The Hell Cycle from the upcoming GHOST RIDER movie. I am so stoked.
Click here for a full sized pic at SUPER HERO HYPE.
"Emperor Penguins always travel single file, to hide their numbers."
My girlfriend and I were watching MARCH OF THE PENGUINS and she wondered allowed why the penguins travelled single file. I said "to hide their numbers" and laughed like an idiot.
Because she didn't get the reference but could see how much I had amused myself she deduced that it must be one of my 'Star Wars jokes'.
This is only noteworthy because I just turned 30, and am now officially a GEEK.
I will not be outgrowing this stuff anytime soon.
May the force be with you.
Check out the King Kong official website and look at the SPECIAL FEATURES in the right hand corner - there is all sorts of fun 'back story' about the Skull Island natives, ruins, monsters and this cool interactive time line on Historical and Mythological 'Lost Cities'.
Click on Skull Island to read 'forward story', about what happens when Carl Denham leads expeditions back to Skull Island.
WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW ---
I was priviledged to see an advance screening of Star Wars III on Monday.
I refrained from commenting until the movie officially opened so people could make up their own minds. This isn't a formal review, just my humble thoughts on the movie.
Revenge of the Sith was too similar to Attack of the Clones. Better than Episode I, but far worse than any of the original trilogy.
What I found so depressing was that, while Episode I and II may have been so-so, there was always a chance that George would get the magic back for part III, the movie with the most dramatic potential.
Well, part III has come and gone. It's done. There will never be another star wars movie. EVER. This was as good as it is ever going to get (barring infinite special editions and redux versions from Lucas in the coming years).
Every single scene with Padme and Anakin was painfully bad. Painfully...bad.
And Anakin all sliced up and burnt didn't floor me, remember - when we saw STAR WARS as kids we saw the charred corpses of Luke's foster parents.
Sure, there were lots of light saber fights. Good, right ? I don't know. The new light saber fights were so complicated and flashy that I couldn't really tell what was going on. That took some of the fun out it...these light saber fights weren't as accessible as the originals.
Try recreating THESE fight scenes with a couple friends and some cardboard tubes.
People say that the original trilogy was just as cheezy and over merchandised. Maybe I'm too nostalgiac.
But consider this: We don't remember the original trilogy through the fog of time. We rewatch them constantly. They hold up. They are classics, with a mythic story independant of any one era.
These movies, with their clumsy plots of trade embargoes and speeches about democracy will seem incredibly dated to the Bush Administration.
And why did General Grievous sound so much like Triumph, the insult comic dog ?
"Yyyeeeessss.... Count Dookoo taught me your Jedi arts.... FOR ME TO POOP ON !".
UPDATE:
Perhaps the most damning testimony in this whole debacle comes from Lucas himself.
According to George Lucas' interview in Entertainment Weekly :
(paraphrased)
Lucas: "When I was creating the first 3 movies, I knew I had to have some backstory, so I brainstormed about 90 minutes worth of material. It was all character study and political expose, which I realize isn't the most thrilling cinema.
For the prequels, I knew I wanted to leave all the good stuff for the 3rd, climactic episode. I put 20% in Episode I, another 20% of the story in Episode II, and the remaining 60% of the backstory in Episode III.
Unfortunately, Episode III ran way too long, so I cut out everything that wasn't all about Anakin. "
Right.
So, if I understood the man correctly:
EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE - 80% Filler (Jar Jar, Pod Race, Gungans) and 20% of a THIRTY YEAR OLD rough draft that George Lucas admits isn't very interesting as cinema.
EPISODE II: ATTACK OF THE CLONES- 80% Filler (Bad love story, wise cracking droid soldiers) and 20% of a THIRTY YEAR OLD rough draft that George Lucas admits isn't very interesting as cinema.
EPISODE III : REVENGE OF THE SITH - The remaining 60% of the story, which was ruthlessly cut down for time.
I'm sorry, but there is no way in hell any of the prequels could have been good.
Case closed.- I found this hideous piece of merchandising over at I-MOCKERY.
I dare you to listen to THE STARWARS CHRISTMAS ALBUM.
This was a labor of love/hate. When I see the Darth Vader M&M I feel like the classic trilogy has been betrayed... and yet, I want to buy them.
Lucas' Sith powers over my formative years were strong.
I will eat his Vader M&Ms and weep bitterly for my lost childhood.
So bitter... so chocolatey.- Create-A-Cantina let you make simple STAR WARS Cantinas. Which is better than nothing.
- "That's a mighty good Gin n' Tonic, R2. Why don't you mix me up another ?"
The new Special Edition of the Star Wars Gangsta Rap has much better animation.
Behold ! The awesome power of The Star Wars Character Generator !
And the Wookie E-Card feature at the Starwars M&M's site translates your message into wookie roars !
Send a wookie message back to me at Jeff@cartercomics.com
and I'll send you a
SUPER FANTASTIC BONUS PICTURE !
I saw Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy last night.
It was really bizarre. Wonderfully bizarre, in fact.
I have read and reread the books many times. I bought the horribly impossible computer game. My best friend and I made up a role playing game based on the books. I even memorized Vogon poetry.
So I am a fan, to be sure. I'm also a fan of Mos Def and Sam Rockwell.
Unfortunately, the movie didn't really work. It was entertaining, inventive, gorgeous, and bizarre... but not much of a story.
Mos Def was vague as Ford Prefect... hard to understand and not very compelling.
Sam Rockwell made some strong choices as Zaphod Beeblebrox, President of the Galaxy, but mostly he seemed interested in channeling George W. back in his cocaine heydays.
The aliens from Jim Henson's company were absolutely stunning, and the production designer, costume designer, and set designer were the real stand out stars. The movie had a crazy Muppet being attacked by a Sony Aibo look to it.
The narration and illustrations of the Hitchhiker's Guide book itself were definitely the best part of the movie.
I recommend the movie, though maybe as a matinee. It's fearlessly weird and original, with the tone set wonderfully by the opening musical number. If nothing else, the movie should lead people to the original books.- For everyone that hate's Lucas' constant revisions of the original
STAR WARS Trilogy, here's a very funny comic by Sam Davatchi.
Click here to view the comic.
- I like the Hulk's Blog, but Darth Vader's blog is really well written !
- You haven't seen a trailer for Star Wars: Episode III until you've seen it in Lego.
CLICK HERE to check out Cartoon Network's awesome trailer for
Revenge of the Brick.
On the official Lego Star Wars site there is a gallery of employee creations. My favorite is this giant lego AT-AT.
Impressive. Most impressive.
I saw the box and just had to have it.
Hmmm... crystal not included.
"I see you have constructed yourself a new Spoonsaber.
Your breakfast training is complete."
Darkness shall never thwart my cereal again.- Ah yes, Star Wars fans are great for lining up before the movie.... for me to poop on!
Here is a very long, very funny, very sarcastic look at the fans lining up for Episode I as they deal with Triumph, the insult comic dog.
Click here for the Milk & Cookies site with the video link. - Kung Fu Hustle was awesome.
Shaolin Soccer was fantastic, and if this film does well, hopefully we can look forward to more films from Stephen Chow.
I can't wait to see what he'll come up with next.
Sony's Kung Fu Hustle website has cute little games. I like the Axe Gang Rampage game. It's very simple, but you get to chuck axes at people. - SIN CITY
My main fear was that SIN CITY was going to be like SKY CAPTAIN, a lifeless, stilted movie of bored and confused actors posing in front of green screens. SIN CITY was better than SKY CAPTAIN. It was a lot better than ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO. But was it a good movie? Not really. Could it have been great? I think so.
Kudos to Director Robert Rodriguez for breathing some life into the Sky Captain approach. I think he succeeds here where George Lucas fails. No doubt Rodriguez’s flexibility and energy on set was crucial, as well as his ability to adopt and adapt new filmmaking techniques.
They got the look down perfectly. Some of the casting choices were inspired. Elijah Wood was perfect as Kevin the Ninja Cannibal. Mickey Rourke was probably the only person I would want to see play Marv. Bruce Willis and Clive Owen did very well with the material. Rutger Hauer and Benicio Del Toro were likewise comfortable in familiar roles. The rest of the casting was distracting at best.
I have only read one Sin City graphic Novel – The Long Hard Good Bye. This story, featuring Marv, Kevin, and Goldie was the best part of the movie. This chapter deserved more breathing room and screen time. I think if this part was expanded and the last two parts were cut the movie would have been great.
I admire Rodriguez for making a bold, risky, and experimental project. I just wish he had taken more time with it. Even after my disappointment in the theater I still can’t stop thinking about the trailer. The trailer will stay in my mind, along with Marv and Kevin from the Graphic Novel, somewhere between memory and imagination. That’s the movie I want to see.
- CURSED
I have a curse.
I am cursed to see Werewolf movies. I like to think it's more of a gift, but for movies like CURSED it feels like damnation.
Brought to us by Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson, this movie was described by one reviewer as "A little bit of LOST BOYS and a whole lot of SCREAM !"
It was more like "A little bit of SCREAM 3 and a whole lot of DAWSON'S CREEK !"
This wolfman had no nards.
Had I known that the production has been stopped several times for rewrites, reshoots, and new special effects, and then recut from an R-Rating to PG-13, I probably would not have seen it in the first place ( but then again, it's my curse).
Something tells me the DVD is going to be very interesting, provided they spend any more money on this flick.
Here's a killer page for WEREWOLF the TV Show. This 1980's TV show from the producers of The A-TEAM had better effects, characters, and scares than Cursed.
And, for your viewing pleasure, here's Teen Wolf ready to shoot some hoops.
- BLADE III / ELEKTRA
Grrr... I'm not sure if I like the recent trend in Comic book movies.
Blade III was just, OFFENSIVELY bad. Like, the WB meets Super Soul Brother. Actually, that sounds kinda good. It wasn't good.
Elektra, I must admit, had me pretty excited. Not just Ninjas. SUPER POWERED Ninjas. I was all psyched up for serious Naruto-style action. It was a lot more Gilmore Girls than Ninja Scroll.
And now, Fantastic Four. I am not hopeful. I have always thought that Fantastic 4, although a good title, belongs in 2D. It's just a bit too cheezy for 3D. Or 5D, for that matter.
Here's PennyArcade's take on it.
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