Monday, December 01, 2008
Quantum of Solace
Bond is after revenge, but along the way he's caught up in international intrigue involving oil. In fact one British agent was killed with oil. I should note that this film begins right at where Casino Royale ends.
Tangent: Not only was I not there for the beginning of this movie I was a lil under the weather. I didn't see the exact 1st moment of the film just the part where Bond kills an enemy agent by shooting him right off of a cliff. I left primarily because the film hadn't started and I was tired of the trailers especially tired of the one for Will Smith in Seven Pounds.
In any event the movie was at times slow but certainly in the action sequences very, very fast. Bond does use his classic charm, indeed he bagged a woman the ill-fated British agent who was supposed to send Bond back to London when he arrived in Bolivia. There was another lady who he should've bagged a Bolivian secret agent who sought to exact revenge on a budding Bolivian despot who was responsible for the murder of her father and he also raped and then murdered his mother and daughter right before he burned their house down.
Those two certain had something in common. Both wanted revenge the Bolivian agent got hers, but Bond apparently took another path. While this film started with revenge the major theme of this movie was trust. Could M trust 007 to do his duty?
M couldn't trust her bodyguards. One tried to kill her at the beginning of the movie although Bond dispatched him fast. M admonished Bond for being quick on the "licence to kill". In the end M trusted Bond in the long run.
So we find ourselves in Italy, Haiti, Bolivia and finally Russia which is where the films final act was played out although the major plot was largely resolved before Bond dropped off one of the villains in a Bolivian desert. And the woman he didn't bag, she was gorgeous, even used as a bargaining chip. Especially when Bond procured the use of a DC-3 aircraft, although Bond offer the Land Rover he was driving around in on the way to this airstrip. She was even offered to this same Bolivian dictator who proved himself a creep, especially near the end when he was about to have his way with a servant whom he had tied up in his suite. This was one guy who needed his comeuppance.
Finally while Craig's Bond is a very ruthless character, he seems at times very tender. As a secret agent with a licence to kill, indeed a secret intelligence agent hitman, one wouldn't normally expect a hint of warmth in him. This Bond displays that and for some reason it doesn't bother me.
Go see this film!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Sneak Peek: Star Trek
AP vid:
J.J. Abrams' reboot of the Star Trek movie franchise doesn't hit the big screen until May 2009, but you can get a first look here.I can't wait to see this movie!
Monday, November 17, 2008
Barack Obama: Commander in Geek
When Barack Obama takes office as president in January, he'll make history.Well I wonder if the next Star Trek movie will have a special screening at the White House when it comes out next summer.
As the first commander in chief conversant in geek, of course.
True, the young Bill Clinton collected comics, and the young Ronald Reagan devoured science fiction, but arguably no White House occupant was ever as steeped in the culture as a responsible adult as Obama, the fan and name-dropper of Spider-Man, Superman and a certain U.S.S. Enterprise engineer.
"Just the notion that perhaps someone that may have learned a bit of ethics and morality from [Gene] Roddenberry's future dream for mankind, or is familiar with Spider-Man's 'with great power comes great responsibility,' well, it warms my soul," says Ain't It Cool's Harry Knowles.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Un Chien Andalou
I just saw this movie in class last month and it was interesting. Indeed more interesting than what Hollywood puts out today. I hope that you'll find it interesting as well.
Read this review by Roger Ebert!
Here's a direct link to the film here.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
More scenes from The Jazz Singer
Mother of Mine
My Mammy
Previous post on The Jazz Singer here.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Introducing the talking movie
More scenes from The Jazz Singer is coming up on the 30th of the month.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Reefer Madness
Let me just preferace this to say that I'm not supporting or advocating drug use in anyway!
This is probably everything a movie shouldn't be. Something that was intended to be taken seriously, but eventually turned into a bit of a joke. Considered a joke by those who smoke the very substance this film sought to discourage its use.
Originally it was called Tell Your Children but what happens in Hollywood or the film industry (especially outside of the studio system) is that the film had difficulty getting distributed. Financed by a church group who wanted this film distributed to parents to teach them about the dangers of the use of "marihuana" (to us it would be marijuana). Eventually the rights to the film was bought by an infamous exploitation filmmaker who recut the film and renamed it Reefer Madness and distributed the film on the exploitation circuit.
The overacting, poor, and campy production gave it a cult following years after the film was made. It has a cult following among "marihuana" smokers and on college campuses starting in the 1970s.
Duration of this video is about an hour and ten mintues.
There was a colorized version released in 2004 by Legend Films. You can see a trailer for that here.
ADDITION: A reconstructed screenplay with commentary on some of the things this film originally hoped to accomplish.
Monday, July 28, 2008
The Dark Knight
The ending of the movie I saw as poetic in a way that I could imagine was written in the comic books. I also saw a little more Chicago than I would have liked but in other ways the film more than made up for that. A few interesting shocks in the film as far as what happens to some of the characters.
We in fact see three Batman villains in this movie. Of course only two play a significant role in this film. As a matter of fact if you know Batman canon, a movie goer probably knows what happens to a certain district attorney in this film.
If you notice I'm trying not to give too much away. I already noted on my original blog that the other actors to play The Joker (Cesar Romero, Jack Nicholson, and Mark Hamill) have nothing on the character as portrayed by the late Heath Ledger. It's very unfortunate that he won't play this character again. If The Joker is ever brought back to the big screen, the next actor will certain have a challenge on his hands.
At the movie theater where I was, someone called out, "Zeus!" Zeus being a man who at one point in time fued with Hulk Hogan during the original heyday of the WWF. He also made an appearance in Hulk Hogan's movie, No Holds Barred. And you may also know Zeus in the film Friday.
Zeus played a prisoner on a ferry where he saw prison officials were unwilling to activate the detonator in one of the Joker's schemes. He did what he thought prison officials should have done 10 minutes ago. The prison official let him take the detonator out of the box and threw it out of a window on the ferry. That whole scene involving prisoners and everyday citizens on two different ferries was a deep scene.
Also there was a lot of cheering in my theater for this film. Especially for the stunts such as Batman's use of his motorcycle and for Zeus throwing out the detonator. Laughter for some of the Joker's sillier scenes even if the Joker kills someone.
Almost like Batman Begins, this film is a little on the long side. Whenever I thought the movie was finally over it keeps going. I thought the Joker getting arrested was supposed to be the end but it was only the beginning. There was certainly a lot going on in this film.
Go see this movie when you get the first chance or if you don't like the theaters get this for your home enjoyment when it comes out! Don't get a bootleg copy either!
The Dark Knight!
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Star Trek Music Re-recorded
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Destruction of the USS Enterprise
Could they have dreamed of a redesigned version of the familiar Starship Enterprise? Of course it's likely that's something they're going to see in the new feature film coming out next year.
Could they imagine the death of a beloved character such as Mr. Spock, Kirk, or Data? Indeed could they expect that any of these characters could magically come back from the dead as Mr. Spock did in Star Trek 3: The Search for Spock.
Speaking of Star Trek 3 this is where this scene comes from. This begs another question. Could fans ever imagine that their favorite starship would be destroyed? Well that's what happened in this clip I provided.
Perhaps while I'm on my Star Trek trip I'll rank my favorite Star Trek movies.
The Great Train Robbery
A milestone in film history was one of the first narrative film, The Great Train Robbery (1903), directed and photographed by Edwin S. Porter - a former Thomas Edison cameraman. It was a primitive one-reeler action picture, about 10 minutes long, with 14-scenes, filmed in November 1903.Read more about it here.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
The Flash TV series intro
Sunday, June 01, 2008
The Wire
At first the program was basically a look at the police investigating a drug dealing organization. The recent episodes airing currently on BET on Tuesday and Saturday nights involving looking at the police, criminals, schools, and politics. An interesting mix for a program that I always thought of as a cop show.
This program only lets me know that cop shows need not be glamorous. Not that they always were it's just that none have been as gritty as this program set in Baltimore, Maryland. The last few episode that I saw this past week, viewers saw detectives come to the realization that abandoned buildings in Baltimore were tombs to countless bodies laid out by a drug-dealing organization, the Stanfield Organization.
Also we see various young men in the educational system. Some drop out of school and become criminals and some are able to escape and may prove to have a future. One outright becomes a contract killer, another becomes a drug addict. There's this little boy, I can't imagine him being older that 10 years old out there in the streets already using a foul mouth and perhaps even dealing. Also the subject of a severe beating by the future contract killer.
I should also add, there was another kid. Apparently he's a snitch and snitching is bad to some people, he gets beaten by some other boys in his group home where he was placed. Unfortunately he's only there because the state had put rules into place where he's forced to live in a group home while they figure out where else they can place him. This is after his foster mother was killed when some thugs firebombed their home even though the home was under police surveillance.
This show is raw, and my only regret was this I didn't see this show develop properly. Oh now I remember what the second season involved, an investigation of a union working some docks in a harbor. So in that season there were three angles the police, criminals, and organized labor.
I think BET finally finished off season 4 perhaps I can finally watch the final season. The new twist in that season in the press. Let's see how that plays out!
The Wire from Wikipedia
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country
When I get the first opportunity I'm going to watch this film all the way thru. For right now I want to wet your appetites.
This Star Trek movie is the last that would feature most of the original crew. Especially Capt. Kirk in command of the USS Enterprise. We'd see him again in Star Trek Generations, for those of you who've seen the movie, you know what happened. For those of you who haven't well watch the film when you get the chance.
Thursday, May 08, 2008
D.W. Griffith's Birth of Nation 1915
BTW, I have enabled comment moderation for the first time on this blog. When I posted last night, I got a comment right quick and it gave me some trouble. Such as spyware trouble and I don't want any more comments with links to anything other than safe websites that doesn't cause my brower to disappear unless I click on anything to send me to a spyware site. Beyond that just leave your impressions of this film, positive or negative anything resembling racism won't get published, guaranteed.
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Those vids were provided by TVDays.com. The combined duration of these vids is about 164 minutes just over two full hours.
I posted this earlier in April however I you want to see this movie in it's entirety but of less viewable quality go here.
Since this blog appreciates old films
Vid provided by TVDays.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Clint Eastwood aims to revive Dirty Harry in new movie
This should be interesting!Clint Eastwood's gun-slingin', smack-talkin' tough guy, Dirty Harry, is rumored to be returning to the big screen, but - spoiler alert! - he may not live to see a sixth sequel.
Britain's The Sun newspaper reports that Eastwood, 77, wants his Dirty Harry character - immortalized in five movies - to go out in style.
The ruthless policeman, who uttered the infamous "make my day" line, was first seen in 1971 and made his last appearance in 1988's "The Dead Pool."
In March, Ain't It Cool News reported a rumor that 'Gran Torino,' Eastwood's lastest production for Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow, was indeed this sixth installment in the Dirty Harry series. 'Torino' is slated for a December release.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
The first film appearance of The Three Stooges
Here's more on The Three Stooges and here's a Wikipedia article on Soup to Nuts.
Oh I just have to admire how they made movies back then. It seems like the late 20s and early 30s made for an interesting time for filmmaking. Almost makes me long for some of the techniques that were used in that era. Of course we can never go backwards in time and use the buildings from that era that were torn down and the automobiles or the technologies that were used back then.
Enjoy!
Sunday, April 27, 2008
How 'Dallas' Won the Cold War
Read the whole thing! Via Instapundit.Let us now pause in somber tribute to the 30th anniversary of a momentous -- and shockingly unremembered -- turning point in the long twilight struggle between communism and capitalism. An event every bit as important as the Nixon-Khrushchev Kitchen Debate, Ronald Reagan's "Tear Down this Wall" speech and Yakov Smirnoff's defection to the West.
We write, of course, about the debut of "Dallas," the 13-year soap opera that shook the world.
Yes, April 1978 was the first time our nation turned its lonely eyes to Southfork Ranch, the winningly diabolical genius of J.R. Ewing (as played by Larry Hagman) and Victoria Principal's high-waisted pantsuits. It was the booze-and-sex-soaked caricature of free enterprise and executive lifestyles that proved irresistible not just to stagflation-weary Americans but viewers from France to the Soviet Union to Ceausescu's Romania.
"Dallas" wasn't simply a television show. It was an atmosphere-altering cultural force. Lasting nearly as long as recovering alcoholic Larry Hagman's second liver, it helped define the 1980s as a glorious "decade of greed," ushering in an era in which capitalism became cool, even though weighted with manifold moral quandaries. Beginning with the famous "Who Shot J.R.?" cliffhanger at the end of Season Two, "Dallas" was either the highest or second-highest rated show in the United States for a half-decade, showing up in Abba songs and Ozzy Osbourne videos, spinning off the mega-hit "Knots Landing" and inspiring such book-length academic analysis as French academic Florence Dupont's "Homère et 'Dallas': Introduction à une Critique Anthropologique."
After a long hip parade of unironic countercultural icons such as Luke of "Cool Hand Luke" and Randle Patrick McMurphy of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," "Dallas" created a new archetype of the anti-hero we loved to hate and hated to love: an establishment tycoon who's always controlling politicians, cheating on his boozy wife and scheming against his own stubbornly loyal family. But no matter how evil various translators tried to make J.R. and his milieu ("Dallas, you merciless universe!" ran the French lyrics added to the wordless theme song), viewers in the nearly 100 countries that gobbled up the show, including in the Warsaw Pact nations, came to believe that they, too, deserved cars as big as boats and a swimming pool the size of a small mansion.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Matrix Brothers to open a studio in Chicago
The reclusive Wachowski brothers, two of Chicago's creative sons best known for their Matrix movies, have found an equally unassuming North Side spot to edit their projects.Perhaps Chicago can be a media mecca of sorts as New York and LA are at this moment.
City officials say a post-production studio will open in what has been known as the Ravenswood Studio, 5645 N. Ravenswood, just north of Bryn Mawr.
Late last year, Andy and Larry Wachowski, who grew up in Beverly Hills -- the South Side neighborhood -- approached Ald. Patrick O'Connor (40th) about the vacant North Side building in his ward.
"Actually, they came in to see me. [They] wanted to talk about what their plans were and that there were no impediments or prohibitions to putting it there," O'Connor said.
"They did say that they had had a fairly good search going on and this place fit their needs very well, and that they wanted to be in Chicago and on the North Side in general. . . . They said they loved the idea of doing work in Chicago and being in Chicago, and that was enough for me," he said.
"I did ask for a small part in one of their upcoming projects, but I don't think that will happen," the alderman quipped.
The brothers couldn't be reached for comment. But the city's building department records show that permits were pulled in recent months for interior renovations, a new roof, roof-mounted equipment and window replacement, according to agency spokesman Bill McCaffrey.
It is not clear whether the Wachowskis were able to use the studio -- where crews continue to work -- to finish their upcoming film "Speed Racer," an update of the 1960s cartoon out next month.
Sunday, April 06, 2008
I don't know how this is possible
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Another film on the needs list
I don't think I have ever seen this movie all the way thru. Just now on Turner Classic Movies, a channel I don't normally get at home, I saw the last two or three scenes of this movie. The one actor you might know from this film is Lawrence Jacob Hilton who many of you might know from Welcome Back Kotter.
Anyway, this movie was set in 1960s Chicago. I started paying attention when I saw a scene on the Chicago L. Dude was on the train with some girl and then he tells her that he had to get off the train. He's frantically trying to find his buddy it turns out.
Just one this, his buddy was getting beaten by some thugs. Beaten within an inch of his life literally. The number 1 thugs kicks him telling him to get up, but then realizes this "turkey" ain't gettin' up. After the other two hoodlums run away so does the number 1 thug. And dude finds his friend, the beating occurred under some dark L tracks.
Anyway I don't want give away too much of the ending. But I enjoyed the retro (at least for that time) soundtrack full of 1960's MoTown hits. Well this film was based in the 1960s. Surely this movie was a departure from 1970s blaxploitation.
If I don't find this film, perhaps you will!
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Jon Pertwee - Kung Fu Fighting!
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
More than Just a Timelord
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
1940s animated Superman
Monday, March 24, 2008
A documentary - American Beer
In any event, let's talk about this documentary. I'm not a beer drinker but for the past few months I've been interested in this idea that people can brew their own beer at home. They choose not to drink a Coors, Budweiser, or even Miller. Those are the mainstream beers out there.
Of course beyond those there are much smaller brewers out there. Some of them you might see at your local supermarket, liquor store, or bar. In other instances some of these brewers might operate their own bars or they may operate a brewpub. Essentially some brewers own a restaurant and they serve their own "homegrown" beer.
This is what American Beer is about. These smaller brewers who had a passion for beer and turned it into a moneymaking enterprise, even if they're not exactly millionaires. It could be concluded that some of these craft or micro-brewers are taking advantage of a market that just doesn't like the beer provided by the more mainstream brewers.
To be sure I haven't had a beer from a craft/micro-brewery. Though I do think about it, besides I can always find my way to Goose Island and have their craft brew when I get the first opportunity. What I do know is that I've had a Bud-light and a Coors and while I drank them I didn't have a great love and this documentary makes me even more curious about how much different these craft brews are.
This movie was a lot of fun to watch. These guys take a road trip from coast to coast from Maine to Washington state. They sampled beers from 38 breweries in 40 days. They interview these businessmen and women who own these breweries. They tour these breweries even taking a look at the oldest brewery in the United States, D.G. Yuengling & Son. This brewery is so old, these intrepid guys literally tour some underground caves where once upon a time they would store the brews before the time of refrigeration.
Some breweries are very well run and they almost look like major league operations. There are those that aren't but they might still be able to get the job done. Most of these brewers started off homebrewing with most having jobs one was a foreign journalist and another was in the computer industry and another still used to be a police detective. They all left their respective occupation/professions to become brewers.
I won't give too much away but this is a great road trip style documentary. Perhaps there might be other roadtrip style documentaries out there. Maybe one wouldn't want to watch a documentary touring bakeries or what not, but surely one documentarian can actually do one about visiting historic sites around the nation.
I would suggest though that you buy this documentary when you get the first opportunity. I don't know if it's available in a video store near you, but surely you can trust the internet to provide you with this documentary.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
I'm in a James Bond mood now!!!
Also ever since I discovered Doctor Who, I've been writing almost non-stop about Doctor Who or even about sci-fi in general. I don't want this to be a genre blog I want this to be more well rounded.
I did do a Bond film, Casino Royale. Of course I saw the film itself on the now fabled TV-Links website though I do have it on DVD now! Still I just got into a For Your Eyes Only mood and then I went back to the legendary Sean Connery. One of my favorite Connery Bond film believe it or not is From Russia with Love.
So anyway it'll take me some time but I want to get back to this blog's roots. The other movies that I have reviewed overtime of course can be seen in the sidebar. Most of them are great movies.
Some are period pieces. Some is mostly for entertainment and I'd think you would enjoy it. Others are just good movies worth watching and I'll allow you to make of them as you will.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Star Trek:Enterprise Intro
While this post was titled Star Trek: Enterprise, I still refer to this series as simply Enterprise. Enterprise was this series' original title until the third season when Star Trek was added to it. Now I want to just go out and find a DVD set since the series isn't even running in syndication anymore these days!
Oh and this intro is an intro I liked better than the one used during the first two seasons. The tempo if much faster than the slower pace of the tune of the first two seasons. It feels a lot more optimistic than it did in the first two seasons. Almost as if the crew of the starship Enterprise is a lot more confident about their mission!
Monday, February 11, 2008
More comic book superhero news
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm - Intro
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Siskel & Ebert Review Batman Mask of The Phantasm
I bought this movie on VHS a few years ago. I finally got a chance to see this movie having missed it the first time around. It seems it was out one week then the next week it was out of the theaters.
I was a fan of the animated series that aired on FOX usually during the week. I was often able to watch this program after school. It intrigued me because of the animation.
I still didn't think this was the true Batman. I don't think I ever knew about the Time Burton Batman movies, either Batman or Batman Returns. The animated Batman that I saw circa 1992-93 was much more serious than watching Adam West or Burt Ward from the 1960s.
When I finally saw the movie I enjoyed it. The film soundtrack was top notch and atmospheric. The intro chilled my soul in the worst way.
I'll also give one important distinction about this movie, near the end of the film you would catch me sobbing. I'll just leave it at that. The plot wasn't the best, but it's still an enjoyable movie.
Great animation and the superhero is broughtback to his more human elements. Did you know Batman/Bruce Wayne had a girlfriend once upon a time?
Check it out and watch with your children! Especially if you look at the review by the late Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert.
Friday, February 08, 2008
Wrath Of Khan: The Battle of the Mutara Nebula
This is without a doubt one of the best scenes in the movie. Kahn vs. Kirk. Reliant vs. Enterprise. The battle damage inflicted. The missed shots. Even the leadership qualities and abilities. It's really something!
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Blaxploitation at its worst
I'll have to admit this trailer has a very catchy background song but I was taken about when I saw the title of this movie. It makes me want to see it more!
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Doctor Who - The War Games - final scene
The Doctor is finally caught by the Time Lords. He and his companions Jamie and Zoe attempt to make a final escape before they are stopped by the Time Lords. Jamie and Zoe are sent back to their respective time periods with their only memories of the Doctor being their first adventures with him.
The Doctor of course has to meet his punishment. His intereference during his adventures in time and space has the Time Lords changing his appearance, being exiled to Earth, and the secrets of his Tardis taken from him. This is how we left the character most would refer to as the Second Doctor.
Enjoy!
Monday, January 21, 2008
Star Trek: Under Construction
Friday, January 18, 2008
TrekMovie.com has a review and video of a teaser trailer
Last night they just have a teaser of how the Enterprise might look in the movie. You can check that post out here. Otherwise you can read what they say about the trailer here. Almost a year until the film itself is released and they already are releasing trailers at least out there in Hollywoodland.
If you want to know what I think. I really enjoy the Star Trek sounds and seeing the old-brand new Enterprise. It was really great seeing it under construction. Hopefully in the months ahead we'll see a little more!