New X-Men 3 footage on the net
Ready to see Wolverine chop off a Sentinel’s head? I thought so.
With the addition of so many new mutants, I’m sort of worried about X-Men getting hokey, but X2 was damn near flawless, so this still gets the benefit of the doubt. It looks kind of crappy, but it’s probably recorded from The Tonight Show or something. I didn’t really bother to find out. I’m still excited for the movie, but I’m a little more cautious than I was two minutes ago.
New ‘Superman Returns’ trailer in QuickTime
For those of you keeping count, this is the second full trailer for “Superman Returns.”
I’ll finally admit that I’m starting to get excited for this movie. Yeah, I know, I talked some crap on it back in like November, but this honestly does look good.
Head over to Apple’s trailers page to check it out in glorious HD QuickTime.
Michael returns with a bang to ‘Lost’
Wes is off this week for finals, so I’ll be filling in. If you haven’t watched this episode yet, and don’t want it to be ruined, just stop reading. Any complaints about how now the episode is ruined for you will only serve to get you mocked. With that said, here we go… Continues after the jump »
Tribeca Film Festival: Week 1
ALEX: The Tribeca Film Festival started last week, though for the first time Lower Manhattan isn’t the only host to the festivities. Films are screening in such far off destinations as 34th St. and Lincoln Center. It’s an odd vibe for the festival which once occupied only a few blocks near Battery Park. There are an overwhelming number of choices too. In this piece, Michele and I are gonna tear through our first block of films, which seemingly star all of Young Hollywood.
First up is Fifty Pills, starring Lou Pucci, Kristen Bell, and John Hensley (aka Thumbsucker, Veronica Mars, and Matt McNamara of Nip/Tuck). Pucci is in danger of getting kicked out of NYU if he doesn’t come up with the last $1000 of owed tuition, and all he has to raise the money are the titular fifty hits of ecstasy.
MICHELE: I had been really excited to see this movie, since it had such a great cast. Lou Pucci was great in Thumbsucker, and John Hensley is my younger crush in Nip/Tuck. After Pucci’s roommate, played by Hensley, throws yet another party & gets busted, Pucci loses his scholarship & must pay back around a $1,000. This first off seemed impractical to me. You lose your scholarship half way through the semester & you only have to pay the remaining money? Last I checked, you had to pay it ALL back. But I digress. Hensley sets him up with the 50 pills (of ecstasy) as a way of making the situation better. For me this just doesn’t work- what dealer would just give 50 pills to sell, along with a beeper & tell him good luck? Only one who had a death wish from his supplier.
Non-Special Edition Star Wars coming to DVD?
Look, don’t shoot the messenger when this turns out to be a load of crap, but The Digital Bits seems pretty confident that the original Star Wars films will be coming to DVD this year.
This is no joke and we’ve bent over backwards to confirm it’s the real deal. Our very best industry sources have been checking in over the last couple of days - independently, I might add - with word that Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox are finally going to be releasing the original theatrical versions of the Star Wars films on DVD… good old regular DVD… sometime in the second half of this year. You read that right - the original THEATRICAL versions. THIS year.
I don’t buy it for a second. Yes, we’re all nostalgic for seeing Greedo shoot first, and yes, the musical number in “Jedi” was far, far worse than anything Jar-Jar was capable of, but be honest here. Do you really want to see those outlines around the Star Destroyers. These will be fun for about five minutes, and then you’ll realize that they haven’t aged well. Nobody’s going to miss Jabba and Solo’s encounter in Docking Bay 94, but who’s really longing to see the big Ewok jamboree again?
In short, they’ll sell like crazy, and then sit on a lot of DVD shelves, unwatched. Not that it’ll really matter because I don’t believe this for a second. Sorry.
Original Star Wars DVDs are coming for real
OK, so I guess I’m going to have to eat my own words — but only some of them. It’s true that they are coming out on DVD, and they’re going to pull a Disney, which means they’ll only be out for a limited time, and basically scare you into buying them before time runs out.
I just ran across the story over on Yahoo!, but I’ve also got to tip my hat to commenter Volker, whose comment I saw just as I was heading back here to post the news.
I’m not, however, going to take back what I said about nobody wanting to watch the ewoks singing or the crappily cut-out ships in every space battle in “A New Hope.” I may sound like a heretic to other Star Wars fanboys out there, but with only a few minor exceptions (Jabba’s palace dance number, Temeura Morrison’s voice, Solo shooting first), the Special Editions are infinitely more watchable. And who wouldn’t be excited for Dolby 2.0! Turn your subwoofers off for this one, kids!
Here’s the the announcement straight from the Sarlacc’s mouth.
And yes, I’ll be buying them.
I Love the 70’s, 80’s , and 90’s
This week’s Netflix include nostalgic looks back to the last three decades — the FF7 reunion Advent Children, the first rap movie ever - Krush Groove, and David Bowie and Nic Roeg’s The Man Who Fell to Earth.
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children just hit DVD last week, but watching it made me instantly remember Christmas morning 9 years ago when I played FF7 for the very first time. Its hard not to feel nostalgic for a game when you had to play it at least 30 hours to make any significant progress. To clarify though, this is not a movie based on the game, but a movie sequel to the game’s story. (FF8-11 are sequels in name only). It’s also an unofficial sequel to The Spirits Within, which it surpasses in every way. Even Tifa looks hotter than Aki Ross (it helps that she’s voiced by Rachel Leigh Cook too).
The opening title card calls this a “reunion,” and that’s what it feels like. All of the main characters make appearances, even Sephiroth and Aerith (voiced by Mena Suvari). The plot concerns 3 Sephiroth clones who are making trouble for the people of Midgar, and the unknown disease spreading over the city like some sort of Mono/AIDS combination. The animation, direction, and action are all spectacular, and its not hard to care for these characters when you WERE them for so long so many years ago. This is the best movie based on a video game I’ve seen (not that there’s much competition), but I’d only give it a minor recommendation to people who aren’t familiar with the game. Also worth noting is the 25 minute piece featuring cut scenes from the original game. I still tear up when Aerith dies.4 out of 5.
Apple Corps. loses to Apple Computer
There’s not much to say about this just yet, because there really aren’t any details, but the news out of London is that The Beatles’ record label, Apple Corps., has lost to Apple Computer in their trademark case. The judge has ruled that Apple is not a music company, merely a distributor. Hopefully this will mean that Beatles’ music may eventually end up on iTunes, or at least some online service.
I hate to see The Beatles lose, but let’s face facts: if you’re dumb enough to confuse the two you’re probably too stupid to use a computer or appreciate The Beatles’ music.
I’ll get some more details up here as soon as somebody has a full story on the decision.
UPDATE: Here’s the story.
‘Knight Rider’ coming to the big screen
You wanted it, you got it! Oh, you didn’t really want it? You just said it might be kind of cool? Well, you’re still getting it. The timeless story of an idiot and his talking car, “Knight Rider” will be making its way to a theater near you in a not-too-distant summer blockbuster season, according to a Hollywood Reporter article on CNN.
Larson has bandied about the project for years. “A number of people wanted to do a pure comedic send-up of it, but I always felt that would throw away the franchise,” he said. “There was always some humor on the show, but this film will probably have more gallows, foxhole humor.
Despite the darker tone, he said he would aim for a PG-13 rating because he doesn’t want to exclude the series’ core audience. The show ran on NBC from 1982-86.
I’m pretty sure that the show’s core audience can handle an R-rating, considering that they’re all in their 20s and 30s now, but whatever. PG-13 sounds about right for a talking car movie. Expect to see a really kick ass trailer that has nothing to do with the movie sometime later today.
Hanso Foundation strikes back at ‘Bad Twin’
The Hanso Foundation, the organization behind the mysterious Dharma Initiative, has issued an ad in major newspapers, including The Philadelphia Inquirer, attacking the new book “Bad Twin,” by author Gary Troup, who has not been seen since Oceanic Airlines flight 815 disappeared over the South Pacific en route from Sydney to Los Angeles.
The organization claims that “Bad Twin” is filled with misinformation regarding Hanso and its partners. For more information on The Hanso Foundation, visit their Web site. Hyperion has more information on “Bad Twin.”
