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First Trailers for DRAGONS

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Get ready for some more dragons when DreamWorks takes their How To Train Your Dragon to the Cartoon Network. Watch the first trailers for the upcoming show right here.

Cartoon Network picked up Dragons a while ago, and now you can watch the first trailers from the new show. The events in the show fall right after where How to Train your Dragon left off. So get ready for more Vikings, Dragons, and more when the series premieres in the fall. There is also a sequel coming out in June 2014. Watch the two trailers right after the break.









Without a Paddle—Exploring ABC’s THE RIVER

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For about a month, I had been seeing obscure previews for a little show that was coming to ABC called The River.

I had no idea what it was about, who was in it, and at least six times I couldn’t even tell what the hell time it was going to be on, but score one for advertising because I sure wanted to find out the answers.

I’ve seen this commercial 200 times since the Super Bowl and still think it’s advertising boobs.

As intrigued as I was, I was a little worried at the big deal being made about it coming from some of the creators of Paranormal Activity because when I hear things like that I automatically think of shaky cameras, unclear images, and “scares” consisting of something randomly jumping in front of the screen.

And a bunch of 14 year old girls screaming.

I didn’t care for the Blair Witch Project, and Paranormal Activity was about as scary as an episode of Dora the Explorer.

Shakiness and confusion aren’t horror. They’re symptoms of epilepsy.



But, still, I had nothing better to do on a Tuesday night because, let’s face it, I’ve got no life to speak of, and I tuned in to watch the two hour premiere.

OK, so I’ve surmised it’s got something to do with a river of some sort…

The River follows the search for Dr. Emmet Cole, the host of a reality nature show that disappeared with his crew while on a secretive expedition on the Amazon River.

Led by his estranged wife and son, Tess and Lincoln, a new crew is assembled by the network that aired his The Undiscovered Country and sent to get answers behind his disappearance.

Naturally, that’s easier said than done as they uncover a lot more than they bargained for and find out that Emmet’s mission involved finding the source of all magic.

And before you continue, it’s my mission to remind you that SPOILER WARNINGS are in full effect from this point on.

You’ve been warned. Now don’t go crying about spoiler.

Utilizing a combination of the same types of filming techniques as Paranormal Activity—shaky first person shots, grainy camcorder footage, and static surveillance cameras—and standard television, The River goes for that “lost footage” realism as the new crew discovers the abandoned boat Emmet used to broadcast from and decides to set up shop.

The crew itself is stocked with the staples you’d expect of a show of this nature—the dutiful wife, the reluctant hero, the tough guy, the pretty girl, the superstitious foreigners, the wisecracking cameraman, and the cocky asshat—but they play off one another well enough for it work.

Emmet Cole wasn’t exactly the father and husband of the year the public had seen on his reality show and behind the scenes he developed an obsession with magic, alienating his family and friends before disappearing into the jungle.

Because stable guys follow luminescent butterflies through the wild…

Reviewing video tapes that Emmet left behind, Lincoln and company head through the Amazon only to encounter deadly spirits, legendary monsters, and lost tribes intent on keeping the Source a secret to outsiders.

The show itself has taken on a very X-Files monster of the week feel thus far, with the overarching theme of finding Emmet Cole playing against the backdrop of a new menace each week.

Along the way, revelations about Emmet’s motivations, ulterior motives of some of the crew (I’m looking at you, Kurt), and the familial strife that affected Tess and Lincoln shape the decisions the crew makes, as they’re faced with the daunting realization that perhaps Emmet’s quest was not just one of a madman and that there really is something magical hidden in this largely uncharted region of the world.

Rumors of Hoffa being the Source of all magic are not yet confirmed.

All right, so we have the plot, the threats, and the stakes, but is it any good?

Actually, yes, it’s much better than it should be considering its formulaic nature.

It’s not as engaging as new shows like Alcatraz or mainstays like Fringe, but despite the shaky cam propensity during some of the scenes, the show has managed to deliver a good level of intrigue and creepiness and I’m honestly left wondering where it’s all going.

Currently, it’s slated for an eight episode season, half of which have already aired, but there’s been no word if it’ll be back next year.

In the meantime, I’ll gladly tune into ABC every Tuesday at 9 pm to find out what the Source actually is, why Emmet was so obsessed with it in the first place, and who Kurt is really working for and what they want with the Source.

So, if you have the chance tonight, flip on the telly and take a trip down The River and find out if there really is “magic all around us…”

But make sure you tune in on time. They can’t hold these poses indefinitely.



WHAT IF STAR WARS EPISODE I WAS GOOD? A Hypothesis By A Star Wars Fan

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In light of the fact that Star Wars Episode 1's re-release in 3-D netted almost a half-billion dollars worldwide so far and that makes my heart hurt, may I present one man's wish that he could have set George Lucas down for a talk before raping his childhood.

It is one of the most brilliant breakdowns of the franchise I have seen in quite some time.

Source: Unreality


THE VOW Director Working on BEACH BOYS Musical

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Director Michael Sucsy, who most recently helmed The Vow, is in talks right now to make a new musical with the music of the Beach Boys.

According to Variety, Sucsy is in negotiations right now to work on an untitled musical script from writer Susannah Grant (Erin Brockovich). 20th Century Fox would be producing the project with Craig Zadan and Neil Meron. The duo have had previous success with the movie musicals Hairspray and Chicago. John Stamos is also attached as a producer.


For this new musical Grant created a story and fictional characters that will be driven by the music of The Beach Boys. Sucsy has commited to the project and recently sat down with Grant to talk about the project. He was the first director given the script that responded to the call.

In October of 2010, Fox 20th Century picked up the rights to use the music of The Beach Boys after a long bidding war with Universal. The producing trio of Meron, Zadan, and Stamos worked together in 2000 to make the telepic The Beach Boys: An American Family for ABC. Stamos once played with the band and still has ties to the group's members now.

Recently, musical type projects like Mamma Mia! or Across the Universe have had a mixed record. Mamma Mia! hit the top grossing $610 million worldwide, but Across the Universe only made $29 million even though it had the music of The Beatles.


PRO/CON: The Artistic Legacy of MC HAMMER

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The artist in question: One Stanley Kirk Burrell, born in Oakland, California to hard circumstances.

Through struggle and hustle, Burrell managed to make a living without having to resort to the drug trade.


For a time, he was a batboy for the Oakland Athletics, and had a nice little racket there selling complimentary tickets given to him by players. Later, he did a three-year stint in the Navy.

A natural performer since his childhood spent dancing for money in front of the Oakland Coliseum, Burrell stayed on his grind as he ventured into rap, adopting the stage name MC Hammer ("Hammer" having been given to him by Reggie Jackson during his batboy days)

Burrell became one of the defining performers of the early '90s, and one of the biggest acts ever in rap.

And yet, most hip-hop histories omit most, if not all of his story, focusing on the likes of Ice-T, NWA, and other west coast contemporaries. Hammer fell out of fashion not long after his fourth album, Too Legit to Quit, and by that time had burned through most of his fortune. After an ill-advised repackaging in a more hardcore style, he sank into obscurity, only to return to notoriety in the last decade--on the shoulders of nostalgia, as many of his vintage ultimately do.

All of this is to say that Hammer was big in the '90s, and as with all things '90s these days, we must consider the question: Are we remembering Hammer properly? Does he deserve greater reverence for his place in pop history? Or are we right to treat him as disposable kitsch. The two of us tossed this question around, with opposing perspectives on the matter.

So let's first present the case for MC Hammer.



First of all, in today's hip hop world, it's the businessmen who are the ultimate heroes in the commercial rap game.

Money talks, and negotiation and commerce will net you much more than thuggery ever would. Take, for example, Rick Ross, one of rap's brightest stars right now. He doesn't rap lyrics so much as pack an episode of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous into four-minute blocks, over beats that wouldn't sound entirely out of place in a James Bond film. In this world, the ultimate status is to be a "boss."

At his nineties peak, Hammer was the epitome of boss. He was the first rap artist to have an album certified diamond (improbable then, pretty much impossible now). His elaborate shows packed in thousands each night, and his payroll ballooned, buoyed by his excessive employment of family and friends.

Hammer's hike to the top began with his first single, "Ring 'Em," which he had pressed on demand. He shipped copies out himself and hit the road to promote himself. Airplay was scarce in those days, although his hard work and friendly personality helped him make friends of his hip-hop heroes, acts like Melle Mel and Whodini. For all his attempts to break through, New York remained elusive, though ultimately, he would break through with his second album, "Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em."




Which brings us to his impact and reach.

Rap may never have reached its crossover potential if not for Hammer. "Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em" blindsided the pop charts, and its follow-up "Too Legit To Quit" was like a cultural event. Hammer shilled for Pepsi and had his own doll from Mattel. At the height of Hammermania came "Hammerman," his own Saturday morning cartoon where he fought bad guys with the help of magic shoes that gave him super dance powers.


And though it seems like the music is tertiary to our case at this point, one could credibly argue Hammer's best work holds up as classic dance music to this day. "U Can't Touch This," "Here Comes the Hammer," and "Too Legit to Quit" are inoffensive, fast-paced dancefloor anthems, and the videos for each song showcased his superb physicality. For a time, the world was abuzz with rumors that Hammer and Michael Jackson would challenge each other in a dance-off. Surely, Hammer pants aside, Burrell's lasting legacy is that of an electric performer, able to explode crowds with a shake of the hips in a way not seen since Michael Jackson, or even Elvis.




Given all of the above, why aren't we treating Hammer with greater legitimacy?

Well, that brings us to the case against MC Hammer...

For one thing, when you actually listen to "Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em" past the first two songs, it becomes clear why hip-hop ultimately rejected him. They're pretty terrible. Copious, obvious sampling gets tiresome as melodies are borrowed, adapted, and outright stolen from not only Rick James (twice), but also Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson and Prince.

At best, Hammer is a passable lyricist, but he's seldom at what anyone would consider "best."

Hammer is also very much of his time, which is fine when you're at a party and the DJ is spinning new jack swing, hip-pop and G-funk all night. It's also fun to pull up the video for "Too Legit" on YouTube if you're in the mood for a laugh. Actually, the two of us split on whether it truly gets on one's nerves: T.J. loves it, while Frankie appreciates the excess only the first time around.




Even the first time around, Hammer's hype was disproportionate to his actual talent. While that is a good summary of what I've said above, I specifically mean his dancing. Yes, he was good, even pretty good, but definitely not to be mentioned in the same breath as Michael Jackson.

So, MC Hammer: all that, or eff that?

It's easy to discount him because of his artistic shortcomings, and dismiss him as '90s tripe. However, he's too important to disregard entirely. There's a place for Hammer in hip-hop history, one he's earned through hard work and heroic persistence, and the game owes him a great debt. Everyone from Jay-Z to Kanye West, and yes, even Rick Ross, is there because of the trail Hammer blazed.

But as an artist, does he hold up now? No. No he doesn't.


WHEREFORE ART THOU, BLU? Why Aren’t These Movies Available On Blu-Ray yet?

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In the flabbergasted words of Shelia Broflovski of South Park, I was like, “What–what–WHAAT?!!”

I’d read the news and, yes, it was finally true.


David Lean’s 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia, one of my all-time favorite movies since childhood, and an Oscar-laden epic beloved by generations of viewers, adored by legions of film geeks and praised by snooty critics and film scholars alike, is finally—officially—coming to Blu-ray.

This is excellent news!

The granddaddy of sweeping giant-scale human epics, Lawrence underwent a highly publicized restoration and 70mm theatrical reissue in 1989, so I’m psyched to hear Sony has given it a further restoration and a rare 4K treatment for the upcoming Blu-ray edition. (A limited theatrical reissue is happening, too!) But considering early Sony promo spots for Blu-ray touting “Lawrence in high-def!” have teased its (non)existence on the format for years, since way back when Blu-ray was still embroiled in a very uncertain war with fledgling format HD-DVD, I’d say it’s about gosh-darned time this cinematic treasure was finally available on Blu-ray!


I gladly scratched it off my list of “Favorite Films Not Yet On Blu” and so we’ll let bygones be bygones, but let’s acknowledge the affront to film lovers everywhere that Sony actually issued a 1080p Blu-ray of the waterlogged adventure The Deep years before they finally got around to performing a proper high-definition preservation of their crown jewel, Lawrence of Arabia. Even the pharaohs weep.

In cobbling together a discussion of some other highly egregious omissions from the Blu-ray catalogue, I tried to avoid the claptrap of resorting to a List of Ten. Plus there are way more than ten important movies that are blatantly absent from Blu-ray.

While grouping and sorting the titles, it became immediately apparent that a “trilogy” theme dominated. Some are obvious collectives, but some form accidental trilogies—and some more striking than others to boot.

None of ’em are yet available on Blu-ray, and in each case that’s a crying shame.

Three If By Sea 
Ridley Scott’s 1492: Conquest of Paradise was unfairly dismissed upon its release in 1992—mostly because it was wrongfully equivocated to the risible Christopher Columbus: The Discovery that preceded it by mere months (Hollywood’s dubious tradition of dual competing projects exemplified). Sir Ridley’s melancholy epic-scale restaging of Columbus’ voyages to America is a glorious sight to behold.

Notably, it’s also a frustrating case of a movie caught in copyright limbo, available seemingly everywhere around the globe except for North America.

The last word on U.S. home video presentations is a 3-sided 2.35:1 widescreen laserdisc. Yeah, that’s right—laserdisc. No DVD has ever been released in Region 1, despite the plethora of available imports featuring various aspect ratios and audio mixes. Granted, the film is rightly faulted for its latter-half tedium and a decidedly charmless (and virtually unintelligible) turn by Gerard Depardieu in the lead. But, wow, what magnificent cinematography and music!


There’s no denying the cold hard numbers that 1492 was a costly bomb, but on a relatively meager production budget of $47 million, Sir Ridley miraculously delivered a picture that looks like it should’ve cost well over $200 million to produce—and this in the days before Waterworld, when 1991’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day was deemed the designated budget-buster for its then-ludicrous $100-million price tag. Whatever the legal quagmire obstructing the North American Blu-ray release, 1492 is a wrongfully neglected film that deserves a proper high-definition anamorphic widescreen Dolby Digital presentation. Now.

Ridley Scott would return to the high seas again for 1996’s White Squall, a poignant coming-of-age drama that keels heavily toward Dead Poet’s Society-style melodramatics in its third act. Filmed in sunny Malta, the cast features the always reliable Jeff Bridges and John Heard supervising a young crew of soon-to-be’s, and the film boasts glimmering widescreen cinematography that deserves to be preserved in high-definition.


Part three of my de facto “Oceana Trilogy” is 1984’s The Bounty, a sumptuous retelling of Mutiny on the Bounty starring a lean Mel Gibson as untamed mutineer Fletcher Christian sparring with Anthony Hopkins as the rigid, repressed Lieutenant William Bligh. Conceived as a two-part project for director David Lean, the resulting single film is a handsomely mounted production, featuring an impressive supporting cast that includes Sir Lawrence Olivier and a few young lads called Daniel Day Lewis and Liam Neeson.


A proper high-def release would do justice to the film’s tropical widescreen cinematography and its lush if somewhat incongruous score by Vangelis (Blade Runner, Chariots of Fire, 1492—all gorgeous).

Hello, Fox? This is James Cameron!
The premiere home video presentation of James Cameron’s groundbreaking 1989 underwater sci-fi adventure The Abyss is a murky, non-anamorphic DVD. From a filmmaker with such demonstrable technical prowess and autonomy as Cameron, this is an utterly, er, abysmal disgrace.

I spotted an HD broadcast on cable recently, but it was a poorly cropped pan-and-scan transfer and so I reflexively clicked past it. Considering the film’s revolutionary Oscar-winning aqua-morphing visual effects, it’s inconceivable that there’s no Blu-ray yet, but there you have it.


I suspect we’ll eventually get an anamorphic 1080p transfer in its theatrical 2.35:1 widescreen ratio, probably a dual version containing the theatrical cut and the Special Edition version featuring expanded characterizations throughout and the legendary world-panic/tidal-wave ending. It’s totally up to snuff in the tech department and chock full of recurring elements that will ring true to rabid fans of Avatar and Titanic–i.e., awesome spectacle, terrific suspense and flawless visual effects, muddled by rudimentary romance, pedestrian dialogue and emotional moments that range from heart-wrenching to coy to downright maudlin.

Despite its soft theatrical reception, The Abyss is classic Cameron and has rightfully earned its due respect on home video. Bring forth the Blu-ray.

Cameron followed up 1991’s Terminator 2 by reuniting with Arnold Schwarzenegger for the nimble 1994 spy adventure True Lies, a 007-style comedy/thriller that frequently feels like a legitimate James Bond movie in its own right. Its absence on Blu-ray is a glaring omission by Fox.


A bare-bones high-def release will suffice, but considering True Lies is the only James Cameron film that has never been given any sort of deluxe treatment on any home video format, a new extras-loaded special edition would be most enthusiastically welcome.

1995’s Strange Days—produced by Cameron and directed by his ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow—is a brutal paranoid conspiracy thriller and cautionary tale of technology run amok, full of bleak millennium angst and end-of-the-world unrest. Filmed in cool shades of steely blue, this picture will eventually look smashing in 1080p.


What’s the holdup?

Very Special Effects
Two high-profile visual effects extravaganzas directed by protégés of Steven Spielberg are conspicuously absent from Blu-ray. They are 1987’s Innerspace (a reunion of Gremlins director Joe Dante with producer Spielberg), and 1992’s Death Becomes Her (from Back to the Future director Robert Zemeckis).

Both films represent the then-state-of-the-art of Industrial Light and Magic, and both were awarded their respective year’s Oscar for Best Visual Effects. And while both movies are pretty nutty by typical Hollywood blockbuster standards, the miniaturization comedy/thriller Innerspace is arguably the more consistently entertaining of the two.


Dennis Quaid and Martin Short make an odd pair and eventually attain a comfortable repartee, but the true highlights of the movie are Joe Dante’s signature Looney Tunes sensibility and ILM’s imaginative representation of tiny Quaid piloting a microscopic capsule through Short’s innards. Particularly, a crazy man-versus-machine fight to the death between Quaid and an invading miniature henchman inside Short’s acid-spewing stomach is fiendishly well executed. Warner is just now getting around to issuing a Blu-ray edition of the subsequent Dante/Spielberg collaboration, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, so let’s hope this one’s also on their radar.

Universal’s macabre body-worship black comedy Death Becomes Her has a morbid charm but feels painfully fragmented and reeks of studio meddling.

I’ve always been curious about what sort of revelation an expanded extras-laden special edition might offer in terms of deleted and alternate footage and a comprehensive making-of/retrospective feature. Maybe I’m cutting Robert Zemeckis some slack here because of my love for and allegiance to Romancing the Stone, Roger Rabbit and two thirds of the Back to the Future trilogy, but it’s simply unacceptable that the only DVD edition of Death Becomes Her is a muddy unmasked/pan-scan 1.33:1 transfer riddled with splotchy compression artifacts. Hell, even the bloody laserdisc was properly letterboxed at 1.85:1.


I realize we’re not dealing with life-affirming Oscar-bait such as Forrest Gump or dazzling geek fodder like Beowulf here, but Death Becomes Her was quite cutting-edge for its day, and as a bonus it showcases a deliciously vampy performance by the great Meryl Streep, who too rarely gets to gnash her comedic chops. Flawed or not, the movie simply deserves a better presentation in high-def.

The legacy of 1983’s metaphysical mind-control thriller Brainstorm will forever be linked to the tragic death of star Natalie Wood, who drowned before filming was complete. Directed by 2001: A Space Odyssey effects wizard Douglas Trumbull, the film falters in its storyline and human drama (perhaps an unfortunate result of Trumbull shaping the movie around what serviceable footage he already had of Natalie Wood).


The film did, however, deliver on its promise of visceral sensory punch…best experienced if you were fortunate enough to see the film in its rare 70mm 6-track stereo theatrical exhibition, projected onto a giant screen.

The dialogue scenes were filmed in a flat 1.85:1 aspect ratio, but whenever a character dons the digital headset and we cut to their point of view, the screen bursts open to fill the wide Panavision Super 70 frame from corner to corner with high-tech graphics and kinetic fish-eye perspective shots. The effect was exhilarating, not unlike the recent use of IMAX to bolster scenes in The Dark Knight, Tron: Legacy and Ghost Protocol.

Brainstorm has been issued many times in multiple home video formats, each with a unique but compromised execution of the film’s deliberate toggling of aspect ratios. A remastered 2009 DVD offers an anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen/1.85:1 widowbox transfer (minted in short supply) but, so far, there’s no word of a 1080p Blu-ray edition. For shame, MGM.

Lynch, Lynch and more Lynch
You don’t just watch David Lynch films—you immerse yourself in them, completely surrendering to their dream logic, bizarre imagery and hypnotic soundscapes.

Two of the director’s high-profile efforts have indeed been issued in high-definition (Blue Velvet and Dune—with varying degrees of HD quality), but the Lynch-on-Blu catalogue is woefully incomplete without several particularly defining films.

1977’s cult favorite Eraserhead took forever to arrive on DVD, but I don’t reckon there’s any big rush to issue it on Blu-ray owing to its limited appeal and the rougher nature of the existing film elements. 1980’s sensitive drama The Elephant Man, on the other hand, is probably the most studio- and audience-friendly effort of Lynch’s early career—certainly it’s his most broadly accessible work, at least until The Straight Story.


The performances by Anthony Hopkins and John Hurt are touching, and the beautiful widescreen black and white photography is alone worthy of a crisp high-definition transfer.

1990’s Wild at Heart is a twisted and hallucinatory road trip with a Wizard of Oz fetish. Lynch and his cameraman make magnificent use of the widescreen frame, and the complex wraparound soundtrack is a trippy aural carnival.


I never could make much sense out of Lynch’s 1997 effort Lost Highway, but its nightmarish imagery and creepily enveloping soundtrack certainly warrant a better home video presentation than the soft picture and compressed audio of the DVD.


Yet considering how long it took for that DVD to finally surface, I’m not holding my breath for a 1080p Blu-ray release anytime soon.

Steven Spielberg’s WWII “Trilogy”
Three of Spielberg’s films from three sequential decades form a loose trilogy on varying aspects of World War II.

1941 (1979), Empire of the Sun (1987) and Schindler’s List (1993) all deal with a facet of the war, and all three pictures offer a wide perspective of the filmmaker’s evolving body of work. None of ’em are yet available in high-definition.

The slapstick war comedy 1941—notorious for being Spielberg’s only outright “bomb”—earns its reputation as a loud, chaotic free-for-all.  For sheer historical value, the movie represents Spielberg’s “entertaining blockbuster” mentality, and shows what young Mister Spielberg was capable of when handed a sizeable budget and carte blanche to do whatever he and his buddies fancied. It begs for a proper Blu-ray transfer if only to do right by the period production design, William Fraker’s glamorous Panavision cinematography and the terrific practical and miniature effects by A.D. Flowers.


The cast is a veritable who’s-who of ’70s stars and newcomers who would boom in the ’80s. Too bad they all seem to be headlining their own movie. Spielberg’s long-professed desire to stage an all-out musical is evident in the snappily choreographed U.S.O. dance-off sequence, and the film’s over-the-top portrayal of homeland paranoid and hysteria in the face of a stealthy enemy following the attack on Pearl Harbor doesn’t feel quite so terribly exaggerated in today’s “see something, say something” climate.

Perhaps not unfairly derided, 1941 is a curiosity no Spielberg aficionado should miss, and it’s certainly deserving of a high-definition presentation. Far more heinous crap has already made its way to Blu-ray. Some of it by Spielberg himself. (See Hook and The Lost World. Or don’t.)

Empire of the Sun
is significant in that it’s the first truly “serious” Spielberg epic—there were fewer cooks in the kitchen here as compared to the balance of creative talent involved in the making of 1985’s The Color Purple. Empire is also clearly more personal to Spielberg, an elegiac adaptation of J.G. Ballard’s autobiographical book about a privileged British lad who is separated from his parents during the bombing of Shanghai and must learn to survive on his own while growing up in a Japanese prison camp.


It’s a bit of a slog, but a superbly mounted and impeccably executed slog. Every shot is a masterpiece of composition and movement, and the drama is punctuated with moments of sublime brilliance that linger in memory long after the film concludes. Plus, the picture marks the debut of young Christian Bale, and features an ethereal score by the great John Williams.

The multiple-Oscar-winning Schindler’s List—Spielberg’s first R-rated film—is an emotionally wrenching requiem on the Holocaust, focusing on a wealthy Polish businessman who exploited his political connections and spent his personal fortune to secretly save his Jewish workers from the concentration camps.


Most of the film is shot in stark black and white, with Janusz Kaminsky’s smoky, finely textured cinematography capturing gorgeous and haunting images of man’s inhumanity to man. The film has been waiting too long for a proper 1080p transfer.

Yeah, yeah, we hear it’s coming this year in celebration of Universal’s 100th Anniversary, but what the hell has taken so long?

The Other Oscar-Winning Steven S. – Soderbergh
Steven Soderbergh is such an unpredictable filmmaker with such a diverse range of output that I nearly forgot all about a lost trio of his early films sorely missing in action on Blu-ray.

Soderbergh’s sophomore effort, 1991’s Kafka, is a paranoid drama filmed mostly in black and white, with a singular and provocative use of color. Dramatically the film is a bit muddled, but visually and sonically it’s completely intoxicating.


Soderbergh’s third film is the overlooked 1993 drama King of the Hill, a lost little gem that has, frustratingly, never been released on DVD. A Depression-era tale of a boy home alone, the film boasts a terrific period production design and is wonderfully shot in anamorphic widescreen. It was issued way back when as a 2.35:1 widescreen laserdisc, and finally deserves a proper high-def widescreen release.


Soderbergh’s fourth film, released in 1995, is The Underneath—a moody modern noir accented with a deliberate and effective use of widescreen and exaggerated color filters. Soderbergh would redeploy the color-coding technique later in his career, to distinguish the sprawling multi-national locations of his Oscar-winning film Traffic.


Being one of his most visually adventurous efforts, it’s hard to believe The Underneath has never seen an anamorphic widescreen transfer on DVD, let alone any issue in high-definition.

Three Names Owned by Disney
Consider this for name-dropping: 1990’s Dick Tracy, 1994’s Ed Wood and 1996’s Evita were all released through branches of the Disney Company.

Evidently the Mouse House is most concerned with their A-tier animated titles when it comes to issuing their expansive catalogue on Blu-ray, which would explain why these lesser-grossing live-action (and Oscar-caliber) films have fallen by the wayside. Such a pity, because each of these films, if mastered with care, should look positively stunning on Blu-ray.

With the colorful comic-strip romp Dick Tracy, a high-def version will at last offer a definitive statement on the film’s proper aspect ratio.


The archival laserdisc preserves the original “unmasked” camera aspect ratio of 1.33:1, while the existing DVD over-crops the image to wider, tighter 1.85:1. A 1.78 compromise would seem appropriate for Blu-ray, so bring it on!


Ed Wood is the quintessential pairing of director Tim Burton and star Johnny Depp—it’s their finest hour. The film’s ghoulishly good use of black and white will look terrific in 1080p, I bet.

Alan Parker’s Evita is a glorious, gaudy, gargantuan musical mounted on such a grand scale that the 70mm theatrical presentations could barely contain it all.


It’s an atrocity that there’s never been an anamorphic widescreen transfer for DVD, let alone a Blu-ray that could conceivably be mastered at 4K or 8K directly from an existing 70mm print. Even if we get a bare-bones release, the 1080p image will be a far cry better than the murky DVD and rare extras-loaded Criterion Collection laserdisc editions.

A Trifecta From The Godfather
The most important films of Francis Ford Coppola—The Godfather I & II, The Conversation, Apocalypse Now—are well represented on Blu-ray in exhaustively annotated and extras-laden special editions. Yes, I’m grateful for that.

But three glaring omissions from Coppola’s filmography deserve their go at Blu-ray, and they represent the artist during a curious streak in the 1980s when he oscillated between making small experimental personal films and serving as a hired studio gun.

The scrappy rebel teen drama Rumble Fish (1983) follows The Outsiders as the second of Coppola’s pair of adaptations based on S.E. Hinton’s youth-in-revolt novels.


It likewise features an impressive cast of young actors on the brink of bigger stardom. The film’s hypnotic score is courtesy of Police drummer Stewart Copeland and will sound mighty cool in a Dolby HD mix. Likewise, the dreamy time-lapse black and white cinematography is just begging to be presented in 1080p.

Of all Coppola’s films not yet given a special edition treatment, the one I’d most like to see in a deluxe version is 1984’s The Cotton Club. This ambitious but flawed mélange of Harlem mobsters and 1920s jazz invariably suffers in comparison to Coppola’s Godfather films, but the fetching period production design and immaculate photography deserve a respectable high-def transfer.


The controversial production of the film would probably fill out an entire feature-length documentary on its own, and Coppola’s generous and frank commentaries recorded for his other classics would have me believe he’d offer some juicy dish on this film’s sordid history.

Rounding out my Coppola “trifecta,” 1988’s Tucker: The Man and His Dream is a big, splashy Lucasfilm production that celebrates the innovative spirit of inventor and carmaker Preston Tucker. The film is bright and colorful, its stylish widescreen cinematography (by Vittorio Storaro) jammed with terrific period detail.


The movie is fancifully edited and zooms along like a racecar. Highlighted by stellar performances from Jeff Bridges, Joan Allen and Martin Landau, Tucker remains one of Coppola’s most purely entertaining and confident works. The extras-loaded anamorphic DVD is nice, but this film deserves better. I want a 1080p Blu-ray release—like, yesterday.

Oscar Injustice: The Right Stuff
With nearly 30 years of hindsight, you can’t look me in the eye and tell me the Best Picture of 1983 was Terms of Endearment.

No diss intended towards James L. Brook’s rightfully beloved mother/daughter tale, and all props to that film’s pair of Oscar-winning performances, but that serio-sentimental pap doesn’t define 1983—indeed, an era of cinema—in quite the same way as The Right Stuff.

When I say it’s my favorite film—of all time—I’m considering that bold pronouncement in full overview of why so many personal favorite films often merit that distinction.

Beyond purely sentimental associations, the film excels on so many of the important levels than often figure into such an assessment. I say this in admiration of its astonishing technical and creative credentials—its reality-based in-camera visual effects; the super-sonic sound design, Bill Conti’s soaring score; the picturesque cinematography, the crisp editing, the swift screenplay, and the strong cast of talented stalwarts and up-and-comers like Sam Shepherd, Dennis Quaid, Ed Harris, Scott Glenn, Fred Ward, Barbara Hershey, Veronica Cartwright, Jeff Goldblum, Harry Shearer, Lance Henricksen and Donald Moffat, who is particularly memorable in an over-the-top supporting turn as a temper-tantrum-throwing LBJ.


Apparent liberties were taken with the adaptation of Tom Wolfe’s celebrated book, but the screenplay faithfully translates the author’s sarcastic jargon and humor. Like all larger-than-life epics, The Right Stuff is sweeping in scope and yet remains focused on the simple human story of aptitude and endeavor.

And it’s my favorite film.

Did I mention it’s not yet available on Blu-ray?


GEEKY CRAFTY CORNER: How to Make Shark Jaws Out of Paper Plates

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Spring Break is looming just around the corner for the kiddies and while I know that some of you might be planning a mini-break in order to keep those rug rats entertained, those of you who are broke and have to spend quality-time with your offspring at home might be interested in partaking in some worthwhile crafts that don't involve a whole lot of brain cells.

And making the mouth of Bruce the Shark (Jaws) out of cheap paper plates and then having the kids spend the remaining hours of the day re-enacting the death scenes from the movie might be a good way to kill one day out of the five that those bastards have off.

After the break are the step-by-step instructions from Jeanette Strole Parks (via Dollar Store Crafts).

This is gonna be fun.


PAPER PLATE SHARK JAWS

Project Materials:

Paper plates, $1
Scissors, on hand
Pencil and eraser if needed for extra confidence, on hand

Total: $1

A note about supplies: A "deep dish" non-crimped/non-fluted Chinet style plate worked well for me, because it is smooth and sturdy.

To Make:

1. Fold your paper plate in half "backwards" (with the bottom of the plate facing you, and the folded edges coming toward you).

2. Using small scissors trim away the outer edges of the plate in a sweeping arched "M" design on the top half and bottom half, which should leave it looking like the hinges on the jaw, and the "m" shaped bottom & top of the mouth. Look at pictures on Google of real shark jaws to get inspiration, if the craft-samples in the photos don't help you visualize the outline.

3. Cut out a large oval from the middle, and then work from that center to cut out free-form teeth that follow the inside arc of the paper plate on the top and bottom. I just snipped away happily. Shark teeth are often quite irregular and jagged and not always parallel.

Source: Boing Boing


Behind-The-Scenes Footage From That STAR TREK 2 Fight

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Last week we showed you some photos from the upcoming Star Trek sequel, now there is some video to go along with it. If you want to see it.

The fight behind Zachary Quinto's Spock and Benedict Cumberbatch's unknown villain was spotted while filming, and someone happened to have been taking video. 5min posted the footage which you can see happens in front of a very large green screen on what has been called the "space barge" set. We still have over a year until the film comes out, so consider this a first look. Right after the break.





ANTI-PUTIN ALL-GIRL RUSSIAN PUNK BAND, PUSSY RIOT Is Strangely Hypnotic and Fabulously Frocked

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You have to love a punk band that does an impromptu song called Holy Shit at the Moscow Cathedral while horrified nuns are trying their very best to stop it.

Punk Rock at its finest.

Source: Coilhouse


WHAT BOREDOM LOOKS LIKE AT THE SUPERMARKET

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This is like one of those Buddhist koans that is supposed to make your mind go blank so you can achieve perfect meditation. I don't know what's going on or if this is super awesome, but somehow I am at a place of peace and I'm totally okay with that.

Source: Geeks are Sexy


PETE WEBER, Champion Bowler

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When you bowl sober, this is what victory looks like (which ironically, isn't that much different than when you are bowling while tanked up on Miller High Life).

Good to know.

Source: Videogum


MARY BLAIR, Walt Disney's Modernist Ace In The Hole

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"Her vibrant colors and stylized designs pervade Disney animated films from 1943 to 1953… Beneath her deceptively simple style, lies enormous visual sophistication and craftsmanship in everything from color choices to composition."

- John Canemaker, author The Art and Flair of Mary Blair (2003)

Walt Disney was a good at sketches, but by no means a great artist.


His inspirations came from realists like Norman Rockwell. What Walt Disney was was a great producer, the man with the vision and a discoverer of great talent.

So, why was Walt’s favorite on-staff artist someone who was neither a realist nor someone whose work went beyond the one-dimensional?

Short answer: She was awesome.


Mary Blair was one of the true artists amidst a boys’ club studio of animators and cartoonists, including her own husband, Lee Blair. In many ways, like with many great artists, Mary was even a bit ahead of her time in terms of style melding with the viewing public.

In her first few years as a Disney artist and part of Walt’s famous El Grupo of artists travelling South America in 1941, she heavily influenced The Three Caballeros and Saludos, Amigos. Her exaggerated perspectives and in-your-face colors were seen by the public as “experiemental” and too, well, new. The films received mixed reviews from both critics and an always critical general public. From the perspective of other artists, on the other hand, Mary’s influence and style were seen as inspiring and her color choices ground-breaking.



One of Mary Blair's concept designs for The Three Caballeros

Within a few years, the influence of newer types of art began to permeate more and more aspects of contemporary life and, as such, Mary’s style became more appreciated.

Alice In Wonderland has Mary splashed all over it. No, she wasn’t murdered and her body run through the film reels as they were being printed. The overall design of Alice showed that Mary’s view of the world could, in fact, inhabit an entire world, one that Walt invited moviegoers to immerse themselves in, to toss aside an appreciation for realism (something Walt himself was doing) and to just enjoy the fun of what was Blair-inspired.


For both Peter Pan and Cinderella, Mary’s concept art helped set the stage for the vibrant color design of both films and her harder lines and skewed edges are definitely recognized in the animation design of Cinderella.


Mary left Disney studios to pursue a successful freelance career that included children’s books and successful ad campaigns. But, like Michael Corleone and “the family business”, Mary returned to Disney because they kept pulling her back in.

Actually, Walt personally recruited Mary to design an attraction he was putting together for the 1964 World’s Fair, a themed ride that would benefit UNICEF. The ride, titled It’s A Small World, is all Mary, all the Blair-iest time. It’s what would happen if Mary Blair had ingested 1000 pounds of steroids, set of an Atomic bomb and created a rip in the fabric of space.

Okay, that’s slightly (a tad, at best) an exaggeration, but for the first time ever, the public literally went inside a Mary Blair world.


It’s A Small World has been the source of lessened respect over the years, mostly due to its monotonous song and its canals of water filled with undiscovered and possibly deadly bacteria.

After being closed for renovation for 2008 (additional characters, exterior refurbishment and, as rumor has it, increasing the depth of the canals due to boats dragging along the “shallow” canals of old which totally had nothing to do with, ya know, obesity. Nope, not at Ice Cream and Turkey Leg Land, er, Disneyland), there was a bit of a withdrawal that happened for guests.

They realized that they needed that Mary Blair fix, they liked how they felt when they allowed themselves to be absorbed in Mary’s small world.



One article suggests the possibility that Mary was a synesthete, someone who experiences with different senses (ex: can “hear” colors or “taste” smells), that her constant desire to achieve an unending variety of each color was partially a neurological need to understand and interpret the world. If she was a synesthete, hell, even if she was an anti-Semite with occultist leanings and an NRA membership, who cares? Her art is amazing to look at, it’s fun, there’s a great sense of whimsy and innocence that other artists attempt to emulate.


Jonas Rivera, producer for Pixar’s UP, admitted in one interview that much of the film’s design was inspired by the concept paintings of Mary Blair.

The necessity for a Mary Blair style for UP is because here was a story about a floating house, so…”we decided we needed a certain amount of whimsy and caricature to support that. So Carl is three heads high, and he's very much a square, with square glasses. He sort of looks like a house, in a way. The caricatured look of this world -- we really want to push shape language, we really wanted to push the color palette, to be bolder.”

Pixar's UP does Mary Blair

Mary Blair died in 1978, but is still being celebrated by artists, fans and the Disney company, who named her a Disney Legend in 1991 and continue to use her work for books, prints and pretty much anything else they need to look cool.


THE AVENGERS Have A New Poster

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We still have some time to wait for The Avengers to assemble, but at least now you can look at this new poster for the hero ensemble movie.

New York City is being destroyed in this new poster, but all the Avengers seem to be looking away from the eminent threat. Photoshopped together, this new one sheet has all the characters, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye and even Nick Fury. Check out the poster right after the break.





COWBOY NINJA VIKING On The Way From QUANTUM OF SOLACE's Marc Forster

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Deadline reports that Universal has acquired the film rights to the graphic novel Cowboy Ninja Viking and has chosen Marc Forster to direct the project.

Disney was originally developing the property with Zombieland writers Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese, but sold the project to Universal after the script was deemed "too edgy" for Disney's family film brand.


Following completion of World War Z starring Brad Pitt, Cowboy Ninja Viking is expected to be Forster's next project, which Universal hopes will spawn a franchise.

The graphic novel from Image is about the title character who comes from a secret government program meant to turn schizophrenics into assassins. He therefore has the skill sets of a ninja, a cowboy, and  a viking. Duh.


RYAN REYNOLDS Talks About DEADPOOL

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Deadpool will be getting his own movie soon, and now Ryan Reynolds is talking about what it might haave.

IGN talked to Reynolds about the Deadpool film while he was doing press for Safe House. In the interview, which you can watch below, the actor said that the merc with a mouth would definitely be rated R and would have reference at all to the Deadpool seen in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Watch the interview after the break






Production Finally Begins On LONE RANGER, As Cast Grows

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Latino Review reports that production has finally begun on Disney's Lone Ranger, after budget cuts in the wake of John Carter nearly killed the project.

Lone Ranger is shooting on location in New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado with a release date set for May 31, 2013. Latino Review's synopsis of the film is as follows:

The Lone Ranger is a thrilling adventure infused with action and humor, in which the famed masked hero is brought to life through new eyes. Native American spirit warrior Tonto (Johnny Depp) recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid (Armie Hammer), a man of the law, into a legend of justice—taking the audience on a runaway train of epic surprises and humorous friction as the two unlikely heroes must learn to work together and fight against greed and corruption.
Disney has also cast four more actors to join Depp, Hammer, Tom Wilkinson, Helena Bonham Carter, and William Fichtner.

Find out who after the jump!


Variety reports that Matt O'Leary (Drones) and Harry Treadway have been cast as members of Butch Cavendish's (Fichtner) gang. Earl Brown (Luck) and Leon Rippy (Alcatraz) also joined the cast, in unknown roles.


CASTING CALL : TV : NOTORIOUS, PRODIGY BULLY, EL JEFE, GOTHAM, And More

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Today see's more casting news as networks and studios get closer and closer to beginning filming their pilots for the next season.

In this edition we see names like Missi Pyle, Victor Garber, and Barry Sloane being added to comedies, dramas, and soaps. Roland Emmerich's project has added to its cast, and the adaptation of 666 Park adds another star. See all this, and more right after the break.

According to Deadline, Missi Pyle will be joining the cast of Prodigy Bully. The actress most recently seen in The Artist will be coming to the half-hour comedy to play Celeste, the mother of the lead character Audie Murphy, a boy genius who uses his intelligence and strength to get pretty much whatever he wants. The pilot was written by Mike O'Malley and was based on the one minute movies of the same name created by Hank Perlman. O'Malley will also be playing the role of Audie's father. The boy has not yet been cast. but Hayley Holmes has been cast as his sister.



The Hollwood Reporter says that Rachel Taylor will be starring in the new drama 666 Park. The former Charlie's Angel will be playing the co-manager of the strange apartment building that is the focus of the ABC pilot. Set in New York City, the show is centered around a young couple that moves to the city to manage an historic apartment building. Strange and supernatural events start happening in the building which make it a dangerous place for everyone there. Dave Annable will be starring opposite Taylor as Henry. Terry O'Quinn is set to play the owner of the building. The story is based on the series of book by Gabriella Pierce.

In the upcoming drama Gotham, Deadline reports that Brit TV actor Barry Sloane (Pleasureland) has picked up the lead in the ABC pilot. The show was written by Michael Green and revolves around the character Annie Travers, a cop who discovers a magical world that exists within New York City.  Sloane will play a detective in the magic world called Boyo, he is assigned Annie as a new partner.


Matt Jones (Red State) has been cast in Fox’s single-camera comedy pilot Rebounding. He will be playing the role of a rock musician in a group of close friends of a man recovering from the death of his fiancé. Jason Winer will be directing the comedy pilot with a script from Joe Port.

In the NBC comedy pilot Go On, Suzy Nakamura has been cast as a member of a group therapy sessions because her parents are getting a divorce. Deadline reports that the show is centered around an "irreverent yet charming sportscaster" who finds solace in the members of his mandatory therapy meetings. The pilot was written by Friends alum Scott Silveri.

Linus Roache has been picked up to star in an untitled drama pilot from Roland Emmerich. ABC has cast Roache to play Senator Teras, "an ambitious, enigmatic man with an eye on the White House." Emmerich wrote the pilot with Harold Kloser, and Emmerich is also set to direct. The story is centered on the character Carter, an astrophysics grad student who is said to be the chosen one that will destroy the forces of evil.




Fox has cast Ana Nogueira in the comedy pilot El Jefe. The show revolves around a 30-year-old guy who is tossed out of his fancy house and is forced to move in with his Latin American nanny. Nogueira will play the daughter of the nanny who is described as a "beautiful and fiercely competitive doctor-in-residence." The project comes from writers David Guarascio and Moses Port.


Deadline reports that Victor Garber from Alias and Eli Stone will star in the pilot of Notorious over at NBC. The story is centered around a female detective who goes undercover in a wealthy family as a maid's daughter. This is all to solve the murder of the notorious heiress who was once her best friend.
Garber will play Robert Lawson, the father of the wealthy family as well as the CEO of Lawson Pharmaceuticals. This man expects absolute obedience from everyone including friends and family.


PROMETHEUS Goes Viral As We Meet Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce)

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Don't wet yourselves, Alien fans, but we finally get to meet the man who put some seriously fucked up events into motion, Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce), founder of the Weyland Corporation.

The viral video comes at us from the 2023 TED Conference, introducing us to androids and ideas behind Prometheus.


Check out the amazing video after the jump!




Check out www.weylandindustries.com for more clues surrounding the secrets of Prometheus.


Watch NATHAN FILLLION On THE DALY SHOW

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Nathan Fillion is the Green Lantern, and he knows it. Watch as he helps Tim Daly go through a difficult time.

The actor and voice of Hal/Green Lantern in Justice League: Doom regresses just a little bit for this episode of The Daly Show. Voice of Superman, Tim Daly joins him as they act out what they really want their jobs to be. Sam Daly is worried about them though so he asks Michael Rosenbaum, Flash(and also Lex Luthor on Smallville) for some help. Watch the video right after the break. It's amazing.



AVENGERS ASSEMBLE! Watch The New Trailer For The Earth's Mightiest Heroes!

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