What the heck is a "Radio Picture"?!?

What the heck is a "Radio Picture"?!?
Posted on May 17, 2015 at 01:48PM
View the original on Instagram https://instagram.com/p/2yr_v_yrhO/

And now the sequel to #CatPeople: "Curse of the Cat People"! I have not seen this before... Co-directed by Robert Wise! #waaaaa?

And now the sequel to #CatPeople: "Curse of the Cat People"! I have not seen this before... Co-directed by Robert Wise! #waaaaa?
Posted on May 17, 2015 at 12:10AM
View the original on Instagram https://instagram.com/p/2xOZtCSrs3/

My Reaction to the "47 Ronin" Trailer.

If you haven't seen it feel free to go find it on YouTube. I won't repost it here. Read on to see why.

The White Messiah Complex is in full force with this film. Seriously? Take one of the seminal stories from Japanese history and rejigger it with a white guy saving the day? This is shameful. As for the fantasy elements they look like fun. I'm annoyed they had to go and stick in a white guy. It's only what we white guys have been doing for centuries. Can we please let our fear of a small dick go please? /rantover /fornow

The previous was what I posted on the i09.com post featuring the trailer. I could go on about how absurd it is, but I won't I think my above commentary covers things.

Oh HOW I could go on!!

Space Battleship Yamato live-action trailer

Trailer arrives for anime adaptation Space Battleship Yamato - Den of Geek

That looks SWEET!! Can’t wait to see this!  My only problem is that the ages of the leads don’t look right. In the original series everyone looks early 20s. That’s what makes Kodai’s character arch so ironic—if he’s in his 30s, it’s OK, but not as interesting.  Ah well.
And I don’t get people who criticize the adaption of the costumes to live-action—I don’t think the body-hugging (OK, they hugged Yuki) jumpsuits from the series would look very good in real life—unless you think the costumes look great on Power Rangers. >_<

This Blade Runner tribute video (not what it sounds) made my eyes well up for some reason.

This Blade Runner tribute video (not what it sounds) made my eyes well up for some reason.



BLADE RUNNER revisited >3.6 gigapixels from françois vautier on Vimeo.

BTW, originally, I found it here: http://www.dangerousminds.net/comments/blade_runner_revisited/

KNEEL

falconieri:

emmaharckham:

mikeballan:

Zod has Arrived

Best Bad Guy Ever..!

Awesome.

Want.

The Latest Godzilla

error888:

Godzilla 2012 - News And Info: New Legendary Pictures GODZILLA Design To Be Revealed At Comic Con?

YAY! It’s not the Tristar Godzilla!!  Thank God(zilla) for small favors!!

Now if they can just resist the urge to use all-CGI!!

Awesome new Metropolis poster for silent film festival in San Fran

Awesome new Metropolis poster for silent film festival in San Fran reblogged from error888:

geek-art:

macacafuscata:

proto-jp:

gkojax:

deroli:

ajourneyroundmyskull:

lucyphermann:

nevver:Metropolis Resurrected

20th Century Boys

rainbowhill:

peafield:

20????

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20th Century Boys

Last night, for some reason, I couldn’t sleep so I ended up watching this film. It was so much better than I thought it was going to be! Really good fun. I highly recommend it if you haven’t seen it yet. Watch it here.

Thanks for the link! I love the manga, haven’t watched the movie yet. I can’t wait!

I thoroughly enjoyed the first two of the 20th Century Boys movies, but the 3rd left me a little flat.  It was still a lot of fun, and worth watching, but it didn’t quite live up to the rest of the trilogy.  Ironically, I want to read the manga to see if it ends the same way.

Incidentally, the icon above is one of my favorite icons of all time—second only to the Laughing Man Logo from Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.  I love iconography that clearly has a meaning to it, without that meaning being apparent.  The Tomodachi Mark (above) looks very distinct, but what does it mean?!?!  You’ll have to watch the movies or read the manga to find out!!

FLOW (2008)

Buy it!

Would you recommend it? Definitely. In fact, I think most of us in the Western World are so in the dark about water, I think this documentary should be required watching.


Technically any good? While it does come across as very heavy-handed and preachy and doesn't try too hard to present any opposing view points (though it does try), the facts it presents are undeniable and incredibly disturbing. It's downright scary how much power big business has over the water in the ground. And just think about how important water is to commerce--as a result, water ends up being the number 3 commodity behind oil and electricity. Yeah. I didn't know that either. Another fact it presents is that humans account for just 10% of the water use in the world. The rest is split unevenly between agriculture and business--the majority of which goes to business.


How did it leave me feeling? Angry, for two reasons. First, because no one seems to be aware of or have a problem with these giant companies using and controlling so much water. Second because the film pretends that a few isolated victories against these corporations means that we can stop them. Protests have stopped some companies from essentially stealing water, but Coca-Cola, for instance, is a huge company. They didn't lose that battle in India, they just put their resources someplace else instead of wasting time with a bunch of protesters. So, I could have done without the corny, "speak truth to power" BS and stuck with the fear-mongering since that's what is needed.


Would you sit through it again? YES! I want to go over the facts presented again and try to pick up on things I missed the first time through. This docu is jammed with interesting stuff and interesting people.

Seriously, watch this movie!!

HARVEY (1950)

Buy it!

Would you recommend this? Definitely, if you're looking for a sweet movie that's maybe just a bit darker than you'd expect. It's not dark, but wasn't as warm and light as I thought it would be.


Technically any good? There's only a bit toward the end where the script starts to let us down--it's just a slow patch where I found myself confused as to what the heck the movie was doing. However, everything around that slow patch is pretty solid. The movie is based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning play and it shows in the witty dialogue and ironic situations. The acting is as spot-on as you'd expect. However, I found Jimmy Stewart's pantomime to be a bit less convincing than I would have liked, though I'm sure it was fine for the day and certainly didn't knock me out of the movie.


How did it leave me feeling? Warm and fuzzy inside. I usually don't like to feel that way, so I give the movie even more credit for making me not mind. Three-cheers for being a bit darker, too. I'm sure if someone ever (god forbid) remade this movie it would be a good deal lighter.


Would you sit through it again? I would sit through it again, but it's one of those movies that does a great job--so good that I don't think I'd want to sit through it again for a while.

SLEEP DEALER (2009) (Preemptive Strike)

watch the trailer

FIRST OFF: THIS TRAILER CONTAINS SPOILERS! BE WARNED. I watched it and was annoyed seeing, or rather hearing, what sound like major plot points given away in the cheesy voice over.

OK, now on with the pocket review:

Positive Experience/Entertaining? Well, if you've seen enough trailers you can spot the ones made on a budget. This trailer felt like one of those and sadly, I think once you see past all the cheesy overproduction of the trailer you can see something that might be a good movie. (Sadly because most people won't bother to see past the cheese to the very meaty concept.)


Technically any good? First off, I think this is what we, in the US, would call a b-movie. As in, low budget. It's from Mexico and based on the fact the trailer allowed not a single line of dialog to be heard, I'm guessing it's in Spanish. That's what bugged me the most about this trailer--we have no idea if the film is even in English.

NOTE TO MARKETING PEOPLE: If people are going to be turned off by a non-English-language movie, they won't likely stick around for the whole film once they realize it's not in their mother tongue. SO TELL US NOW.

FX-wise, this movie looks pretty reasonable. Acting wise, it's hard to tell since so much of the trailer is just FX shots. From what the trailer does show us, I'm pretty damn intrigued by it. Generally speaking, it looks like this might be evidence that talented people are finally getting some of that cheaper filmmaking technology.


How did it leave me feeling? Frustrated with the state of trailer-making. If I were a marketer I'd do this film much better justice. Of course, while I'm enthralled with the concept--I can't tell if the movie is any good since the trailer was cornball and ruined bits of the movie. But it looks interesting if nothing else.


Final Rating? NFI - NetFlix It. Definitely looks like a fun scifi flick even if it doesn't quite live up to it's Phillip-K.-Dickishness qualities.

Sleep Dealer opens here in the US on April 17, 2009. Click the poster image above to see the trailer.

Princess and the Warrior (2000)

Buy it!

Positive Experience/Entertaining? Geh... kind of. I guess. But annoying as hell, too.


Technically any good? ARG! NO! It meanders all over the place and is frustrating at every turn. The characters in the movie do everything against logic yet somehow (duh, because the writer wants it) they are able to get away with their rock-stupid choices.

Seriously, at almost every point of this movie, there is a character that is doing something ill-advised, illogical, or downright STUPID and yet, fate (the writer) allows things to generally work out for the characters in the end.

I think the film was trying to be some sort of fable, but ends up being very uneven and contrived.

The acting was perfectly reasonable, but no amount of good acting could undo the rest of the flaws of this film.


How did it leave me feeling? FRUSTRATED. I had to have one of my venting sessions afterwards because it was just a mess. I really like Tom Tykwer as a director--I loved Run Lola Run and enjoyed Winter Sleepers quite a lot. However, The Princess and the Warrior was just annoying as hell to sit through.

WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE (1995)

Buy it! Watch it online!

Positive Experience/Entertaining? Well, I enjoyed it, but you might not. To say this movie is dry is an understatement (but I like dry).


Technically any good? I think it manages to do exactly what it tries to do. It's a little meandering, but not in any way that really harms the film. Don't expect a clear plot, though--it doesn't have one. It's more like a series of events in this young girl's life mashed into the span of a few days. If you've heard of the absurdist genre, then you've found one of the few films in existence that can be called absurdist. Think parody without being funny and you kind of know what absurdism is.

The acting is spot-on from the cast--though I can't say being boring, whiny, suburban types is that difficult to play. Heather Matarazzo is pretty amazing as the lead.


How did it leave me feeling? Entertained, but dryly so. You might say that if William Shakespeare had grown up in the modern suburbs and was Woody Allen, this would be one of his tragedies. Nothing epic, mind-blowing or tremendous, but a bitingly accurate commentary of modern suburban life where everyone suffers and there's no happy ending.


Final Rating? SIYL - See If You Like. It's VERY dry.

TERMINATOR SALVATION (2009) (Preemptive Strike)

Watch the trailer.

Positive Experience/Entertaining? I guess watching the trailer was a positive experience. Honestly, Terminator 3 was such crap I really am not expecting much from Terminator 4. So, with that in mind, it sure looked better than the last one.


Technically any good? The FX look amazing. The FX are at the level I've always wanted them to be at for a Terminator film that takes place in the dark future the first (and best) movie in the series originally predicted. Everything looks great--the robots, the ships, the nuclear leftovers that were once America's cities--it all looks pretty awesome.

It's very sad that Stan Winston isn't around to see his Terminator design used so effectively. :(

Story-wise, I had some problems, however. Based on the trailer, the movie shows in detail what the first film only talks about--the moments that lead up to the first Terminator being sent back in time. With that in mind, don't we know how this movie will end already? And then there's a moment in the trailer that strongly reminded me Battlestar Galactica. So much so that I'm wondering if this couldn't be a prequel to that show.


How did it leave me feeling? Definitely curious and definitely interested, is how it left me feeling. However, in today's world of $12.50 ticket prices and a lousy economy, I'm probably not going to be rushing out to see this film. I'll definitely catch it once it hits Netflix, however.


Final Rating? NFI - NetFlix It for sure--it looks like it'll be a fun romp. However, I'd rather spend my $12.50 on six subway rides and a bag of Fritos.

That's another sad thing--when Terminator 2 came out, I remember thinking how unimpressive the premise was. I remember wishing they had just made a prequel instead of a sequel. Now that they have I guess I'm sad that they couldn't do more to convince me in the trailer that this would be worth my money. It's the only other Terminator film I've wanted them to make.

QUEEN, THE (2006)

Buy it!

Positive Experience/Entertaining? Definitely! It put a human face on these people we know only from the news.


Technically any good? Everything was very solid. The acting was incredible. The script was tight and the story was believable. The only "however" I have here is that the title suggests the movie is actually about the Queen of England. It really isn't. It's only about a part of her life. As such, I found it disappointing.

Maybe it was because I was alive and paying attention during the time period the movie takes place and as a result I didn't need the review of events the film puts its viewers through. That's not to say it wasn't a nicely done review, I just wanted to know more about her life. I mean, of all of the incredible things Queen Elizabeth II has lived through, they picked how she dealt with (former) Princess Diana's death. It was an interesting period, but surely, World War II, or the Falklands, or even the build-up to the Iraq War would have made for better cinema.


How did it leave me feeling? Definitely happy that I saw such wonderful performances from Helen Mirren and Michael Sheen, but ultimately disappointed that we didn't get more of a history lesson. I won't even go into how it was definitely a pro-British-Royalty propaganda movie. (Talk about white-entitlement issues! SHEESH!)


Final Rating? NFI - NetFlix It. Worth seeing for the good acting, but ultimately, I don't think it's really that worth seeing.

SWORD OF DOOM (1966)

Buy it!

Positive Experience/Entertaining? Wow--this movie is pretty incredible. Sadly, it's also got some major flaws that aren't entirely the director's fault.


Technically any good? This is one of those rare occasions where I will include what I'd consider a mild spoiler. So here, I offer a SPOILER WARNING. That's not to say that I'm about to divulge a plot point or anything that might ruin the movie for you. However, this might change the way you view the film or it might even influence you to not bother seeing the movie. So, please keep that in mind as you read the next paragraph. YOU HAVE BEEN SPOILER(ish) WARNED!

SPOILER(ish): This film was to be the first of a series of films based on a huge novel. Sadly, the sequels were never made. As a result, there are quite a few plot lines that are never actually resolved. One MAJOR plot line is included in that, sadly. END SPOILER(ish).

This is very frustrating as this film is really amazing. The acting is superb from almost everyone in the cast and Nakadai, in particular, is INCREDIBLE. Sadly, the ending is simply not satisfying, but keep in mind that just about every other damn thing in the movie is.

FX, for the period, are spot-on. Most of the time, I found myself visually convinced the lead was really slicing into his enemies and sometimes really grinding that blade in there, too. Yikes! OH and the fights were all REALISTIC. None of this BS wire-work that is way to common place now. No gravity leaps or super-powered limbs. Just good, old fashioned (literally) sword fighting.


How did it leave me feeling? Disappointed (see spoiler) but definitely entertained. If films as good as this were still made today, I'd love to see a remake done and perhaps a sequel or two. :)

WATCHMEN (2009)

Positive Experience/Entertaining? Definitely. This movie could have been MUCH worse. A movie for grown-ups about super-heroes. Go figure.


Technically any good? There were a few glaring exceptions, but generally the FX were spot-on. The story, for anyone who knows the graphic novel, is solid and thankfully, the film sticks with it for the most part. The script is tight and includes enough of the original dialog to make the purist in me happy (the cinematography did, also, thankfully). The acting was generally spot-on, as well. I think there were a couple of weak spots acting-wise and I couldn't quite tell what country one character was from because of their shifting accent, but, generally, no one was so bad as to knock me out of the movie.

Two flaws that jump out at me: some of the makeup and the music. I liked the use of pre-existing songs, but the score, while reasonable music on it's own, didn't really fit anywhere it was used. The makeup was a little too caricaturish and not accurate enough for a generally realistic looking film.


How did it leave me feeling? Definitely satisfied. I may be biased, however, as I'm quite used to seeing Hollywood screw the pooch on super-hero movies for decades. However, as far as I can tell, this movie was... actually good. I know--it feels weird for me to even say it.


Final Rating? GSN - Go See Now. It's got a lot of interesting things to say about humanity. It holds together pretty well and is a pretty faithful adaptation if the source material (which happens to be one of my favorite books of all time). BEWARE: this IS a super-hero movie, but it's NOT FOR KIDS. It's actually more violent than the comic it is based on and there's nudity (of both genders, so everyone can enjoy it! YAY!)

PLEASE NOTE: as I write this, I just got home from seeing it. It's 4:21am as I type this. I just might feel differently about this movie with more distance between it and me. But for now, I really did enjoy it quite a bit!

MUTANT CHRONICLES (2009) (Preemptive Strike)

Watch the trailer

Positive Experience/Entertaining? As I sat down to watch the trailer, I expected it to look like a loud, obnoxious and stupid movie. As I watched the trailer, I was actually pleasantly surprised. I am curious to see this movie now.

Technically any good? This is definitely an FX-driven movie and the FX look pretty standard for the action movies of today. One of the things I really like about how the film looks is the cross of time periods. Something anime has been doing for years is mixing design elements from different time periods creating a look that you can't quite put a calendar date on. I really dig this kind of thing and it's used in Mutant Chronicles. Of course, the poster gives the time period away and manages to not show off any of this cool production design, so don't let the Photoshop-special above, bias you necessarily. Then again story-wise, the trailer makes the film look like your standard xenophobic action movie where the heroic white men must fight against the freaky outsiders. However, the above-mentioned mix of time periods intrigues me and there's a reason "fear of the other" movies do so well--they're often a lot of fun.

How did it leave me feeling? Definitely interested to see the movie. However, in today's economic climate, I can't say that it made me want to drop $12.50 on a theatrical movie ticket. Buuut, once it hits Netflix, I'll definitely be checking it out on my flatscreen :)

Final Rating? SIYL - See If You Like big action movies and can afford the movie theater ticket. Don't expect the next Raiders of the Lost Ark (if it even comes close, I'd be surprised) but it looks as good as a Hellboy, to me anyway.

Check out the trailer for yourself by going here: http://www.apple.com/trailers/magnolia/mutantchronicles/ Read more of my Pocket Reviews at http://pocketreviews.net

Posted via email from thepete's posterous

DEATHTRAP (1982)

Buy it!

Positive Experience/Entertaining? YES. It's been a long time since I've seen a movie for adults that actually respected my intelligence and entertained me in a fun way at the same time.


Technically any good? Based on a play of the same name, this movie is pretty tight script and story-wise. There is almost nothing I would have done differently and there was no point in which I was bored. The movie tells its story, develops its characters and slides you to the edge of your seat with subtle skill. The acting from Michael Caine, Dyan Cannon and Christopher Reeve is is solid and very convincing.

The only flaw, I felt, was the music--while there was nothing wrong with it, in theory, I felt it was jarring in a movie that simply didn't need any music. The performances and the editing are enough to pull you along and keep you enveloped. The perfectly reasonable, but fairly period, music knocked me clean out of the film.


How did it leave me feeling? Definitely entertained and definitely satisfied. It made me want to read the play and maybe even want to be in it. :)


Final Rating? SIYL - See If You Like intense but not terrifying moments. There are some definitely adult themes here, but for intelligent adults looking for a fun movie that won't make you feel like you're being spoken down to, this is a perfect pick.

If you haven't seen this movie, don't talk about the plot with anyone. Conversations about this film with even those who haven't seen it are tantamount to spoiler mine fields that are very likely to destroy your first experience watching this film.