dimensional stereotypes and you feel that this may not be a fun ride. But then you realize that every character is a stereotype and it is played to the fullest the romp becomes a good time.

"Here Chicky, Chicky. I don't want to eat you...I just want to make you Kosher!"

The film even manages to touch a few points of cultural bounds being broken and true friendship but ends up not playing it cheesy.

C'mon Sioux nation... do the hustle!

A decent comedy that holds up 30 years later. Harrison and Gene play great off each other. It's a shame that Harrison didn't do much more comedy*. He was actually quite funny.

An interesting marketing thing. Check out the original poster back from the 70's when Gene was a huge comedy draw (and Harrison hadn't quite his full super star status yet) and then check out the DVD cover from a few years go:

Show Review:

Being Human

Got suggested a new BBC show so we checked it out. Well worth the checkout. Now this may sound as a bad joke setup, but this is the premise of the show:

A vampire (who's on the wagon from sucking blood,)

A Werewolf (who has issues dealing with his moon light transformation or as the show calls it "his time of the month" )

and a Ghost all share an apartment.

The three of them try to lead a normal existence with their lives and neighbors. Unfortunately they can't stop being who they are and all the baggage that comes with that. Smartly written (I would classify it as a Dark Drama/Comedy) the show weaves a great mythology with a fun story. Even at only six episodes for the first season (and another on the way) I recommend giving this a go.

New Project:

Here at Just Another Movie Geek headquarters, my screening room (aka the living room) just got an upgrade. I spend the weekend making a 5x8 foot platform for the back half of the room has stadium seating. I will post some pictures of it later when it gets a full test drive this weekend.

*His accent in K-19 The Widowmaker doesn't count ;)

History lesson for children everywhere...

2009-06-15T14:01:00.000-07:00

...back in the 80s it was a law that any performer MUST produce at least 1 rap video in the career.

Observe: Tom Hanks and Dan Aykroyd*

*Don't get me wrong, I acually love this movie and think it is a fine piece of 80s cinema and a great TV to film conversion. But oh man... this video is a stinker.

81-98 of the 98 movies everyone should see

2009-06-14T22:27:00.000-07:00

You have waited for ever for this. It is finally here.

Yes, we finally get to finish last films to my list of the 98 movies everyone should see.

81. 82. 83.

These three are to me the ultimate Comic Book movies.

Spiderman 2

After dealing with the usually good but unfortunate origin film, the second chapter in the recent Spiderman series was perfect. Peter comes into his own and deals heavily on he wants to be and who he truly is.

The Rocketeer

I like to imagine this film takes place in the same world as Raiders of the Lost Ark. Young hot shot pilot, comes across a rocket pack, fights nazis. What more could you ask for?

Batman Begins

While I do have the luggage that comes with being a DC Fanboy, Batman Begins works really well for making a almost plausible and believable Batman in a real world situation. A few plot holes still bug me from time to time, but it is so far the best ever that DC has managed to put on the silver screen.

84. 85.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

The dichotomy of Star Trek films. The needs of the many, versus the needs to the few..or the one. Wrath of Kahn is the greatest Star Trek film and does entirely work on its own but I do enjoy the two of them together. Plus I have great childhood memories of both. WoK I saw in an afternoon matinee with Disney's Treasure Island with my brother, SFS my father pulled me out of school early one afternoon and took me to see it.

86.
Tampopo

WARNING: Only see this film if you have access to delicious noodles after viewing. You will want to eat them.

This is a Japanese movie all about food and primarily Noodles. It is an awesome and surreal romp into a cultures love of food and the traditions therein.

87.
The Bride With White Hair

Chinese supernatural mixed with extreme wire work Kung fu. A fun film that is totally representative of its greater genre.

88.
The Fifth Element

A visual treat and (to paraphrase a new friend met today) "a delightful scifi romp" Totally fun and exactly what you need when you want Fun and Scifi.

89.
The Professional

The hitman and the orphan he protects. Luc Besson's greatest film.

90. 91.
Two 80's scifi films lead us into the final 8 on our list. While Pixar and practically every other films use of CGI today we must never forget two forefathers of merging computers and cinema.

The Last Starfighter

A teen who is a wiz at a video game gets recruited to defend the frontier from Zur and the Kodan Armada.

Tron

A man gets sucked into a virtural world of a computer and must stop the evil CPU.

Both are excellent adventures.

92.
The Wind and the Lion

Sean Connery as a Muslim pirate in 1904 in Morroco. Really, what more than that do you need to see it?

93.
Zardoz

Sean Connery in a loin cloth for most of the movie. Really, what more than that do you need to see it?

94.
Excalibur

My favorite take on the Arthurian legend. John Boorman paints a beautiful mystical world to experience a great version of Le Morte d'Arthur

95.
The Lord of the Rings

These three films get lumped as one for they truly are one story. A great fantasy story and an excellent adaptation of three awesome books.

96.
12 Monkeys

Terry Gilliam hits us with one of the best time travel movies put to celluloid. Brad Pitt and Bruce Willis give two amazing performances.

97.
What's Up, Doc?

A screwball comedy from the 70s that got a lot of play in my house growing up. Barbara Striesand is actually quite funny and the zany film works. A final car chase that ranks up close to the chase from The Blues Brothers.

98.
Hudson Hawk

We end our list with a film that gets not enough love. Bruce Willis at the height of his early career convinced some studio to give him a bunch of money and just let alot of people have a great time making a fun movie. So many great one liners and just overall fun.

Punisher War Zone aka Land of a thousand blood squibs

2009-06-14T21:44:00.000-07:00

I will freely admit that I was always a DC Comics boy. While I knew of characters existence in the Marvel world I never really followed their books. So with that, I get to go into most Marvel films without the fanboy luggage I have as with a DC film. And with that, I did fully enjoy the recent film "Punisher War Zone."

Being a big fan of Ray Stevenson from Rome, my limited (to one Batman/Punisher cross over comic) knowledge of the character led me to feel that he was born to play the role. He pulls it off well (far better than Dolph Lungren or Thomas Jane) and the story (while not deep) carries the film well.

What truly works in this film is the level of violence. It is over the top. So over the top it loops back on itself just to go over the top again. I would say it even takes it to almost camp levels but not so far that it is unbelievable. And for a character that is essentially Batman without the qualms about taking a human life you should see it.

I would recommend this film for big action buffs or those that like excessive violence and dismemberment.

The Good, The Bad, The Weird

2009-06-14T21:15:00.000-07:00

Once in a while a film comes along and just hits me in a perfect way. Now, I know I tend to pretty much only gush about things or think they are the worst.* I am trying to expand my levels of review but I have to say, this film was one of the funnest experiences I have ever had.

This weekend I had the pleasure of viewing a Korean film called "The Good, The Bad, The Weird."

If the title evokes a Sergio Leone feel it, then you are in the right place. Set in 1940 Manchuria, we follow the tale of a bandit, a Bounty Hunter, and a Gangster all after a treasure map and each other. They are then followed by various Manchurian Warlords, Local gangsters and even the Japanese Army. Throwing in every possible homage to Leone (and even Morricone in the music) we are given a 2 hour and 15 minute Korean love letter to the Italian Maestro.

Check out the opening credits for the film. The Korean characters you see on the screen are the main actor credits as they fly by.

*I have found that my rating scale is based on I only like to watch things that I have a feeling I will enjoy it (be it plot, actor/director/writer I admire, etc..) and when i do see something I think is utter trash, I really really don't like it. I am trying to expand this.

Mini Movie Reviews (aka what I have seen recently)

2009-06-01T12:40:00.000-07:00

King of California
3.5 out of 5

This film was a weird one. At the end of it I totally enjoyed it (if for nothing else than Micheal Douglas' stellar performance) but this film was a bit strange. It has to be the most bi-polar film I have ever seen. At one point it wants to be a kooky comedy about a girl and her slightly deranged father. Then 5 minutes later its a touching drama on the strained relationships children can have with their parents followed again later by a satirical look at consumerisms rapid destruction of California. Either the director wasn't sure totally where they wanted to go with it, or it was a direct parallel to the mental state of the main character. Either way, the film is worth a watch but don't expect much coherence.

Beowulf
4 out of 5

Finally got a chance to see this. A loose retelling of the Ole English poem this entirely Motion Captured CGI film was entertaining. Other than the abysmal Angelina Jolie (seriously, she can't act her way out of a wet paper bag) the voices/faces* captured for this animated film worked wonders. Creating the film in a CGI world worked really well IMO instead of making a set and shooting it for real. The only thing that bothered me about the film was since this was originally made to be a 3D film, many of the "in your face" moments were a bit jarring in a 2D presentation. Quite a bit more violent than I thought it would be but an enjoyable experience.

*most of the main cast were digital recreations of the voice actor supplying the part. Very well done and quite fluid.

Passchendale
4 out of 5

The uber talented and quite gorgeous man Paul Gross has continued to entertain me. His Grandfather who fought in WWI shared only with him a horrific detail he encountered while in the service. Paul dedicated this film to his and the other thousands of Canadian soldiers who gave their life. As for the actual Battle of Passchendale, the film comes up a little short but in reality, that was not it's goal. Showing us only a little of actual fighting in the beginning and then more at the end, the flim primarily focuses on life back home in Canada and the actions of soldiers who made it back. A decent love story interweaves into the whole story and connects the whole thing together. Saving Private Ryan level of graphic war time action is shown in both fighting sections of the film. Highly recommend if you want to see a fictional tale in a quite realistic setting and history.

My time with the new Star Trek

2009-05-12T08:56:00.000-07:00

So I know I said I wasn't going to see it. Nothing in it seemed to interest me and honestly I felt that the whole franchise was dead and we should all just move on.

But I caved.

I went and saw the new Star Trek.

In all fairness, I primarily did it because my wife wanted to see it. I do get a certain amount of joy from making her happy. (and her cousin was in it... we always like to see him in films)

I tried my hardest to go in with an open mind. Many people seemed to be enjoying the film so I figured they couldn't all be wrong.

In the end it was ok. Not great, but not terrible. I am honestly having a problem with so many people finding it to be "the greatest Trek film ever" and wanting to see it multiple times. But then I may just be bitter. I don't feel that way, but thats the only logical conclusion I come by.

As a Trek Film I would give it a 6. As a film on its own, I would give it a 4.

The rest of this review will be fairly spoiler filled. Proceed at your own risk.

There were lots of bits in the film I enjoyed:

The sounds were beautiful.

Most of the main characters had their signature line spoken.

Casting was fairly spot on. Especially Karl Urban as McCoy. He saved the film for me multiple times.

Ultimately, I had no problem with all the changes made to the Trek time line. Time travel can be a fickle bitch so things that didn't jibe with what came before was ok. My problems with the film came about in execution of said changes. At it's core, this film suffered from a great number of plot holes that just made the story overall not work for me.

In list form, here are all the plot holes, logic jumps and things that just bugged me in the film:

Kirk being born in space. Sure this was an emotional scene that I am sure brought a tear to some eyes, but I have a hard time believing this one. A civilian woman in her 9th month of pregnancy would not be on a star ship on deep patrol. Maybe if she was the Captains wife he could pull some clout, but George Kirk was just the helmsman.

I do not even want to talk about how useless, cheesy and only existed so Nokia could get a product placement the Corvette scene with 10 year old Kirk was.

The Enterprise being built on earth. I have mentioned before how the science of this is completely unsound so we wont get into that again. But are we to believe that the flagship of the fleet (and supposedly the most technically advanced vessel at the time) is just being built out in a field in Iowa at an unsecured facility that Kirk can just ride his motorcycle up to?

Kirk's Kobyashi Maru test. As a Trek fan, I was thrilled to see how the captain "changed the rules of the test so it was possible to win." While it was handled well (and I enjoyed the initial setup of pitting Spock and Kirk against each other) I felt Kirk's smugness was over the top and out of place. Even for this modified Kirk.

So the disaster at Vulcan occurs and all the new cadets are assigned to new ships. Are we to believe that none of those ships had major crews yet?

Chekov. Like Two-Face in The Dark Knight, he should have been held off until the next film. A 17 year old ensign allowed to be navigator of the flag ship of the fleet? No way. No how. And did we really need to bring back the cheesy "I can't pronounce "double-uu's" joke? It wasn't funny in 87, it continued to be a ridiculous blight on the character and now you are bringing it back.

Because of Sulu's inability to turn off the parking break, the Enterprise is late to join the fleet at Vulcan and they arrive in the middle of a debris field and have to quickly navigate around it. Are we again to believe that the ship does not have forward tracking sensors (and communication with the other ships) to see what is ahead of them?

Pike may have had a certain amount of confidence in Kirk but to give him second in command of the ship so quickly? Did the enterprise have no other officers on board?

Here is the one call back to the series that didn't work for me in the film. In the original series, Vulcan has no moons. So how exactly is there a M-Class planet in orbit of Vulcan that Old Spock is marooned on so he can watch the destruction of his planet?

Speaking of that planet, after Kirk is left there (rather convenient he is so close to Spock) he is chased by those monsters. At this moment I felt like I was watching a Star Wars prequel. Hell, I wouldn't of been suprised if Spock in the cave pulled out a Light Saber to chase off the beast. It is a well known fact that JJ Abrahms is a total Star Wars geek. I think he realized George Lucas will never let him play in his playground so he had to then work that off here. Lets look at a few other Star Wars parallels shall we? Spock chasing off the beast was very close to ObiWan saving Luke from the Sand people. At the end when Young Spock is trying to destroy the drill (a rather small target that is no bigger than 2 meters I would say) the Millenium Falcon errr. the Enterprise comes out of no where to provide cover for Luke/Spock so he can destroy the Drill/DeathStar.

The threat to the "galaxy" from the future that triggered the whole thing was the Romulan star going super nova. Super Nova DO NOT HAPPEN THAT QUICKLY. Romulus would have had plenty of time to deal with this.

So after the bad guy appears in the past and destroys the Kelvin, he doesn't appear again for 25 years. WHERE THE HELL WAS HE? Supposedly a cut scene deals with this but without it the movie has a hiccup.

When Kirk, Sulu and Red Shirt are free falling to the drilling platform the Red Shirt fails to open his chute in time because he is some joy seeking thrill rider. Now, it can't be Star Trek without a Red Shirt eating it, but a Star Fleet officer would not act this way on such a vital mission.

So the bridge, the halls and the transporter of the Enterprise looked all shiny new and fascinating. So why the hell did engineering look like a 20th century brewery?

Speaking of the bridge. Now I know this was a "it will look cool" decision to have lens flare pop into frame all the time on the bridge...but can someone explain to me the logic of having so many light sources blinding you while you try to look at a monitor? Especially with all the transparent touch screens on the bridge. That thing was a visual nightmare.
Once Scotty is brought on board the ship I have no doubt his technical skills will come in handy, but to assume that he will automatically be given the Chief Engineer position? What about the ships previous CE? You think someone who has probably been assigned to the ship since it's keel was laid is just gonna step aside? Maybe he was too drunk from testing all the beer in the antimatter mix chamber.

For a ship so populated with Officers and crew, why did only a handful of people do all the work?

Even if the bad guy was able to extract security codes from Pike using the slug (we did that in Star Trek II people, do we need to that again?) are we to believe that Earth has NO DEFENSES?

Early in the film when the fleet flies to Vulcan to assist. This takes about 5 minutes. Yet for the rest of the film it takes over an hour to get back to our Solar system to stop the bad guy?

Spock and Uruha hooking up. Even if we disregard that Vulcan's do only mate once every 7 years. Spock would in no way EVER have a relationship with someone junior in command to him.

Even looking at his grand performance of saving the day, there is no possible way that Kirk would be given command of the flag ship of the fleet at that young of an age with no experience. Logically Pike should have remained in command and promoted Kirk to Commander and then early in the next film kill Pike and let Kirk take over.

As most of the examples of JJ Abrahms work I have seen (Lost doesn't count) it just feels like unfinished work. Alot of great ideas thrown out there but needed more polish. In the end this was the unfortunate not so great origin story that needed to be told so better future films could be made. At this point though, I am not impressed and probably will not continue.

Weekend Watchings:

2009-04-08T12:10:00.000-07:00

FLIGHT OF THE NAVIGATOR:

In once again revisiting the films of my youth to see how they hold up, I was not let down. As a fairly mindless childrens adventure film with a scifi edge to it, the film holds up just fine. Some dated special effects but for 1986, it was pretty good. I even managed to inject some greater depth to the film. For those who haven't seen it (or don't remember) in 1978 a 12 year old boy was picked up by a passing UFO on a robotic scientific mission. For an experiment the UFO filled up the kids brain to see what it could take. Normally, the ship hops back in time to drop you off right when it picked you up, but it determined that the human body might not survive the time jump. Due to relativity, the boy is returned to earth 8 years later but hasn't aged a day. He returns to find his family all older and the ship got damaged on it's way out so it needs the star charts it loaded in the kids head to get home.

At the end of the film, the boy realizes that 1986 is not his world and he wants to take the chance of going back in time. So here is where I found greater depth in the film. As a kid, I saw it as the boy knows he doesn't belong in 1986 so he is willing to leave it all behind. As an adult I see it as the boy realizes that 1986 is not his time. Staying there he would be poked and prodded by the government for the rest of his life and his family would never know peace. He asks the UFO to take the chance and send him back in time. He knows he might die, but he is willing to accept that. If he dies, at least his body can be dumped and allow his family to find it and have closure. His family would never have to go through the pain they did for the last 8 years of him being gone. This young boy sees things so clearly that he is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for his family. The boy has got balls.

Also, for a Disney family film from 1986, it had a fair amount of "bad language." Loved it.

Also, also? Small role played by Sara Jessica Parker back when she was still kinda geeky and super hot. Not all fake looking like she is now. Hubba Hubba. I seem to recall one of my first ever crushes was on her from this time period.

TOP SECRET:

The wife had never seen it and watching it again I realized I had never actually seen all of it. So glad we remedied that. Once again the Zucker brothers knew how to make us laugh and did the spoof properly. (unlike todays spoofs that just don't seem to get it) Val Kilmer (in his first role!) gives an awesome performance as an Elvis like performer thrust into intrigue and war in early WWII. (yes, its anachronistically incorrect...that's part of the fun) Once the double agent is reveled the end of the movie kind of fell apart for me, but I still managed to have a good laugh and enjoy the whole thing.

2009-03-25T13:18:00.001-07:00

Trailer for Where The Wild Things are is out.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/wherethewildthingsare/

I trust the director (Spike Jonze) but I am cautious of how the awesome book can be expanded to a film.

Looks gorgeous though.

This is the sole reason why I have no desire to see the upcoming Star Trek film.

2009-03-17T12:11:00.000-07:00

1. It is not because they are making it a prequel, but using "time travel" as an excuse to ignore continuity.
2. It is not because they build the Enterprise on the Earth
3. It is not because they seem to not care about the core fan base of "trekkers" and fail to realize that outside of that not too many people care about or can get past the stigmata that Star Trek carries.
4. It is not even because they are wasting the opportunity on a re-imagination of the original series when they had a chance to make something totally new and interesting.
5. It is not even that I consider JJ Abrahms a hack who got lucky once and has turned out nothing but crap since. (for the record, past the initial concept and pilot episode...he has NOTHING to do with Lost)

Not for any of that. It is because of this right here.

See that? Thats the Enterprise (and later Starfleet) insignia repeated all over the material of the uniform. Yes, they all have this.

For that level of cheesiness alone I have no desire to see this.

Apollogies if you are seeing this twice LJ friends.

62-80 of the 98 movies everyone should see

2009-02-25T08:22:00.000-08:00

62.
Real Genius

Val Kilmer at his early best. No other movie has ever raised geeks to such an awesome level. With lines like the following, you can't go wrong.

Susan: Can you hammer a six-inch spike through a board with your penis?
Chris Knight: Not right now.
Susan: A girl's gotta have her standards.

63.
Silent Running

A rather sad scifi tale that really is not see enough. Fan's of the recent BSG series should check out this take on the human condition in space.

64. 65. 66.
The sixties gave us some great westerns. In the 70s, the rise of the anti-hero and the super violent westerns put the genre on the back burner and Hollywood for the most part stopped making westerns. In the mid 80s to the early 90s a small resurgence of the western arose and gave us some great films. Three that I feel should be viewed are:

Silverado

A great ensemble cast with a fairly standard plot. The only thing that matters really is that this is a well produced production that you could just tell that everyone had a great time filming it.

Quigly Down Under

Tom Selleck proves that he can carry himself on the big screen just as well as on TV. An interesting western that is actually not set in the standard "west." This one takes place in Australia. Alan Rickman stars as the bad guy.

Tombstone

Wyatt Earp and the gunfight at the OK Corral have been staples of Hollywood for just about as long as the industry has been around. Kurt Russel gives a commanding performance in what I consider the finest film made of this piece of american history. However, as great as the film was and the other performances throughout, Val Kilmer starring as Doc Holiday steals the film.

67.
Silver Streak
`

The first pairing of Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor. This is your typical "drop the common man into a dangerous situation and see how he reacts" story but it executed very well. Almost an homage to Hitchcock, Gene and Richard manage to keep the film serious but add a wonderful amount of comedy.

68. 69. 70.
If any films could be considered the foundation for my love of cinema, it would have to be these three. The other day the wife was pondering how long had I been into movies. Was it only when I was older did I ever begin to look past the visuals and find the extra bits? Have I always torn movies apart for deeper meaning and connections? Speaking to my mother on this her only answer was "well, when did you see your first Star Wars movie? Because thats when it started"

So thank you George Lucas. I may damn you to the hell of boiling oil these days, but 31 years ago you helped start me on this path. I would like to point out that the only way these films should be enjoyed is in their original theatrical versions. So no Greedo shooting first, no need to see the Wampa or see Vader call for his shuttle, and leave Lapti Nek alone.

Star Wars

Age First Saw: Two years old. This one officially doesn't count because I fell asleep in the movie right after they got to Tatooine and then woke up right when the Death Star blew up. Apparently I cried because I thought the empire were the good guys.

The Empire Strikes Back

Age First Saw: Five years old. This would be the one that really started it all. My mother, brother and cousin went to see it one day but it was sold out. We went to my great aunt's house instead and had coffee ice cream. We went the next day and I carried my Han Solo in Hoth Gear action figure the whole time:

My friends were all into Luke and thought the Jedi were the greatest thing. I knew at 5 that ancient weapons and hokey religions were no match for a blaster at your side. Plus, he got the girl.

Return of the Jedi

Age First Saw: 7 (almost 8) I will fully admit that I was of the appropriate age at the time, but dammit....I love the ewoks. Cute, cuddly and bad ass forest warriors. We saw this at the Fremont (on opening night! I don't know how my dad got tickets) and my friend Ryan and I were allowed to go sit by ourselves near the front away from our parents. We went out for pizza after and Ryan and I ran around the pizza hall re-enacting scenes the whole night.

71.
Repo Man

"The life of a repo man is always intense"

Really, this isn't actually a good movie. I would rate it as fairly bad. However, its uniqueness awards it heaps of praise for me. I do not think anything I can describe about this film would make sense so it just gets the Movie Geek seal of approval as something worth viewing.

72.
Robocop

As plot wise goes its fairly predictable but this tale gives us a great spin on things. It also helped shepherd in a new era of screen violence.

73.
Raiders of the Lost Ark

Other than one small minor plot hole, this film gets the distinction of being the most perfect film. Action, romance, mystery and intrigue. This one has it all. What Lucas and Spielberg wanted to do was a simple little homage to the action adventure films they grew up on. Little did they know they would create a huge franchise and cement Harrison Ford as a power house performer.

74.
The Quiet Man

The only John Wayne movie one needs to see to experience him. And it is not even a western. Wayne plays an Irish American boxer who after accidentally killing someone in the ring decides to go back to Ireland and reclaim his family land. He of course falls in love and has to deal with being the "yank." A beautiful little film showcasing the Irish countryside. A family tradition of viewing on St Pats day in my house.

75.
Run Lola Run

This film still leaves a smile on my face. Hard to classify but a thrill to enjoy.

76.
Running Scared

The BEST buddy cop film ever made. Who would have thought that Gregory Hines and Billy Crystal could actually pull off being Chicago Detectives? They manage to keep the action serious but still inject an acceptable level of believable humor.

77.
Scrooged

Dickens's classic christmas tale has been told many many times. To me however, this modernization of the tale and Bill Murray's stellar performance ranks it high and gives it a reason to be seen. This film also gets the distinction of the only movie quote with a swear word in it that my mother will use: "The bitch hit me with a toaster."

78.
Shaolin Soccer

Take one part underdog sports story, one part martial arts and one part slapstick comedy. Mix together and you get a great outing from the wonderfully talented Stephen Chow. A team of martial arts students form together with a fallen soccer hero to mix their shaolin style of kung fu to become a superior soccer team. Just imagine the high flying awseomness of Crouching Tiger but at the World Cup.

79.
Sneakers

Just look at that cast. Some major players involved here. A nice little mystery plot surrounding a security company who's only purpose is to break into companies to find weaknesses in their security.

80.
So I Married and Axe Murderer

Oh Mike Meyers, what ever happened to you? After your break out success on SNL you gave us this gem of a murder mystery romance film. At that point we thought you were the second coming of Steve Martin. Smart humor that could approach a broad audience. And then you degraded into a world of shit.

45-61 of the 98 movies everyone should see

2009-02-19T12:44:00.000-08:00

45.
Mister Roberts

Another WWII film. This time a drama-dey set on a Naval supply ship. The deck officer (played by Henry Fonda reprising the role from his run on Broadway) dreams of serving on an actual fighting ship and not just a supply ship that never goes anywhere. The captain is an ass and the crew a bunch of miscreants. Jack Lemmon offers an awesome performance as the young ensign in charge of Laundry and Morale.

46.
Mitchell: The MST3k version

Original film was Joe Don Bakers response to Shaft. And boy is it a stinker of a film. Fitting that the crew of the Sattelite of Love chose it to be the last film seen by Joel before he left the show. Some of my favorite ever quips from the bots come from this film.

47. 48. 49
An old tried and true cornerstone of Hollywood, the underdog sports story. You take yourself a team that has no chance of getting anywhere and by the end they have won the championship, or at least the hearts and minds of their fans. I offer to my list, three of the best examples of the genre.

Major League

The film that restarted the genre. Sure it's just baseball but manages to actually be funny (you can even see Wesley Snipes before he became too full of himself) and some great lines.

Mystery, Alaska

One of the few sports I actually enjoy watching; Hockey. We have here a small town in BFE Alaska who has their own team and plays a nice game of pond hockey. For a ratings pull, the sports network decides to get the NY Rangers to come play the team. An actual touching film looking at small town life. The coldness of the Alaskan winter shown in the film makes it a great movie to watch on a hot summer day.

Men With Brooms

Curling. The sport of Kings. Candian film about a ragtag group of Curlers trying to honor their dead coach (whose ashes are implanted in the teams curling rock) by winning the tournament. A noble effort from our neighbors to the north to give us a underdog sports story. Plus, it's got Leslie Nielsen high on mushrooms for the entire film. You can't go wrong with that.

50. 51. 52.

Anime. Some people love it. Some don't get it. If after introducing someone to the world of anime through the film Laputa (see # 39 on my list) they feel they want to experience more, I offer them the following three films. Each film offers a wider variety to the art styles used and more examples of the different approaches to story telling the Japanese use.

Neo Tokyo

A movie in three parts where each part is really just it's own mini film.

Part 1 is an adaptation of Alice in Wonderland. I actually don't care for this sequence much. Visually it is beautiful but the story doesn't do much.
Part 2 is something many people might have seen before. In the early 90s, MTV had a little show called Liquid Television One short they showed was this same segment called "The Running Man" the story deals with a reporter investigating a race car driver who has outlived every other driver in the league. A very dark but finely crafted tale.
Part 3 is my favorite. "The Order to Stop Construction" Out in the jungle of some unnamed south american country, a Japanese company has been given permission of the locals to create an industrial city to harvest the natural resources. The entire construction site is run by robots with one human director. A military coup occurs and the company is asked to leave the country. Having lost contact with the original director, a new man is sent in to shut the place down. Unfortunately, the robot in charge can only follow his initial orders to continue building no matter the cost.

Robot Carnival

Think of the Japanese version of Fantasia. Except every short focuses on robots. Some scenes are funny, some are strange and some are emotionally moving. To get the broadest sense of animation styles, this is the film to watch.

Plastic Little

This one gives us a look into the world of "Fan Service" A loose scifi plot gives us a fun little popcorn adventure with one dimensional bad guys, wicked cool explosions and boobies.

53.
Office Space

What can be said about this that hasnt already been said. It main inclusion to the list is for its truthfulness.

54. 55.
Sergio Leone and his magnificent westerns. The man has made some awesome films and these two are his best westerns.

The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

Three men, all looking for buried treasure. An awesome soundtrack as well.

Once Upon A Time In The West

Much better in plot to GBU. A deep complicated story that actually took me a couple viewings to get everything that goes on. Plus, its got Henry Fonda as the best bad guy ever.

56. 57. 58.

Ok, I will admit it, I love a good musical. Too many to admit actually. However, there are three out there that should be seen by everyone. Even if you don't like musicals.

Paint Your Wagon

A treat from the late 60s. Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood star in a musical set in the gold rush days of California. They manage to form a poly relationship with a woman and sing alot. Yes, Lee Marvin sings. It's awesome.

Little Shop of Horrors

A remake of a crappy roger corman scifi film. This manages to be quite entertaining. It's got a singing plant.

Reefer Madness - The Movie Musical

Making a musical out of the original Reefer Madness seemed like a terrible idea to me at first. However, after viewing the film I have come to believe it is the greatest musical ever made. In the end it appears to be very pro-pot but at its core it is a strong case against fear-mongering and propaganda.

59.
POTC: Black pearl

One would never think that a movie based off of a ride at Disneyland would be any good. Johnny Depp manages to elevate this film from ok to great. Never taking itself too seriously (it's a pirate film...with cursed pirate zombies) this swashbuckling adventure never fails to please me. However, I do recommend avoiding the sequels.

60.
Predator

If it bleeds...we can kill it. Schwarzenegger leads a military rescue team through a south american jungle who are then hunted by a intergalactic big game hunter. Once again John McTiernan delivers a taunt action thriller with a perfect blend of scifi.

61.
The Prestige

All you need to know is this film stars Batman (Christian Bale) against Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) as magicians. Thats it. Just see it.

32-44 of the 98 movies I think everyone should see

2009-02-13T12:29:00.001-08:00

32.
Hell in the Pacific

An early film from John Boorman (before he made you squeel like a pig) that gives us the powerhouses (powerhousii?) of Lee Marvin and Toshirô Mifune in a WWII film in the pacific. We see the story of an American pilot and a marooned Japanese navy captain are deserted on a small uninhabited island. There, they must cease their hostility and cooperate if they want to survive. Unfortunately the film suffers from a weak ending but the performance of Lee and Toshirô are well worth it.

33.
Hero

Another wuxia film to add to the list. Plot is a little weak (and can be construed to be very Patriotic Communist China) but the visuals are a treat. The use of color in each scene are beautiful. Deserves to be considered in the "motion picture as painting" category.

34.
Hot Fuzz

A truly unique spoof yet homage to the buddy cop film. If you enjoy buddy cop films or british humor, then please view this great film.

35.
The Incredibles

Later on we will be discussing 3 other superhero films but this one takes top prize as the most perfect superhero film ever. Plus it's the only Pixar film with a body count. (seriously, alot of henchmen die in this film and it is vastly ignored)

36.
Johnny Dangerously

Another spoof film this time lambasting gangsters. Micheal Keaton once again shows us that he is a wonderful comedic actor.

37.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

This one came out of left field and surprised the crap out of me at how good it was. Val Kilmer and Robert Downey Jr. together in this dark comedy modern noir mystery film.

38.
L.A. Story

Back when Steve Martin was funny. Now I just am very sad when i see him come out with something. A bit dated now, but still very representative of the weirdness that is LA.

39.
Laputa: Castle in the Sky

My favorite anime. This is the film I always use if I even need to introduce someone to the world of anime (and especially to those who think it is all pokemon and hentai)

40. 41. 42.
I now present three films to which I consider to be the quintessential British gangster films.

Lock, Stock, and two Smoking Barrels

This film ressurected a once thought dead genre and gave it a unique twist. Guy Ritchie has yet to show he can do much else different than this but this film is a definite shining gem.

Layer Cake

Originally Guy Ritchie was going to handle this one as well, but his producer decided to step up and direct it. An excellet plot with some great twists. This role alone is what convinced the Bond people that Daniel Craig was the only man to fill 007's shoes.

Get Carter

A very raw and at times very representitive of the early 70's this film is amazing. Michael Caine as the shotgun wielding anti hero out to avenge his brothers murder. Yes, Michael Caine as a not good guy. It's amazing.

43.
Logan's Run

RENEW! RENEW! RENEW! A decent little scifi flick. A future idyllic society where pleasure is your only purpose. Only one catch, you can't live past 30. Considered a bit cheesy by todays standards, it was pretty awesome when it came out. SEXIST PIG NOTE: It's also got Jenny Agutter naked in it which is always a good thing.

44.
Master Of The Flying Guillotine

If you like martial arts films and want to see the pinnacle of the martial arts films in the 70s, this is the film to see. The bad guy has this basket like device on a rope that he throws onto your head. He then pulls back on the rope, blades come out and slice off your head. The good guy is a one armed chinese boxer. Thats pretty much all you need to know. See it.

22-31 of the 98 movies I think everyone should see

2009-02-12T13:49:00.000-08:00

22.
Drunken Master 2

Jackie Chan's finest fight work. The man is in his physical prime and the films plot isn't half bad for a movie that is clearly meant to piece together fight scenes. The last scene may come across as a little tasteless* but for the most part it doesn't ruing the film. Yes it is a sequel, but you do not need to see the first one to watch this one. If at all possible, please avoid the dubbed version called "Legend of Drunken Master"

23.
Empire of the Sun

Some people hate it but I find it a beautiful film. Well, as beautiful as a film set in WWII Japanese controlled China can be. Christian Bale (in one of his first performances) gives us a fascinating tale of war through the eyes of a child.

24.
Escape From New York

Snake Plissken? I thought you was dead? The concept is wacky (turn Manhattan into a prison? With the price of real estate?) but the execution was well done.

25.
Father Goose

A romantic comedy set in the South Pacific during WWII. It's a fun little movie that I watch often.

26.
A Fish Called Wanda

Brilliant Cast. Brilliant Execution. Brilliant Film.

27.
Free Enterprise

This movie is almost a little too biographical to me. Any scifi fan who hasn't seen this owes it to themselves to see us "fans" in a proper light. Plus, it's got William Shatner rapping Shakespeare. You seriously can't go wrong with that. Seriously, check it out:

28.
Gattaca

In a sea of crappy sci-fi it is a nice thing when you find a well produced, well scripted, film that doesn't treat its audience like idiots. A very enjoyable tale of a possible look at how humans could possibly force our own evolution and the evils therein. Plus, I don't even like Uma Thurman and I love this movie.

29.
God Of Cookery

When Martial Arts meets Iron Chef. For a good look at how chinese comedy is done, check this out. My only recommendation is you either eat well before, or plan on going out for noodles after the film.*

30.
Grosse Pointe Blank

Who doesn't love John Cusack? He once again dons the black suit that made him famous and gives us a fascinating dark comedy look at a hitman coming home to his 10 year high school reunion.

31.
Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle

If Bing Crosby and Bob Hope ever made a stoner film.** My favorite bit of watching this film is that when viewed appropriately, one can feel the magical power of a Hudson (my immortal buddy) story unfolding to you.

*Recommendation also stands if you view the film Tampopo.
**I guess Road to Rio could be one.

11-21 of the 98 movies I think everyone should see

2009-02-11T12:42:00.001-08:00

11.
Captain Blood

My first ever pirate movie. Simply one of the best pirate films (and especially for when it was made) and an awesome 1st time performance of Errol Flynn. Without this film, Johnny Depp would have never swaggered his way across a ships deck.

12.13.14.15. 16.
You didn't think I could do this list without a little Bond did you? With 22 Bond films* out there it can be hard to navigate which ones are the best and worthy of a viewing. Luckily I have already listed this out! Click the titles for each to be taken to each entry for my previous series "the only 5 Bond films you need to see"

Casino Royale

Thunderball

On Her Majesty's Secret Service

The Living Daylights

For Your Eyes Only

17.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

I have been a fan of martial arts films for years and the Wuxia style has always managed to be flashy and entertaining. While I usually prefer a more realistic martial arts film, a little wire work and fantasy can go a long way to being entertaining. CTHD managed to open the eyes of many U.S. viewers of this magnificent art form. Ang Lee managed to turn a decent story into a visual masterpiece. Also allowing more of the world to bask in the bad-assery of Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh is always a good thing to me.

18.
Dark City

A great little scifi tale. I am always a big fan of the "thrust a man/woman into a world where they appear to be pivotal but they have no idea what is going on" genre. This film manages to wrap that often used concept into a facsinating sci fi world. Excellent performances from all involved round out this almost unique film.**

19.
Die Hard

The perfect action film. Nothing has ever come close to beating it's perfection in the world of action. Great concept, great execution, some great one-liners and some massive property damage. And to think, the studio almost didn't want to go ahead with it since they didn't feel that Bruce Willis could carry a big actioner. Glad they took the gamble on that. For a timeless factor, just try to overlook the bits of the film that date it.

20.
Donnie Darko

While I still go back and forth on whether I find this film to be actually valuable***, I do have to admit I was blown away by it the first time I saw it. I knew next to nothing about it but was told by many that it was great so the misses and I gave it a gander. I figured at least we got to see Drew Barrymore so it can't be all that bad. After watching we stayed up til about 3 am discussing it. It's rare that a film can make us talk that much about it.

21.
Blade Runner

Oh Blade Runner. How I love thee. If you know me, you know how much I love this film. If you don't know me, just accept that I consider it one of the best films ever made. Even as flawed as it is at technical points (seriously, they reused the same outdoor set SOOOOO much in that film. You would swear that every corner has a Dragon Noodle bar and those fat scrolly columns that the Bradbury does) it still mangaes to be a epic film. However to me, the original theatircal cut (with the beautiful voice over) is the only version. The others are ok, but take away the heart of the film.

*We do not speak of Never Say Never Again as a Bond film.

**That will be a discussion for another time

***Another discussion for the future. Just remember, Quantum Mechanics gives me a headache

2009-02-10T12:53:00.000-08:00

MOVIE LIST: Top 98 movies* that I think everyone should see. Part 1

Today we begin a new series here at just another movie geek. The top 98 movies that I think everyone should see.

These films are merely some of my favorite films. Most of these won't appear on any major "top 100" movie list or anything. There is no rhyme no reason to them appearing on my list, but just films I feel offer a cinematic purpose to the greater cinematic world. Titles are listed in a rough alphabetic order with no one film taking greater importance than others.

1, 2 and 3:
A Better Tomorrow

Hard Boiled

The Killer

These three films (all directed by John Woo) represent to me the Heroic Bloodshed trilogy. Not only do these films cement Chow Yun Fat as an action powerhouse of asian cinema, they also breathed new life into the Hong Kong movie industry and led to Hollywood playing catch up for years. All three feature heavy violence, massive body counts and the infamous "bullet ballet." Not only are they great action films, they also have decent plots focusing on dedication and loyalty.

4. Big Trouble in Little China

John Carpenters greatest film. (other than EFNY and The Thing.) Kurt Russel gives a ham fisted (yet overly awesome performance) in this kung fu flick diving into the world of the Chinese Mafia in SF, Sorcery and chicks with Green eyes. This film is on my "must watch on a regular basis" list.

5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
These five represent to me Mel Brooks at his finest. When he actually made funny comedy that wasn't just dick and fart jokes* or recycling of old material. Each film stands on it's own as a great comedy, but as a whole they offer a unique perspective on the once genius of a great satirist. Endlessly quotable, these films can always make me laugh.

Blazing Saddles

The Producers

Young Frankenstein

History of the World part I

High Anxiety

*Yes I know he even had dick and fart jokes back then. But it wasn't ALL just that.

10.
The Blues Brothers

A perfect movie. There isn't much I can say about this film that hasn't been said already. What I can say is this was one of a small handfuls of films my parents educated me with at a young age that helped shape me into the movie geek I am today.

*Why 98 movies? Everyone does "top 100" movie lists. I have to be different.

Part two coming tomorrow!

2009-02-10T08:42:00.001-08:00

Not only do I love movies, I also love scores and soundtracks to the films I love. Here is a complete list of every soundtrack I own listed by composer and then in chronological order:

Akihiko Matsumoto
2002-The Returner

Alan Silvestri
1984-Romancing the Stone
1985-Back to the Future
1986-Flight Of The Navigator
1987-Predator Soundtrack
1988-Who Framed Roger Rabbit
1989-Back to the Future Part II
1989-The Abyss
1990-Back To The Future III
1995-Judge Dredd
1997-Contact
1997-Contact-Complete Score

Alex North
1969-2001-The Legendary Original Score

Alexandre Desplat
2008-The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Andrew Powell
1985-Ladyhawke

Angelo Badalamenti
1995-The City of Lost Children

Arthur B. Rubinstein
1983-Blue Thunder

Basil Poledouris
1982-Conan The Barbarian
1987-Robocop
1989-Farewell To The King
1990-Quigley Down Under
1990-The Hunt for Red October

Bear McCreary
2005-Battlestar Galactica S1
2006-Battlestar Galactica S2
2007-Battlestar Galactica S3

Ben Foster & Murray Gold
2008-Torchwood

Bill Conti
1981-For Your Eyes Only
1999-The Thomas Crown Affair

Brad Fiedel
1984-The Terminator
1991-Terminator 2 Judgement Day
1994-True Lies

Brian May
1980-Mad Max
1981-The Road Warrior-Mad Max 2

Brian Tyler
2003-Children Of Dune

Bruce Broughton
1985-Silverado
1993-Tombstone

Carl Zittrer & Paul Zaza
1983-A Christmas Story

Carter Burwell
1990-Miller's Crossing
1999-Mystery, Alaska

Chan Kwong Wing
2002-Wu Jian Dao

Chris Boardman
1999-Payback

Christopher Franke
1994-Babylon 5-Vol.1-Signs And Portents
1995-Babylon 5-Vol. 2 Messages From Earth
1996-Babylon 5-310-Severed Dreams
1996-Babylon 5-313-Late Delivery from Avalon
1996-Babylon 5-315-Interludes And Examinations
1996-Babylon 5-316-War Without End Part 1
1996-Babylon 5-317-War Without End Part 2
1996-Babylon 5-321-Shadow Dancing
1996-Babylon 5-322-Z'ha Dum
1996-Babylon 5-402-Whatever Happened To Mr. Garibaldi
1996-Babylon 5-404-Falling Towards Apotheosis
1996-Tenchi Muyo! The Movie:Tenchi Muyo! in Love
1997-Babylon 5-405-The Long Night
1997-Babylon 5-406- Into The Fire
1997-Babylon 5-409.5-Thirdspace
1997-Babylon 5-411-Lines Of Communication
1997-Babylon 5-415-No Surrender, No Retreat
1997-Babylon 5-417-The Face of the Enemy
1997-Babylon 5-420-Endgame
1998-Babylon 5 In The Beginning
1998-Babylon 5-522-Objects at Rest
1998-Babylon 5-523-Sleeping In Light

Clint Mansell
2000-Requiem For A Dream
2006-The Fountain

Craig Safan
1984-The Last Starfighter (Extended Version)
1985-Remo Williams The Adventure Begins

Danny Elfman
1986-Back to School
1988-Midnight Run
1989-Batman
2002-Spider Man

David Arnold
1994-Stargate The Deluxe Edition
1997-Tomorrow Never Dies
2006-Casino Royale
2008-Quantum Of Solace

David Julyan
2002-Insomnia
2006-The Prestige

David Newman
1996-The Phantom
1999-Galaxy Quest

David Shire
1986-Short Circuit
2007-Zodiac

David Whitaker
1982-The Sword And The Sorcerer

Edward Shearmur
2004-Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow

Elliot Goldenthal
1993-Demolition Man

Elmer Bernstein
1971-Big Jake
1984-Ghostbusters

Ennio Morricone
1966-Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il Cattivo
1969-Once Upon A Time In The West
1986-The Mission
1987-Secret of the Sahara
1998-La Leggenda Del Pianista Sull' Oceano

Eric Serra
1994-Léon
1995-Goldeneye
1998-The Fifth Element

Erich Wolfgang Korngold
1936-Captain Blood (limited album)
1938-The Adventures Of Robin Hood

Geinoh Yamashirogumi
1991-Akira

George Fenton
2002-The Blue Planet
2007-Planet Earth

George Martin
1973-Live and Let Die

Graeme Revell
1994-The Crow
1997-The Saint
2000-Pitch Black
2001-Dune

Greg Edmonson
2005-Firefly

Guy Gross
2000-Farscape
2000-Farscape Classics Volume 1
2000-Farscape Classics Volume 2
2000-Farscape Classics Volume 3
2004-Farscape The Peacekeeper Wars

Hajime Mizoguchi
2000-JIN-ROH

Hans Zimmer
1995-Crimson Tide
1998-Backdraft

Harry Gregson-Williams
2005-Kingdom of Heaven

Howard Shore
1999-Dogma
2001-LOTR-The Fellowship of the Ring-The Complete Recordings
2002-LOTR-The Two Towers-The Complete Recordings
2003-LOTR-The Return of the King-The Complete Recordings

Hugo Montenegro & His Orchestra
1967-The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

Ike Yoshihiro
2007-FLAG

Ilan Eshkeri
2007-Stardust

J. Peter Robinson
1985-Police Story

Jack Nitzsche
1984-Starman

James Horner
1982-Star Trek II The Wrath Of Khan Expanded Score (SFX)
1982-Star Trek II-The Wrath of Khan
1984-Star Trek III The Search For Spock Expanded Score (SFX)
1986-Aliens
1989-Field Of Dreams
1989-Glory-Expanded Score
1991-The Rocketeer OST
1992-Sneakers
1992-Thunderheart
1995-Braveheart

James Newton Howard
1993-Dave
1993-The Fugitive
1999-The Sixth Sense
2000-Unbreakable
2005-Batman Begins
2005-Batman Begins Expanded Score
2008-Defiance
2008-The Dark Knight

Javier Navarrete
2006-El Labertino del Fauno

Jeff Beal
2007-Music From The HBO Series Rome

Jerry Goldsmith
1975-The Wind and the Lion
1976-Logan's Run
1979-Star Trek I Bonus Tracks
1979-Star Trek I Expanded Score
1979-Star Trek I The Motion Picture
1981-Outland
1982-Secret of Nimh
1984-Runaway
1985-King Solomon's Mines
1990-Total Recall
1992-Mr. Baseball
1994-The Shadow
2001-The Last Castle

Joe Boyd Vigil
2001-Toonami: Deep Space Bass

Joe Hisaishi
1983-Genesis Climber Mospeada
1986-Laputa-Castle in the Sky
1987-Robot Carnival

Joel Goldsmith
1997-Stargate SG-1-Children of the Gods
1997-Stargate SG-1-Season One
2005-Stargate Atlantis-Rising
2008-Stargate SG-1-Continuum
2008-Stargate SG-1-The Ark of Truth

John Barry
1963-From Russia With Love
1965-Thunderball
1969-On Her Majesty's Secret Service
1974-The Man With The Golden Gun OST
1979-The Black Hole
1979-The Black Hole-Expanded Score
1987-The Living Daylights (Deluxe Edition)
1990-Dances With Wolves-Expanded Score

John Carpenter & Alan Howarth
1988-They Live-20th Anniversary Edition
1986-Big Trouble In Little China

John Carpenter
1981-Escape from New York-OST

John Corigliano
1998-The Red Violin

John Debney
1995-Cutthroat Island
1996-Doctor Who The Movie

John Morris
1974-Blazing Saddles

John Murphy
2007-Sunshine (Private Bootleg)
2007-Sunshine (SFX)

John Ottman
2005-Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

John Powell
2002-The Bourne Identity
2004-The Bourne Supremacy
2007-The Bourne Ultimatum
2008-Hancock

John Scott
1980-The Final Countdown

John Williams
1977-Close Encounters Of The Third Kind
1977-Close Encounters Of The Third Kind-Collector's Edition
1977-Star Wars
1977-Star Wars SE
1978-Superman
1980-Star Wars-The Empire Strikes Back SE
1981-Raiders of the Lost Ark-Complete Score
1981-Raiders of the Lost Ark-Expanded Score
1983-Return of the Jedi
1983-Star Wars-Return of the Jedi SE
1984-Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom-Complete Score
1984-Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom-Expanded Score
1987-Empire of the Sun
1993-Jurassic Park

Joseph Koo
1986-A Better Tomorrow I-II

Kasamatsu Kouji
2005-Gankutsuou

Kawai Kenji
1995-Ghost in the Shell
2001-Avalon
2008-Sound Of The Sky Crawlers

Kelly Bailey
1999-Half-Life

Kenji Kawai
2005-Seven Swords

Kenji Yamamoto
2003-Metroid Prime
2005-Metroid Prime 2 Echoes
2007-Metroid Prime 3 Corruption

Kevin Kilner
1999-Wing Commander

Kim Won Il
2004-Wonderful Days

Klaus Badelt
2002-Equilibrium
2003-Pirates of the Caribbean Complete Score (SFX)
2003-Pirates of the Caribbean-The Curse of the Black Pearl

Kodo
1995-The Hunted

Kou Ohtani
1995-Gundam W Operation 1
1995-Gundam W Operation 2

Kristopher Carter
2000-Batman Beyond Return of the Joker

Kugimiya Rie
2008-Mnemosyne

Kuniaki Haishima
2004-Macross Zero OST
2004-Macross Zero Ost 2

Lalo Schifrin
1971-THX 1138

Lee Jae Jin
2003-Natural City

Lisa Gerrard
2001-Gladiator

Marc Shaiman
1991-City Slickers

Marco Beltrami
2004-Hellboy
2007-310 to Yuma

Mark Isham
1991-Point Break

Marvin Hamlisch
1977-The Spy Who Loved Me

Maurice Jarre
1983-Dreamscape
1985-Enemy Mine
1985-Witness
1990-Jacob's Ladder

Michael Boddicker
1984-The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension

Michael Convertino
1987-The Hidden

Michael Giacchino
2004-The Incredibles
2005-Lost Season 1
2006-Lost Season 2
2008-Lost Season 3
2008-Speed Racer

Michael Gibbs
1993-Hard-Boiled

Michael Kamen & Orbital
1997-Event Horizon

Michael Kamen
1985-Highlander
1988-Die Hard
1989-Licence To Kill
1991-Hudson Hawk
1993-Brazil
1993-The Three Musketeers
1999-The Iron Giant

Michael Land
1996-The Dig
1996-The Dig Expanded Score

Michael Nyman
1997-Gattaca

Micheal Land
1997-Curse Of Monkey Island

Michio Mamiya
1988-Hotaru no Haka-Grave of the Fireflies

Murray Gold
2007-Doctor Who Series 1-2
2007-Doctor Who Series 1-Expanded Score
2008-Doctor Who Series 3
2008-Doctor Who Series 4

Nakaido Reichi
1998-Serial Experiments Lain
1998-lain Bootleg
1999-lain Bootleg Vol 2

Nick Glennie-Smith
1996-The Rock

Patrick Doyle
1989-Henry V

Peter Gabriel
1989-Passion Outtakes

Peter McConnell
1998-Grim Fandango

Philip Glass
1983-Koyaanisqatsi
1988-Powaqqatsi
2002-Naqoyqatsi
2006-Roving Mars
2006-The Illusionist

Queen
1980-Flash Gordon

Ramin Djawadi
2008-Iron Man

Randy Edelman
1996-Dragonheart

Raymond Wong
2001-Shaolin Soccer
2005-Kung Fu Hustle

Richard Gibbs
2004-Battlestar Galactica Mini Series

Richard Marvin
2000-U-571

Richard Rodgers
1952-Victory at Sea

Roger Bellon
1992-Highlander The Series
1992-Highlander The Series Volume II

Roy Budd
1971-Get Carter
1974-The Black Windmill

Shirley Walker
1989-Black Rain
1990-The Flash
1992-Memoirs of an Invisible Man
1993-Batman-Mask of the Phantasm

Shiro Sagisu
Our Last Day-Casshern OST D2

Stephen Fry
2005-The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy (SLATFATF song and DVD Rip of Guide entries only)

Steve Jablonsky
2004-Steamboy

Stu Phillips
1978-The Stu Phillips Anthology Battlestar Galactica
1979-Buck Rogers In The 25th Century

Susumu Hirasawa
2005-Paranoia Agent
2006-Paprika

Tan Dun
2002-Hero

Tangerine Dream
1985-Legend (SFX)
1987-Three O'Clock High

Taro Iwashiro
2008-Red Cliff

The Thrill
2000-Blue Submarine No6 OST1
2000-Blue Submarine No6 OST2

Thomas Newman
1994-The Shawshank Redemption
2008-Wall-E

Tomoyasu Hotei
1998-Samurai Fiction

Toshihiko Sahashi
2001-The Big-O Sound Score
2003-The Big-O Sound Score II

Toto
1984-Dune
1984-Dune-Complete Score

Trevor Jones
1981-Excalibur
1982-The Dark Crystal
1992-Last Of The Mohicans
1998-Dark City
1998-Dark City Complete Score
2001-From Hell

Trevor Rabin & Harry Gregson-Williams
1998-Enemy Of The State

Tsuneo Imahori
1997-Trigun OST1-The First Donuts
1998-Trigun OST2-The Second Donuts Happy Pack
2001-Trigun OST3-Trigun Spicy Stewed Donut

Tuomas Kantelinen
2008-Mongol

Tyler Bates
2007-300

VA-1969-Paint Your Wagon
VA-1979-The Muppet Movie
VA-1981-The Music of Cosmos
VA-1982-Blade Runner The Audio Cut
VA-1982-Los Angeles-November 2019
VA-1983-Southern Cross
VA-1984-The Neverending Story
VA-1985-Real Genius
VA-1986-Little Shop of Horrors
VA-1993-Quantum Leap
VA-1995-12 Monkees
VA-1995-Casshern Themes
VA-1995-Desperado
VA-1995-Wipeout
VA-1996-due South Volume 1
VA-1997-due South Volume 2
VA-1998-Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels
VA-1999-Batman Beyond
VA-1999-Cowboy Bebop Remixes-Music For Freelance
VA-2000-Memento
VA-2001-Morricone RMX 2001
VA-2001-Ocean's Eleven
VA-2002-For a Few Guitars More
VA-2002-The Best of Bond
VA-2003-Ennio Morricone Remixes Vol 1
VA-2003-Master And Commander The Far Side Of The World
VA-2003-Serial Experiments Lain Cyberia Mix
VA-2004-2046
VA-2004-Appleseed
VA-2004-Ennio Morricone Remixes Vol 2
VA-2004-GHOST IN THE SHELL TRIBUTE
VA-2004-Last Exile OST 1
VA-2004-Last Exile OST 2
VA-2004-Layer Cake
VA-2004-Our Last Day-Casshern OST D1
VA-2004-Samurai Champloo
VA-2005-Danny the Dog
VA-2005-Reefer Madness The Musical
VA-2005-Sin City
VA-2005-Zipang
VA-2006-Arrested Development
VA-2006-Black Lagoon
VA-2006-Children of Men
VA-2006-Renaissance
VA-2007-Appleseed Ex Machina
VA-2007-Hot Fuzz
VA-2007-Life on Mars
VA-2008-Ashes To Ashes

Vangelis
1982-Blade Runner Gongo Edition
1982-Blade Runner Trilogy
1982-Blade Runner-Deck Definitive Edition
1982-Blade Runner-Esper Edition
1982-Blade Runner-MR3 Alternates Edition
1982-Blade Runner-Off World Music Edition
1984-The Bounty

Victor Young
1952-The Quiet Man

Wai Lap Wu
1994-Drunken Master II

Wendy Carlos
1982-TRON

Yoko Kanno
1994-Macross Plus OST
Macross Plus OST 2
Macross Plus OST-For Fans Only
The Cream P.U.F
Cowboy Bebop OST 1
Cowboy Bebop OST 2-No Disc
Cowboy Bebop OST 3-BLUE
Cowboy Bebop OST-Vitaminless
Ask DNA (single)
CowBoy Bebop OST-Future Blues

Youichirou Yoshikawa
1994-Iria Zeiram

Yuji Ohno
1979-Castle of Cagliostro

Yuki Kajiura
2001-Noir

2009-01-31T22:32:00.000-08:00

Just a friendly reminder that the Kentucky Fried Movie is an excellent source of entertainment.

Waterworld

2009-01-12T12:36:00.000-08:00

Spur of the moment decision got us to watch Waterworld on Saturday.

Myself, my wife and my awesome friend J got together for a nice dinner followed by a screening of this film.

It being all about liquid substances, we decided to play the Waterworld Drinking Game

I do think it made the film viewable, but good lord did we get schnockered.

Thoughts on the actual film (spoilers filled, but its a 13 year old movie so no complaining.)

I had actually never seen it. After doing so, I am not quite sure I needed to see it. It was a terrible terrible film. And I like bad movies. It was very disjointed and horribly acted* I think it was only released to help recoup the loss. It was basically The Road Warrior (i.e. Mad Max 2) on water. However, The Road Warrior was an awesome piece of scifi action, Waterworld was a bloated boring mess.

I know it's "just a movie" but when you base your whole premise on some unbelievable science, I find it hard to swallow. Lets pick a few nits shall we?

-So the bad guys operate out of the Exxon Valdez (regardless of the fact that in the real world that ship was sold and renamed after its incident) and have a finite supply of crude. HOW THE HELL DID THEY REFINE IT? Even if they had the ability to refine it... if this is supposed to be so far in the future, who would have the knowledge to do so?

-If paper is such a valuable resource, why do the bad guys constantly smoke cigarettes (which again, would be very very old)?

-If the dead people at the end of the movie are supposed to be the kids parents, how they hell did she leave the land?

-The kid can't swim? YOU LIVE IN A WORLD COVERED BY WATER. NOT KNOWING HOW TO SWIM IS NOT POSSIBLE. Fear of the water or not, that just seems a bit too out there.

-I do believe that even if all of the polar ice melted, it would not cover the entire land mass of the earth. Drastically change it? Sure.

-Oars on the Valdeez? I do believe that the displacement of such a huge vessel would negate any force produced by rowing.

*Kudos must be given to Dennis Hopper who is always good no matter the role (ex. Speed) and the little girl in the film. But when your 10 year old actress is the shining beacon of a good performance in the film you know you are in trouble.

What I watched on my vacation

2009-01-05T10:25:00.000-08:00

With the snow we got here in Seattle my 2 weeks off at christmas turned into almost 3 weeks. Not being able to leave the house much (and it being too cold in the wood shop to do much of anything) we watched a fair amount of entertainment. Full reviews for most will be coming shortly but for now here is a list of what we watched with some brief commentary.

Farscape
We watched the entire run in a scant few weeks. All 88 episodes of the show and the 2 part finale mini series. I had forgotten how awesome this show truly was. It is a shame SciFi decided to be dicks and cancel the show prematurely.

Hancock
I enjoyed it alot more than I thought I would. A very acceptable entry into the whole Superhero genre.

Brokeback Mountain
Finally saw this. A great film but honestly, I couldn't understand Heath half the time and that kinda bugged me.

Natural City
Korean SciFi film. Basically a remake of Blade Runner (which usually I would be all pissy about) but they managed to create a believable world and society and make a compelling case. I can highly recommend this film.

Speed Racer
I would have to say this is quite honestly one of the greatest (if not the only) film taken from an anime. It pretty much gets everything about Speed Racer right. And it is quite gorgeous as well. I didn't think it would be this good (and I honestly expected to hate it) but this one got it right. I highly recommend it.

The Road to Wellville
I hadn't seen this film since I originally saw it when it came out. I remember enjoying it then and never understood the backlash the film got. Viewing it again I have determined that it is a cinematic masterpiece and should be required viewing. Or as a wise man once told me "it's the best possible movie you could make about colonic irrigation"

Tropic Thunder
I knew it was going to be funny but I had no idea how awesome it was. Words can't describe how awesome I found this film.

Legend of 1900
Can't believe I forgot this one. Great great great film. Tim Roth (who automatically equals awesome) stars as a man who was born, lives and never gets off a trans-atlantic passenger ship. A wonderful film that I highly recommend.

Christmas films!

2008-12-24T13:31:00.001-08:00

The snow here in Seattle has been sucking my will to live so I haven't had the desire to do much of anything at all. The misses reminded me that I wanted to do a "my favorite christmas films" list so here we go.

These films are what I consider quintesential and required films to view during the holidays. There is no "It's a Wonderful life" on this list. No "Miracle on 34th St" Nor even "How the Grinch Stole.." These are just the films that I take great joy in viewing during xmas time.

1. Die Hard
Not only is it one of the finest action films ever crafted, it also happens to be a great xmas movie! Family getting together through adversity! Foiling international Thieves! And jolly christmas tunes! (yes, Run DMC is jolly) Ok, I fully admit this only gets on the list because it takes place during christmas.

Favorite Line: Between the two FBI Agents riding in the gunship helicoptor:

Agent 1: This is just like Saigon eh Slick?
Agent 2: I was in Junior High dickhead.

2. A Christmas Story
Sure, this one is a little cliche and does get overplayed to death on TV but how can you not love this movie.

Favorite Line: oooooooooooh Fudge

3. Hogfather
This is a new addition to the list. A british production of an adaptation of the Terry Pratchett novel. Death himself takes over for the "Hogfather" (pretty much Santa) when he goes dissapearing on Hogswatch night (xmas eve) I can't do it justice here but I highly recommend it.

4. Scrooged
Yes, its just a modern take on "A Christmas Carol" but Bill Murray gives a great performance.

Favorite line: The bitch hit me with a toaster

5. The Ref
One of my all time favorite holiday films. A jewel thief hijacks a dysfunctional family while hiding out from the law. Great performances by Kevin Spacey and Denis Leary.

Favorite line: After eating the baby Jesus from a Ginger Bread Nativity scene: ugh...Jesus.

2008-12-09T12:53:00.000-08:00

As it is the christmas season, it's time to watch films appropriate to the season. Later on I will be posting my list of "must see" christmas movies but for now I would like to focus on one of my favorites:

Die Hard.

Easily it is one of the greatest action films ever made. It spawned its own franchise and a plethora of immitators but still today it still stands up well as great film and isn't really dated all that much....except for a few small details.

I now present: Signs your movie is stuck in the '80s.

Fact 1:
John McClane carries a gun (loaded too no doubt since he never goes for a checked bag) on a plane.

Fact 2:
Smoking... in an airport!

Fact 3:
A supporting "yuppie" character does cocaine:

I will admit this is a stretch since coke never really went away as opposed to other "period" drugs like ludes. Fuckin ludes man.

Fact 4:
Gas is 77 cents a gallon. Regular gas is still sold:

What I have been watching lately

2008-12-01T12:15:00.000-08:00

Just a random update as to what I have had in my queue lately. Upcoming series of "The 100 Films I think everyone should see" and "I can't believe I have never seen this" will begin soon.

What I have been watching lately:

I have recently began pulling films from my youth to watch. Films I have not seen in forever and want to see if they still hold up today or if they are better left in my memory. This experiment has given us three films so far:

-Cloak and Dagger:

A boy with serious abandonment issues (after losing his mother and having a father who is a workaholic) and lives in a "secret agent" fantasy world stumbles upon a real life encounter of espionage and murder. Not a half bad little film but definitely belongs in my memory. The kid from ET pulls off a decent performance and Dabney Coleman pulls double duty as his father and his make believe Secret Agent friend. The film pulls off the story well enough but it does have a certain '80s quality to it that sets it firmly in its decade.

-Outland:

Sean Connery IN SPACE!!!!! Really that's all I needed to know to see this. Sean Connery plays a new Marshall sent to maintain law and order on a mining colony on one of Jupiter's Moons. A great cast that pulls of some decent performances if one can just ignore a bit of false science in this scifi yarn. One can really tell of the influence laid by Silent Running and Alien in this film that gives us an underrated adult scifi tale. I didn't actually remember much of this film from my youth so it was a treat for me. In the end, it turned out to just be High Noon in Space but nonetheless, it was an enjoyable film.

-The Final Countdown:

Cheesy scifi film from the early 80s. A freak electrical storm sends a modern day aircraft carrier back in time to December 6th 1941 right outside of Pearl Harbor. The crew must wrestle with the decision to use their superior firepower to stop the Japanese from attacking and alter history. A decent "what if" premise but unfortunately not executed very well. What could have been something really interesting turned into a movie length commercial for the US Navy. Only about 30 minutes of this thing was the actual story and the film. The rest was copious amounts of shots of life aboard an aircraft carrier and showing every small detail of what goes on there.

ANIME:

The misses and I have gotten back in to our love of Anime with two interesting series:

Zipang:

While the execution left us a little bored, the concept given to us in "The Final Countdown" was still intriguing. While watching that film I wondered what the same story would be like from the Japanese perspective. Little did I know something like this already existed. Enter this 26 episode series: Zipang. A modern day Aegis Class Cruiser from the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force is transported in time back to the day before the battle of Midway. While we are only a quarter of the way through the series right now it looks to be a very interesting take on the concept. Modern day Japanese sailors having to contend with the war around them and the differences between their modern day view of imperialistic ways and their own desire to survive. It definitely looks like this series is going down the "change history" path but it remains an interesting take so far.

Here is the opening to this interesting series:

FLAG
This one really was something unique and interesting. Set in the near future, a south western fictional Asian country (think along the silk road) is in the midst of a civil war. UN forces have come to help stop the civil war and a single flag is used as a rally point for peace. 2 weeks before the final peace negations the flag is stolen by rebels and the UN sends in a special task force to recover the flag. Using a specialized mobile armored vehicle that transforms into a realistic mecha the team struggles to find acceptance in this war torn nation. What is truly interesting about this anime is that the whole show is "shot" from the perspective of a journalist hired to document the teams exploits. Using a modern super DLSR/HD Video combo camera the look of the show is 90% through the viewfinder so it looks like this:

At first the view finder aspect (cross hairs, battery info, etc..) one sees through a camera seemed to bug me, but as the show progressed it became an integral aspect to the show and in someways the lens became a character in itself.

At only 13 episodes the story was short but was very deep and laid out well. Here is the opening that helps convey the feeling of the show:

Review of Quantum of Solace

2008-11-21T12:50:00.000-08:00

This is gonna be hard.

Usually when I review films I spoil them to a massive degree. However, I do want to try to review a film without ruining it.

I am going to start with something that most reviewers save to the end: See it. If you enjoyed Casino Royale and specifically Craig as Bond, then this film is for you.

All across the world I have been reading a large amount of negative reviews of the film. Personally, I think these people just don't get it. So lets start with a few ground rules one should consider when watching this film:

1. Ignore every other Bond film except Casino Royale. The reboot of the character and franchise is so deep that the previous 20 films should be considered their own thing. This Bond is new and different.

2. Quit bitching about the lack of Moneypenny, Q, gadgets, etc... this falls right back to number 1.

3. "All the fast editing and cuts are too quick to understand what is going on" This is a filming technique. You either like it or you don't. I can't change that. However, I want to put this forth: quick action edits are not made for the big screen. Watching films like this on your home screen is the proper medium to view these films. Consider the Jason Bourne series or Batman Begins. All complaints about not being able to see things in the theater are not present when watched at home.

If you keep those things in mind, nothing should stop you from enjoying the film.

This film literally picks up an hour after the end of Casino Royale (CR). This makes it a first for a Bond film to be a direct sequel. However to me, Quantum of Solace (QoS) is just the second chapter of the same book started by CR. Even with the action in CR, it is mostly a cerebral film to me. QoS is the pure action side to that coin. While it was looking like at the end of CR, Bond was fully becoming the "ultimate Bond" QoS offers up a few more steps that Bond must go through before he is the best. The plot gives us more of a glimpse into the mysterious organization (resurrection of SPECTRE as far as I am concerned) as Bond stops one more of their plots for "world domination."

While I find the film very enjoyable, it is not without its faults.

-The aforementioned quick cuts. While I have no problem with them, I feel each "fast action" scene could have been a little beefier.
-The run time. This is the shortest Bond film ever. While I did not walk out of the movie feeling that I didn't get enough, I felt there could have been more. I have a feeling the director (who has done some awesome work) was shut out of the editing process and Ms. Broccoli herself edited the film.
-Bond does a lot of globe hopping in this one and the movie feels the need to throw up text where ever he goes so we know where he is. For the most part I have no problem with it, however each location uses a different font to "localize it" and also they try to hide it in the film (like making it look like it is writing on the street in London or on an old Marquee in Bolivia) while it was a nice idea, it totally pulled me out of the film.

Overall Rating:
8.2 out of 10

(for comparison, I give Casino Royale a 9.5 out of 10)

2008-11-21T09:06:00.001-08:00

For Blade Runner fans:

Last night while once again perusing Blade Runner web sites for random information and the such I had a sobering thought...

"If George Lucas had been involved in the recent release of Blade Runner, while interviewing Leon in the beginning, Holden would have shot first."

2008-11-20T14:42:00.001-08:00

Movie Blog poll

I am hosting a poll as to where I want to take my next post for my movie blog.

Please vote!

Click here to vote

On soundtracks and album art

2008-11-20T12:42:00.000-08:00

My musical tastes recently have regressed 18 years. In the summer of my 15th year on this spinning rock I listened exclusively to movie scores and soundtracks. I always enjoyed experiencing films I loved on a separate level, enjoying the reminded visuals in my head based off of the music and even having a whole new experience with just the music. All I currently listen to (while working at my job, working out, working in the yard, working in my shop, cleaning the house, etc...) are once again movie scores. Old favorites, new acquisitions and sometimes even scores to films I haven't seen yet (more on this later) all come into play.

My collection has become quite extensive recently and I have gone through the process of tagging and organizing the files I play with data and of course album art.

While doing so, I noticed something rather interesting. I can't say for sure this was intentional, but it is a rather fascinating little thing. Each album seems to carry a connection with each film and a overall theme to the series.

I give you, the album art for each soundtrack to the films of the Jason Bourne series.

1. The Bourne Identity

Jason is on the run, and has no idea who he truly is or his full potential. The art shows us Jason from a distance and not fully confident of himself. With the cross hairs over him we are to feel that he is the prey.

2. The Bourne Supremacy

Jason has taking charge of his new life but the organization still wants him dead. Here he must take command to regain himself. This shot shows us a little closer to Jason (with a close up of him and a sniper rifle showing us he is no longer the prey) but still a distance to his character

3. The Bourne Ultimatum

Jason has been backed into a corner finally and reacts the only way he can. This shot, showing us an extreme close up of Jason emerging from the shadows conveys a foreboding feeling that in any dark place he can lurk ready to take you out.

Again, if this was intentional...bravo! Even if it wasn't, it does give us a unique extra experience to bring the whole thing together more.

Why does this thing piss me off so much?

2008-11-18T07:55:00.000-08:00

While seeing the new James Bond last week, I had the displeasure of seeing the trailer for the upcoming JJ Abrams "pre-quel" Star Trek.

see the trailer here (please pardon the ad at the bottom):

I have long held a certain amount of disdain for this thing but I did have a small amount of open mindedness towards it. However after seeing the trailer, my fears seem to be taking root. But in the end, I probably wont see it (I can't stand JJ as a director, Paramount hasn't been able to do anything good with the franchise in a long time) so it shouldn't affect me this much.

But good lord does it piss me off!

My reasons for being pissed:

-Canon. If you are going to call this thing a pre-quel and not a reboot, you shouldn't be ignoring the VOLUMES of information already out there. Let alone the fact that everyone from the crew seems to be there from the beginning, kinda defeats the concept on many levels. Honestly, if they would just come out and say this is a reboot of the franchise I wouldn't be even making this post.

-Plot. Spoiler alert. Apparently Older Spock (yes, they pulled Leonard Nimoy out of retirement for this, yet couldn;t find room for even a cameo for Shatner) travels BACK IN TIME to stop an attack on younger Kirk. Seriously, time travel? Again?

-Who is this movie made for? JJ says this movie is not for fans of Trek, but for fans of movies. Sorry JJ, that doesn't fly. You can't get regular people excited about Star Trek without people thinking about the last 40 years of Star Trek. And Paramount, what are you thinking? Look at your declining ticket numbers for each Trek film. The last one to make the largest amount of money was Star Trek the Motion Picture back in 1979...AND THAT WAS THE FIRST ONE!

-All in all, I think it is this one thing that pisses me off the most.

That is the Enterprise being built....ON EARTH! Someone want to explain how a ship that is designed for space flight, who's design would be ripped apart fleeing a gravity well, can be built on earth?

So all in all, I can't explain my anger over this. Like I said, I have no desire to see it (even if my wife's cousin is in it) but it just rubs me the wrong way.

My prediction, decent opening weekend with falling numbers each week after.

2008-11-17T09:18:00.000-08:00

Thank you for enjoying the series "The Only 5 Bond films you need to see."

Please go here for final words on the series and open discussion:

Click here to discss

2008-11-14T07:52:00.000-08:00

The final entry for "The Only 5 Bond Films you need to see"

For Your Eyes Only, 1981

Plot: A British encryption device that could trigger WW3 is lost in an accident and Bond must recover it before it falls into enemy hands.

Reason for placement on the list:

At this point in time, Roger Moore was 54 years old. Already too old to play a younger Bond but fits in perfect for my theory. This is the older Bond. He is at the height of experience, but no longer at the height of his physical side. He thinks more than he moves. And when he does move, it is actually played out in the film as an older Bond (unlike the next two Roger Moore did that he should have never done.) There is one scene as he runs after a bad guy fleeing in a car that he is actually huffing and puffing his way through the run. Near the end of his career Bond may be old, but he is still the ultimate agent. I also chose this film for its level of some what realism (especially compared to other Moore films), yet still works in the Bond world. Actual Cold War politics and actions occur in this film and it doesn't revolve around some diabolical mad man holding the world ransom or the what not. Bond also has his final character growth in this film. We open the film with Bond at Teresa's grave.

He has come to terms with his final loss. He knows he will never find love again so he has accepted who he is. A loyalist to his Queen and a soldier in the war against evil.

Gun barrel sequence:

Roger Moore with a strong stance with using both hands to fire.

Opening Number:

Another standard silhouette of naked women Maurice Binder sequce with a song by Sheena Easton. Interestingly enough, Sheena is the only singer to ever be actually in the opening number.

Best Action Sequence:

Bond being chased through the alps by guys on motorcycles. Beautifully shot sequence.

I want my two dollars!

So I think that On Her Majesty's Secret Service, The Living Daylights and this film proves that James Bond is one bad ass when it comes to snow. (Thunderball and this film also prove that underwater, Bond also is the master of his domain)

Gadgets used:
The final film completes the majority of my 5 that use little to no gadgets. Bond is responsible for himself without massive assistance from Q branch. Other than a small scene with Q in the lab using a computer to make a composite sketch of a bad guy, we don't even see him much. To keep fans happy, Q was written in to be a field informant later in the film (which even to this day is strange to me)

Felix Leiter count: Zero

Best Line:
While I may have mentioned earlier in the gadget section this scene was strange to me, I do feel it gave us the best line of the film:

While Bond enters a confessional booth to get information from Q:
Bond: "Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned."

Q: That's putting it mildly 007.

Random Points of interest:
-By showing Bond at Teresa's grave, this film is the only Bond film to have any direct connection to others (outside of Bond and his mythos) so it is considered by many to be the only real Bond sequel (not counting of course Quantum of Solace which apparently picks up about 60 minutes after the end of Casino Royale)

-The whole opening sequence is actually kind of a big "screw you" by Albert Broccoli to the co-author of Thunderball, Kevin McClory. McClory had a a lawsuit against the producers over James Bond, SPECTRE and Blofeld. Years of litigation finally reached an agreement that McClory could make his own James Bond film and use SPECTRE and Blofeld but only if he remade Thunderball (to which he did, and it made our 5 you should never see list!) At one point in all of the legal battles McClory told Broccoli that "Bond is nothing without SPECTRE and Blofeld, he will never be succesful without it" Broccoli then mad the opening scene to piss off McClory saying "fine, we will just kill of Blofeld once and for all and end that" I am not doing the whole thing justice but if you really are curious about it do a quick google search and you will find lots of details.

-The actress who played Cassandra (the shill for the casino and Topol's mistress) was in real life married to Pierce Brosnan. It was her role on this film that introduced Pierce to Albert Broccoli and helped put him in place for his later appearances as Bond.

And we couldn't go away with at least one mention of the awesome Topol:
If I were a rich man... ya da ya ya da ya da yaaaaaaaaaaaa

Next time, a review of the overall theory, the 5 Bond films you should NEVER see and discussion!

2008-11-12T23:00:00.000-08:00

Part four in the ongoing series "The Only 5 Bond Films you need to see"

The Living Daylights, 1987

FULL DISCLOSURE: This was the first Bond film I saw in a theater* (and owned an official copy of on VHS which I watched almost as many times as Die Hard i.e. every day after school) so it holds a special place for me. It still however has a valid place on the list, but you will excuse me if I gush a bit in places about it.

*Technically I saw For Your Eyes Only in a theater as well, but I was 6 and didn't appreciate it then, plus I fell asleep pretty quickly.

Plot: James Bond deals with a defecting Russian officer, a plot to kill brutish agents and a girl with a cello.

Reason for placement on the list:

James Bond has now gone to a dark place. He gave his love to Vesper and she betrayed him. He gave his love to Teresa and she was killed. Bond has realized that he can never ever truly love and all he can be is 007. He resents this. He doesn't care all that much about the job, but he does it out of duty. Could M fire him for what he does? He cares not. He defies orders (even more so than normal,) he takes an extra hour to report in after a fellow OO is killed just so he can bed a random chick, he risks WW3 happening all on a hunch. He has been hurt so much that all he can do now is what he is trained to do and cares not for anyone he hurts along the way. This Bond is fairly depressed but hides it well. He realizes early on that Kara was just a pawn in the defection scheme but he uses her the same way to get what he wants. For an even darker approach to Bond, Dalton's second film the vastly underrated "License to Kill" removed the majority of humor from the film and played it mostly serious.

I know it's just an out of conrtol jeep smashing through a wall and flying off a cliff, but man, I love this shot:

Gun barrel sequence:

Timothy Dalton puts his own flair on the gun barrel. Steady walk with a one handed gun shot with a strong stance and lean.

Opening Number:

After the success of the last Bond theme song (a View to a Kill by Duran Duran) the producers thought they could hit paydirt again by getting a song to hit the charts big. Originally the opening song was to be "Where has everybody gone" by the Pretenders (the song can be heard in the film on the KGB assassin's headphones and in the credits) but they felt going with Norwegian band aha (yes, "take me on" aha) would be better for record sales. A fairly standard and even Binder credit sequence:

This would be Maurice Binders second to last opening credit design.

Best Action Sequence:

Hands down the fight with the KGB assassin hanging out of the airplane on the net full of opium always impresses me.

However, the staging and brilliance of the car chase with the beautiful Aston Martin V8 Vantage in the snow and subsequent Cello Ski chase wins.

I hate the fact that we are becoming a touch screen world. I miss the days of a great push button interface:

BARNS ON ICE!

Time to leave!

I am sure glad I forced you to bring your cello!

Gadgets used:

Gadgets make a come back to the list in a big way. We get:

-Whistle locater key ring with stun gas and small explosive capabilities
-Super Key that can open 90% if the worlds locks
-Tricked out Aston Martin with Laser, ice-driving kit, short term rocket boost, missiles, bullet proof glass and self destruct.

Felix Leiter Count: One

Best Line:

I will have to admit, this one didn't really have a line that stood out. Sure there were some good Bond quips but since this movie was originally scripted thinking that Roger Moore was going to continue (good lord, he would have made Indiana Jones 4 look spry and young at that point!) so some of the lines seemed like a call back to the cheese that unfortunately permeated in Rogers tenure (trust me, 2 of the 5 Bond films you should NEVER see are Roger Moore films) However, in the spirit of my theory I will choose one. Going back the opening of the film in what I consider a dick move (even for James Bond) after finding a fellow agent murdered, attacking and killing an Assassin, driving a jeep off a cliff and parachuting onto a yacht. Instead of reporting in as soon as possible he calls into say "I will be there in an hour"

The lonely bored rich woman offers him champagne with a "won't you join me?"

To which Bond then tells MI6, "Better make it two"

Random points of interest:

-Timothy Dalton was actually asked to be Bond back in 1968 when Sean stepped down the first time. If he had taken the role, it would have been him instead of George Lazenby in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Fortunately, Dalton had the smarts then to realize he was way too young to be Bond and declined. Dalton was originally offered the role in The Living Daylights but had to turn it down due to conflicts. The role was then offered to Pierce Brosnan who had just lost his job when NBC cancelled Remington Steele. News of this got out and interest in Remington Steele shot up causing NBC to bring back the show and keep Pierce to his contract. The role was again offered to Dalton and he accepted.

-The rebels that Bond works with are the Mujahideen which in the real world has lead to some becoming members of the Taliban. Therefore, James Bond supports terrorists :)

-I realized after reviewing this film for this list that the reason I have always been in love with the C-130 Hurcules Military Cargo Plane is because of this film.

-This would be John Barry's last James Bond film that he scored. Micheal Kamen, Eric Serra and finally staying with David Arnold took over composing work.

2008-11-11T22:18:00.000-08:00

Part three in the ongoing series "The Only 5 Bond Films you need to see"

On Her Majesty's Secret Service, 1969

Plot: James Bond woos a mob boss's daughter and goes undercover to stop Blofeld once and for all.

Reason for placement on the list:

So after James Bond gets his start in Casino Royale and has become the fine tuned machine in Thunderball, James Bond as a character once again gets to grow. This time, his obsession almost gets the better of him. Tracking down SPECTER and Blofeld especially has become his lifes work, so much that M is ready to take him off the case. A hasty decision to leave MI6 (thwarted by the smarts of Miss Moneypenny) Bond finds himself taking a small vacation. Upon this vacation he is given a chance to find Blofeld directly, but only by marrying a mob boss' daughter. Naturally Bond sees this as a means to an end, little did he know he would be able to find love again and perhaps even be a normal person again in the arms of Teresa. Thwarting Blofeld's plot, Bond feels he has completed his work that started back in Casino Royale. (Yes, I am officially tying SPECTRE as the organization that employed LeChiffre and the guy Bond kneecapped at the end) Accepting he can move on he once again gives his full love and humanity to another and marries Teresa. Unfortunately, Blofeld gets the final revenge and resorts to a cowardly drive by shooting and Teresa catches a bullet in the head. The film ends with Bond crying over her dead body to pretty much the saddest Bond ending ever.

Gun barrel sequence:
Being a new actor playing Bond, they once again re-shot the gun barrel. This time Bond kneels to shoot. Also when the blood hits the acutal opening, Bond gets erased from the screen.

Opening Number:

One could easily say this was the first rebooting of the franchise. While it did continue the story set by the previous 5 films, many different aspects were made different. The story is a little more serious, virtually no gadgets were used, the plot was a little more down to earth and so on. However the opening credits decided to pay homage to all that had come before by playing random clips from the previous movies with a non-singing instrumental song (an updated James Bond theme by John Barry that was later remixed very beautifully by Propellerheads) but still keeping the bond style to it:

As you saw at the opening of this song, this Bond is the only one to ever break the Fourth Wall and speak directly to the audience. Normally I am against breaking the 4th wall in films such as this but here it works. For one it's an awesome line and secondly this was a great way to let the audience know we were in for a very different Bond film.

Best Action Sequence:

To me, the action is cranked up high in this film. While Sean gave some great sequences, nothing matches the brutality of George's presence in the last 1/3 of the film. To me from when Bond is imprisoned in the gondola shack, to his skiing escape, running into Teresa, the subsequent car chase, the next ski chase (with avalance,) Teresa captured, the assualt on Blofelds lab and finally the bobsled chase are all one huge action sequnce.

Warren Miller ain't got nothing on these guys.

Gadgets used:

As mentioned above, gadgets are barely touched upon in this film. While Bond is mulling over his hasty decision to leave MI6 he pulls out a bunch of gadgets (that were all seen in previous films) and reflects upon his career. I wonder if Q Branch ever got pissed Bond didn't return that stuff. The only gadget that Bond actually uses is a electronic safe cracking machine.

The size of the thing hardly qualifies as a gadget but it works for us. Whats fascinating about it being so large is the movie opens actually with Q bitching to M about how outdated their equipment is and the future is in miniaturization. Guess the safe cracking tech wasn't quite there yet.

Best line:

As a girl writes a message on his inner thigh (under his kilt)

He is then asked "Is anything ze matter, Sir Hilary?"

"Just a slight stiffness coming on... in the shoulder."

Random points of interest:

-This has been the only Bond film to adhere closely to the original text. Pretty much everything you see on screen happens in the book. This also IMO leads to help out that Lazenby was the only actor to be the all around definitve Bond. All other Bonds have their pluses and takes sides of the character, but George fills all the shoes.

-Contray to popular belief, this film did not bomb at the box office. It did quite well actually. So why did George not do more? Unfortunatley, acting on advice from his manager he felt that perhaps the world was drastically changing and Bond would no longer have a place in it. George then pretty much sabotaged himself at press events for the film and got himself out of doing anymore Bond. Later on (and pretty much to this day) he regrets making this decision.

-This girl (one of the girls at the clinic):

would later go onto be this girl:

Next time, Bond goes dark and brooding.

2008-11-11T08:01:00.000-08:00

And now the second entry in our series on the only 5 Bond films you need to see:

Thunderball, 1965

Plot: The terrorist organization SPECTRE has stolen 2 nuclear weapons and James Bond is the only man who can stop them.

Reason for placement on the list:

James Bond has become the super agent he truly is. His loss of Vesper forces him to bury himself in his work to become the greatest British Agent ever. Here we see Bond in his prime. He is both a man of action and a man of thinking here.

Kick ass with the best of them:

Working all angles possible to find out where the bombs are Bond is a force that can't be stopped. While he does end up using the girl in the film to find things out, he does have some feeling for her. But as mentioned last time, he can no longer love. He tries and tries with multiple women, but he can not feel a thing. He is hoping that one day it may return, but he finds nothing but emptiness. So all he can do is continue to be Bond.

My silence has a price, come snog with me in the steam room:

SPECTRE plays a major part in this film and the hatred for Blofeld and his sinister organization gets it's final roots here.

Gun barrel sequence:

The traditional gunbarrel sequence. Check out the awesome hat on Connery! Trivia: While this film was Sean Connery's 4th time playing Bond, this was his first time being in the actual gunbarrel scene. The previous 3 stuntman Bob Simmons starred in the scene so technically he was the first actor to play Bond in films. Notice how Connery wobbles while turning and adjusts his balance and then bends over and fires. I really wonder why they didn't re-shoot this to show Bond being a little more stable.

Opening Number:
Maurice Binder (who designed the majority of Bond opening sequences before he died in 1991) gives us another great sequence with a wonderful "water ballet" to a Tom Jones power ballad (with lyrics that truly make no sense)

Best Action Sequence:
While the underwater battle at the end of the film is huge and impressive, I rather enjoy both the stealth break in (and subsequent henchman fight/shark tank scare) of Largo's house and the chase in the parade from the bad guys.

Gadgets used:
A great plethora of gadgets used here: a short term pocket sized re-breather, underwater camera with infrared capabilities and a geiger counter, jet pack, Aston Martin bullet shield and water hoses, radioactive emergency locator beacon in pill form, and a watch also with a geiger counter.

SUBSTITUTION: Discussing this theory with my father (for it was he who got me into the world of Bond in the first place) he offered one substitution for my list. Instead of Thunderball, view From Russia With Love instead. It fills many of the same points that Thunderball does so it is an acceptable replacement. I just like Thunderball better.

Random points of interest:
-Dominio at one point goes to change bathing suits to something less distracting to the men from this:

to this:

-James Bond wears pink, and looks hot doing it. What happened to the color pink? Why is it considered so feminine now?

-And for anyone of you who do find Mr. Connery to be a gorgeous man, then this movie is for you. Because honestly, he spends about 70 percent of the movie looking like this:

When speaking with my mother about the amount of time in the film Sean is mostly naked she responded "oh, you mean the best part of the movie?" Gotta love my mom.

Felix Leiter: One

Best Line:

(after dancing with the Femme Fatale and making her take an assassin's bullet Bond quips:

"Would you mind if my date sat here?"

"She's just dead"

As per my wifes request, one final shot of gratuitous Sean porn:

Next in the series, Bond finds humanity again, only to lose it all.

2008-11-10T12:35:00.000-08:00

In celebration of the new Bond film coming out this week, I am presenting to you my full theory of the 5 Bond films you need to see. I postulate if you accept Bond as a cornerstone of Modern Mythology, there are only 5 films you need to see to get the core essence of the Bond archetype. Any other Bond films can be viewed of course (except for the 5 Bond films you should NEVER see, but thats a different theory) but these 5 are the core 5. These 5 films help define hie overall character throughout his entire life and show us the true side of James Bond.

To accept this theory one must throw a few things out the window. The character has been around on film for over 46 years now and in print longer. So the first thing one must accept is chronological differences. Obviously if the character was real, that 46 years he could not have been working the whole time and technology jumps around. The second thing to accept is any continuity issues with characters. Multiple different persons playing Bond and other characters has to be thrown aside already in the Bond world, for our purposes one must do so as well.

Each presentation will use both video and images to help justify each films placement (and to just generally geek about Bond lore.) Each presentation also contains spoilers for each film. So if you haven't seen any of the films and want to, please skip that entry.

So enough blathering. On with the first film:

Casino Royale-2006

Plot:
James Bond must stop the banker to worldwide terrorists from wining millions of dollars in a high stakes poker game and discover who is really behind it all.
Yes, that at its core doesn't sound all that exciting, but the film is awesome and does a really great job rebooting the franchise. Also, this description may be while I don't write copy for a living.

Reason for placement on the list:
While it may be recent in its release date, it comes first in our sequence. This film starts us out with James Bond. The opening of the film shows us Bond becoming a 00. Not yet is he the super agent we know later. He is rough, he is crude, he is kind of a thug.

BOND SMASH!!

Through this film he begins to open his mind to the "big picture" and fine tune his skills. With Vesper he fell in love, was betrayed by that love and lost her completely. This helped root Bond into the womanizing man we know later. Not allowing himself to love helps him feel no emotion towards any woman that he needs to bed for Queen and Country. While this can sometimes be helpful, it has a bad side to it as well, but more of that on the next film. His love for Vesper is so great he is willing to quit the business for her but her betrayal and death led Bond to realize he is who he must be and his life has no place for love. The filmmakers in relaunching Bond with this film gave me a great spring board for this theory to really work. As he builds up the whole film to become the true James Bond, the last scene goes along way. By saving the iconic "Bond, James Bond" for the end followed by the James Bond theme, we are shown that he is truly the man now and well on his way.

Gun barrel sequence/Opening number:
Every Bond film has the gun barrel scene and opening number and each is an entertaining piece in itself.

Usually these scenes are separate for this presentation, but since the film uses them so well together (and gives a justification for the gun barrel existing in the first place) you get them in one. I loved the playing card motif of this intro. While rebooting the franchise the opening was still very much in line with a proper Bond opening number.

I do recommend clicking the HQ button on the player for the best video and audio experience.

CR-Gun-open_agk
Uploaded by akbar56

Best Action Sequence:
I would have to say the parkour inspired chase through the construction site takes the cake for the best action sequence here.

Gadgets used:
As with any James Bond film, gadgets should be used. A good does of technical do-hickeys are always great for the successful agent in the field.

Unfortunately, Casino Royale (in their effort to modernize the franchise) did away with gadgets for the most part. Here we only get to see a gps locater/bio monitor implanted into Bond.

Random points of interest:
I love seeing the explanation of how Bond got his old school Aston Martin from the poker match. So sad when he destroyed the newer one.

Felix Leiter: One

Best Line: (every bond film has at least one "one-liner" that stands out from the rest.
One of the most painful scenes in any Bond film but it does give us this great quip:

James Bond: I've got a little itch, down there. Would you mind?

Come back tomorrow for our second installment, Bond in his prime!

Welcome to my new blog

2008-11-10T12:23:00.000-08:00

So I have been blogging on my own LJ for many years now but decided to try something new.

This blog will be my primary place for Movie/TV reviews, praise, and general cinema geeking. Of course there are thousands of movie geeks who do the same thing thus my "just another movie geek" moniker for the site.

My goal here is just to add my 2 cents to the whole thing, review mainstream and obscure films/shows (both old and new) and just generally have a place to geek out about films.

So enjoy!