When Lynch Met Lucas

In the late 1970s, George Lucas’ success with the first two Star Wars films prompted him to not only expand the third film’s budget, but also look for a new director for “Return of the Jedi”. Apparently David Lynch (director of Eraser Head, Twin Peaks, Mulholland Drive) was tapped by Lucas to direct, but was turned down. Years later, David Lynch tells the story of his meeting with Lucas in an interview. Animator Sascha Ciezata created a short which features audio from the interview along with crudely animated stop-motion characters created from pictures he took with his iPhone! read more

A Depressed Whale

I usually like to give context, but I think this is self-explanatory. From the creative people at FilmCow.com.

Lady Gaga Goes to Jail

Fans of avant-garde pop artist Lady Gaga know that her videos never fail to impress. Like something out of Wonderland, Lady Gaga brings as much performance to her music than almost any other mainstream artists. Gaga’s video for her latest song, Telephone, had it’s world premiere last night. Needless to say, it is something to remember.

In the Michael Jackson tradition of music video as mini-movie, Gaga spins a story that is a mix of Quentin Tarantino meets Themla and Louise. Gaga’s partner in crime is none other than R&B siren Beyonce, sporting a series of outfits that seem to have come from the more tame side of Lady Gaga’s closet. With unabashed product placement and outright ridiculous fashion, the video is worth watching, even if you’re not a fan of the music.

Check out Lady Gaga and Beyonce in Telephone below: read more

Marvel at The Magic Kingdom

On Monday, August 31, 2009, the worlds of the Marvel Universe and the Magic Kingdom collided as The Walt Disney Company announced plans to buy Marvel Entertainment for slightly over $4 billion. Almost immediately, the Disneyana types were excited and the Marvel Zombies were mortified.

Will Mickey Mouse become the newest member of the X-Men? Will Wolverine become a star on Disney on Ice? Will Hannah Montana dress up like Dazzler on an episode of her series? Will they pit Marvel’s Hercules versus Disney’s Hercules? Will Pinocchio be accused of being a mutant? Will The Incredibles fight against and later with the Fantastic Four? Actually, I’d like that one to come true to tell you the truth.

Most critics of the acquisition fail to realize that the same studio that gave us Hannah Montana, Winnie the Pooh, Cars, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, and G-Force also gave us Gargoyles, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Lost, Scream, Kill Bill, Trainspotting, and Clerks. Needless to say, the initial reaction has cooled down compared to what happened upon the announcement. Now, a little clarity is in order. read more

The Wild Things Are Right Here

This week the first official (non-teaser) trailer for Spike Jonze’s Where the Wild Things Are has been released. Its a mix of CGI and costumed actors. Looks like its going to be something special. As a fan of the children’s book, I’m excited to see it.

The Dirty Have Risen and Transformed Into Consumers

I know I usually talk about food so…I like movie popcorn. I do NOT like the new weird Skittles. There—done with that. Now on to what’s really irking me today.

I feel dirty, and not the good kind of dirty. I’m feeing the kind of dirty that comes from being tricked into watching a two-and-a-half-hour commercial and liking it. Yep, you probably all ready know where this is going. I went to see Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. I love it. Who doesn’t enjoy fighting, transforming giant robots shrouded in over the top, amazing special effects? Don’t look at me, because the inner nerd sings majestic when Optimus Prime puts his fist all the way through another robot’s face.

There was a scene where jets are taking off from a Navy carrier and soldiers are working their high-tech radar stations and I’m thinking, “Wow! That looks like an awesome job.” Inside my head, a little warning is going off—the one that goes off when I’m at the check-out counter picking up all the impulse items. I NEED an extra memory card, toothbrush, bug spray and mascara. I NEED to join the Navy, Air Force, Special Forces and….no I don’t. Try and tell me that isn’t an advertisement for the military. It totally is, and I’m not sure I care. read more

X-men Origins: Wolverine, Should I stay or should I go?

Hello readers!  I am assuming that some of you are going to be seeing Wolverine this weekend, if you haven’t already.   I’m hearing very conflicting reviews and as previously stated I’m thinking of sitting this one out.  So those of you who are seeing this movie what did you think?  Is it any good?  Is it at least better than X3?  Please say it is, I’m not sure I could sit through another of those.   Let us know what you think in the comments. read more

Will Wonder Woman ever be ready for a close-up?

Wonder Woman made a big return last month in her own movie. Did anyone notice? Fans of the comic book heroine are devout, yet, the character’s mass appeal never seems to be actualized. Superman, Batman, Ironman, and even the Watchmen, have all made a splash on the big screen, but Wonder Woman never seems to be pushed to the A-list. Will the Amazonian princess be forever relegated to play sidekick to her male counterparts?

For the past 40 years, the Wonder Woman has had almost as many make-overs as Barbie. A change in appearance, abilities, and back story have created a character that seems as malleable as a folk tale. Its not without effort that the character hasn’t been given a big break. Baby boomers may recall Wonder Woman as played by Lynda Carter, with spinning transformation sequences and bullet-blocking abilities. Gen X’ers remember her as one of the few female characters featured in the Superfriends. Millennials know Wonder Woman from her role as naive and honorable Diana from Justice League. With each new introduction, the character took on changes to reflect the era, serving as a symbol of female empowerment. read more

A Pseudo Geek Guide to Mediocrity

Life can be boring, really boring.  Day in, day out of work, laundry, a few hours of T.V. and then sleep.  The mechanics of life are endlessly dull.  No one loves doing dishes or paying bills or vacuuming the floor, but this is the stuff that keeps life functional, and it sucks.

What is one of the the first things people say they’ll do when they get a lot of money?  They get a maid, so they don’t have to deal with all the boring crap anymore.  But sadly, most of us will never have enough money.

Sometimes all of these mundane tasks and responsibilities clog you up like the lint trap on your dryer.  It makes you hopeless, makes you question what you’re doing all this for.   Sometimes your lint trap is so full that all of your hope and happiness is getting filtered out.  But like Miles in Risky Business says, “Sometimes you gotta say ‘What the Fuck’, make your move.”

Nothing fun and exciting is going to happen to you while you’re sitting on the couch.  There isn’t a secret patrol of super fun people going door to door.  You’ve got to get out of your comfort zone, go and do something new that you’ve never done before.  Great moments in your life are always a little scary.  This is life right now, this moment.  “This is your life and it’s ending one minute at a time.” read more

The Summer Movies I’m Not Seeing

Spring break is over and summer is right around the corner. Beware: the summer blockbusters are sure to follow!  Last Summer was dominated, as we all know, by the superhero movie.  Iron Man, Dark Knight and, to a slightly lesser extent, The Hulk made huge money for Hollywood last year.

In the past, the summer movie season kicked off on Memorial Day weekend, but in the same way that Christmas has overshadowed Thanksgiving and is sneaking up on Halloween, summer movie season keeps creeping up earlier each year. For example, this year’s first blockbuster action film,  X-Men Origins: Wolverine, opens May 1st. If this keeps up, we’ll be seeing the next James Bond or Jason Borne movie on Valentine’s Day.

Sadly, the globe is an an economic recession, making the public more selective over films are worth the ticket price. The competition is tough this year, with a slew of cool movies being released starting this spring. I would love to go see all of them, but at $10-12 per ticket, there is no way I can justify this expense. I’m going to try to narrow it down to two movies.  Painful as that might be. read more