Some random video goodness

1) What if Ghostbusters had been made in 1954? here's one man's answer to that burning question:



2) The first official trailer to the Coen Brothers' new movie A Serious Man is here. I think it looks amazing beyond words. Even if the movie doesn't live up, the trailer is a masterpiece (in the loved/hated Emmerich/Bay tradition).

Spider-Man's 8 Most Insane Non-Comic Book Moments

From toplessrobot, Since Stan Lee and Steve Ditko created Spider-Man in 1962, the character's amazing powers, endless wise-cracks and relatable vulnerability have rightfully earned him a place in the hearts of true believers everywhere. But with great power comes...endless ancillary spin-offs. Off of the comic pages, Spidey has become a media juggernaut on the big and small screens. His merchandise rakes in billions annually and Spider-Man Day has displaced Christmas to become the most popular holiday of the year! Hyperbole and blatant lies aside, it's fair to say that the web-head is really awesome. The same isn't true for all of his non-comic book exploits. It's a good thing that Spidey Sense doesn't detect absurdity, otherwise there wouldn't be the head-scratching (and sometimes toe-tapping) wonders that await on this list. Prepare yourself for the biggest WTF? moments in Spidey's career that didn't occur on the printed page.

See them here

Daily Spider-Man - Today's Edition: Peter continues to express concern for Logan and Doc Ock takes control of the situation

Ridley Scott To Direct Alien Prequel

From slashfilm, In May, it was revealed that commercial director Carl Erik Rinsch was attached to direct a remake of Alien. We have since learned that it is more of a prequel than a remake. I was one of the few people actually interested in Rinsch’s involvement. Rinsch’s commercials show an amazing sense of imagination, visual effects artistry and composition (we’ve profiled his amazing commercials on the site). But apparently 20th Century Fox wasn’t happy with the Scott’s choice of director, holding out for the original helmer — Ridley Scott.

At the time I believed that would never happen. Why would Scott return to film a prequel of the most popular sci-fi film franchises of all time? Why compete with yourself? Producing the film seems like a much safer bet. Who knows why, but Ridley Scott has signed on to direct a prequel to Alien.

The film will be a direct prequel to Scott’s original 1979 film. This leads me to believe that the film will tell the story of the crew of the empty ship that is discovered in the first film. In a 2002 interview, Scott wanted to return “to where the alien creatures were first found and explain how they were created.” Chances are this idea would also be incorporated into the reboot. Jon Spaihts will write the screenplay, a job he earned after pitching the studio and production company Scott Free. Spaihts has no produced credits, but has written Shadow 19 and Passengers, both of which are also sci-fi space thrillers.

Men at Work accused of plagiarism over 'Down Under'

I'm not hearing the similarities but this news item reminds me how awesome "Down Under" is.

Daily Spider-Man - Today's Edition: Peter goes above and beyond for a guy that could easily kick his ass

Haiku Hump Day Results -- We turn our attention to the expert

I liked Octo's presentation last week -- no drama, no big reveal, just BANG, winner. Following in his footsteps, congrats JPX!

I can't stand patients
Who can't modulate anger
I fucking hate them!

This one's special because it's got professional perspective and a personal lunacy all its own. Definitely the funniest and most multilayered of any of this week's haul. I was also rather fond of this:

If I don't like you
I'll say with authority
That you are crazy

Sort of makes me think that when JPX and JSP were watching Friday the 13th III suffering through the "He's Nuts!" guy's bullshit a few years back, JPX must've been sitting in his seat thinking, "Please *please* let me get this guy as a patient. Nobody will ever hear from him again." Also, let's all note that now both brothers have aired their grievances towards their exes in ku form.

In graduate school
Most of the students were nuts
Yep, I married one

Catfreek was first runner up with this one...

Nobody loves me
Think I'll have a shooting spree
Why don't they like me

followed by this late entry from Octo...

These damn Rorschach tests
They all look like dead puppies
Man am I depressed

And lastly, I liked these two entries by JSP and Dana's Brain for their brazen insensitivity (Dana's quoted from dad...)

Single male seeks one
Sex addicted psycho chick
We can make it work

My Dad's school of thought,
"Sad? Pull yourself up by your
boot straps! Horse's Ass!"

On a final note, I used Bing to find all the photos for this week's HHD post and I'm using it for all of my thon posts from now on (except now that i have a mac and can use screen capture, I won't have to go dumpster diving for good screenshots this October). Special note of thanks to my friend Zippercut for turning me on to the site.

By the way, if you've got some spare time go check out her fashion blog. She wins my award for best photo library. I was hoping to find a picture of a straightjacket on there somewhere and it took me forever to find one, but she did not disappoint me.


I really liked the flash animation on the front page. I spent some time trying to get the girls on the loveseat to look at each others' boobs, but it looks like their focus is at some fixed point a few feet away. [sigh]

Happy Berfday Octopunk

Haiku Hump Day - Mental Illness

My friend Kaveh, a doctor, once asked rhetorically, "Why is it that when people hear voices in their heads, the voices are always telling them to do really bad things, like kill people? Why can't schizophrenics hear voices that tell them, 'You should go plant some flowers in a quiet corner in the park,' or 'You should go pick up garbage and deposit it in the proper bins,' or something productive or creative?"

The complexity of the mind is unfathomable. In the twisting labyrinth of neural fiber lies ample room for variation. This is what makes it possible for each of us to set our own unique identity. But unfortunately for many people, nestled in this infinite variation are the seeds for self-destructive behavior. All of us have been touched, in some way, by mental illness -- some of us even have degrees in it -- treating it, not suffering from it. --- well, there was this guy...


Mental illness comes in many different forms; some destructive to ourselves or others, and some which can be harnessed and channelled, propelling us towards fabulous accomplishments.


Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder

Schizophrenia

Manic Depression

Anxiety

Narcissism

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Eating Disorders

Depression

Addiction

This week, we ply our rational haiku minds to the topic of mental illness in its myriad forms. And as we do so, remember, but for an infinitesimal twist in the wiring, any of us could have suffered from these disorders (and some of us, to varying degrees, actually have). On the other hand, but for an infinitesimal twist in the wiring, any of us could have written the world's finest novel or solved the energy crisis, or done many other more notable things than churn out haiku on a Wednesday.

Daily Spider-Man - Today's Edition: Peter Parker thinking about Wolverine while in bed with his wife, blames "spider sense"

Where is everyone?

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader starts shooting

From darkhorizons, "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader", the third in the epic series of films based on the bestselling books by C.S. Lewis, began principal photography on location in Queensland, Australia, on Monday, July 27. The production, a joint venture between Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation and Walden Media, continues the franchise which commenced with the 2005 release, "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" and its 2008 follow-up, "Prince Caspian," whose combined global box office gross tops $1.2 billion.

This time around – Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, along with their pesky cousin Eustace Scrubb – find themselves swallowed into a painting and on to a fantastic Narnian ship headed for the very edges of the world.

Read really long article about it here

The Iron Man 2 Footage from SDCC (Kind Of)

From toplessrobot, So that Iron Man 2 footage that was screened for a mere 6000 or so people at Comic Con? Still not on the web. But a few wonderful, wonderful fans made re-made the footage themselves in true swede-style, so you'll at least know what it consisted of. Frankly, I think this is awesome, and I'd like to personally thank each and every nerd who made this clip at SDCC for the rest of us. I'd also like to ask why on god's green earth these studios don't release the actual footage after showing it at these cons. How is showing clips to 6000 people better than showing it to everyone? Wouldn't you build more buzz by just releasing the damn thing for the rest of us? Grr.

Hollywood slump puts famous props on the block

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Harvey Schwartz spent the past 40 years collecting antiques, art and odd items that he rented to TV and movie studios as props and set decorations.

These "aliens" are among the items to be auctioned off by 20th Century Props.

During a tour of his huge North Hollywood, California, warehouse, Schwartz, owner of 20th Century Props, opened a morgue vault door, revealing the legs of a crusty corpse, built for the "X-Files" TV series.

"Fun piece," he said with a smile. "Love the sound effects."

Schwartz must now sell everything -- including a submarine, a fake nuclear warhead and Austin Powers' cryogenic chamber -- at auction because of a dramatic decline in Hollywood productions over the past year. Watch a tour of the prop warehouse »

"I guess it would be the end of Hollywood as I know it and for everyone, because there won't be any place to get all these products again," Schwartz said.

Read the entire article here

Castlevania appears to be happening

Saw helmer James Wan is in final talks to direct a live-action adaptation of the Konami video game Castlevania.

The project has been in development for a couple years, first with Paul W.S. Anderson (Resident Evil) and later with Sylvain White. Wan hasn’t had a hit since the Sundance indie horror film Saw. I never got a chance to see Dead Silence but I was one of the few people who enjoyed his vigilante film Death Sentence. Castlevania is being scripted by Ian Jeffers, Wan’s Death Sentence scribe. The film tells the story of a clan of vampire hunters who attempt to hunt down Dracula in a labyrithine fortress in the Carpathian mountains. Wan gave an update on his myspace blog:

CASTLEVANIAI haven’t blogged in awhile, and I will keep this short.Yes, for those that who have been asking, it has been announced that CASTLEVANIA is one of my next projects. It’s still early on, but I’m truly excited about this project, and i think it will allow me to showcase aside of my film-making that I love - designs and visual. The world of Castlevania is so rich and beautiful, coupled with a great premise and lush characters…I’m honoured to be shepherding this.

Miley Cyrus is Batgirl in "The Dark Knight" Sequel?

From worstpreviews, According to The Globe's Loosch Lips column, Miley Cyrus auditioned for the role of Batgirl in "The Dark Knight" sequel, which Gary Oldman recently revealed will start shooting next year.

The Globe said that Miley "stunned" producers at Warner Bros when she appeared to try out for the part. An insider said that she showed up in a full batsuit to better her chances.

"She was sort of hopping around the room and had even written some dialogue for herself," the insider revealed. "The problem is, some people aren't really convinced Miley has the acting chops to pull it of."

Obviously this sounds like a wild rumor.

[JPX] I only want Batgirl in the next film if she looks like this,

Daily Spider-Man - Today's Edition: Wolverine lacks the mutant ability to count tentacles

Gary Oldman gossips about details of third Batman

The poster is fake, but here's what came out of Comic-Con...

The Dark Knight star Christian Bale will slip back into his rubber Batsuit next year to begin shooting the sequel to the blockbuster hit.
The actor has confirmed he will return as Bruce Wayne and his superhero alter-ego Batman for the third time in director Christopher Nolan's forthcoming film, but a production schedule had yet to be released, reports imdb.com.
However, Bale's co-star Gary Oldman, who portrays Commissioner Gordon in the movie adaptations, broke the news of the return of the Caped Crusader to fans at the annual Comic-Con in San Diego, California on Friday.
"The next Batman is shooting next year. It's at least two years away. But you didn't hear it from me," he said.

Daily Spider-Man - Today's Edition: Logan has a rude awakening

Flynn's Arcade Is in San Diego

From toplessrobot, Right now, the coolest marketing at SDCC has definitely been for Tron Legacy. Marvel might have their little hall of Iron Man armor, but Disney opened up Flynn's Arcade near the convention center, complete with actual, functional Space Paranoids arcade games. It's more or less what I imagined nerd heaven to look like.

Family Guy takes on The Empire Strikes Back

From usatoday, The Family Guy is making its triumphant return to science-fiction. Series creator and executive producer Seth MacFarlane unveiled to Comic Con attendees an extended preview of the upcoming Family Guy parody of George Lucas' classic The Empire Strikes Back. MacFarlane and company are certainly familiar with the genre; the show skewered the original Star Wars several years ago.

Tasteless, vulgar, unflinching, and laugh-out-loud funny, this much-awaited new take on Empire has the potential to gain cult status among the legions of Lucas and MacFarlane fans. Without giving away any spoilers, the new Family Guy special will follow the exploits of the Griffins as they assume their roles on either the side of the Rebellion or the Empire.The Peter Griffin character, as Han Solo, recieved the biggest laughs of the screening with his perfectly executed combination of a character that is equal parts renegade space pirate and fat, rude suburban dad. The show has tentatively set Christmas 2009 as a release date.

MacFarlane also revealed a few details about the show's 2010 or 2011 Return of the Jedi parody. The series' third swipe at the Star Wars franchise will not only involve cast and characters from Family Guy, but will also include the entire casts of other MacFarlane shows, American Dad and the upcoming Family spin-off, The Cleveland Show.

Full Size House To Be Built With LEGO Bricks

From geekology, James May, co-host of the British Top Gear television series, is going to attempt to build a full size, two story house entirely out of LEGO bricks.

As part of his BBC series James May's Toy Stories, he plans to build a two-storey house in the middle of Denbies Wine Estate in Dorking.
May will be hosting a building day on Saturday, August 1, when members of the public can help him with the challenge.

The millions of bricks came all the way from the Czech Republic. The house will be life-size with a staircase, toilet and shower.

I would live there. And by live there I mean come home drunk, pass out on the floor, and wake up with LEGO marks all over my face. Then maybe some puking action.

Box office Report: ‘G-Force’ beats ‘Ugly Truth’ and ‘Potter’ with $32.2 million

From ew, Neither the magic of Harry Potter nor the combined star power of Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler was enough to keep a crew of wise-cracking guinea pigs from scurrying to the top of the box office this weekend. Disney’s family comedy G-Force, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and featuring the voices of Nicolas Cage, Will Arnett, and Penelope Cruz as a team of world-saving rodents, made an estimated $32.2 million in its debut. Despite opening hot on the heels of the one-week old Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the animation/live action hybrid pic was a hit with young audiences, pulling 55 percent of its viewers from the under-18 crowd.

But Potter’s box office magic hasn’t worn off just yet: The series’ sixth installment landed in the number two spot its second weekend with $30 million, bringing its total to $221.8 million. After just 12 days in theaters, Half-Blood is already the fifth biggest hit of the year domestically, not to mention overseas, where the powerhouse has raked in an additional $236 million.
There was plenty for adults to enjoy at the box office, too. The Ugly Truth, a raunchy R-rated rom-com that pits Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler in a battle of the sexes, scored an impressive $27 million bow, a career best for both Heigl and director Robert Luketic (Legally Blonde).

The weekend’s other wide release, Warner Bros’ creepy Orphan — starring Peter Sarsgaard and Vera Farmiga — pulled in $12.8 million from an audience that was 55 percent female.

Lower down on the chart, Fox Searchlight’s (500) Days of Summer (at number 11 with $3 million) is still building momentum. The quirky rom-com posted a hefty $19,176 per-site average and a 95 percent increase over its debut last weekend.

Tron Legacy trailer

This is that Tron Comic Con trailer that was shown only once last year. Until now there have only been very bad bootlegs available. Here it is all nice and shiny. Watch it before it gets disabled.

Lil' Anakin Skywalker reflects on The Phantom Menace 10 years later

From geekology, his is an interview with Jake Lloyd, the kid that played little Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode One (ten years ago!) talking about the effect being in the film has had on his life. SPOILER ALERT: Apparently he got made fun of in school and is blamed for ruining the movie. It made me kind of sad. I mean, I didn't cry or anything, but I did burn an effigy of George Lucas and cast a spell.

Daily Spider-Man - Sunday Edition: Pete and M.J. blather while Doc Ock makes assumptions

The Simpsons Awarded Guiness World Record for Longest Running Sitcom

From slashfilm, There was a bit of a surprise today at the Simpsons Comic-Con panel. Unbeknown to Groening and the other members of the panel, a representative from the Guinness Book of World Records appeared on stage for a big reveal: He announced that The Simpsons is now the longest running sitcom in the world, displacing The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet which had 435 episodes.

It was also announced that they now have the Guinness for the most Emmy’s for a single show, and the show was selected by Guinness readers as one of the top 100 records of the decade. They were a bit unclear on what that last award meant, but I figure it’s something along the lines of a lifetime achievement award for breaking so many records.

Music Fridays July 2009, aka it’s all about the venue

So I’ve attended three Friday night concerts in July, but have been too busy and/or lazy to write about them. In chronological order, here goes.

Friday July 3rd, drove up to New Hampshire to see Adam Franklin, billed as “the best guitar player you’re never heard of” (toshack highway, magnetic morning, swervedriver). He played a mix of rocking jams and shoegazey stuff, very creative playing, lots of work with bending strings, plays like the guitar’s an extension of himself. Teeny tiny random NH venue, rickety seats, cheap concessions, genial and appreciative crowd of all ages, great show and experience all around.

Friday July 10th, epic 7 hour bus ride (cuz of Friday traffic) up to Burlington VT to see Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam. You’ve heard of Davy only if you read my post about Jeff Beck: Davy's a 20-something kid from the Isle of Man who plays and sings classic and original electric blues like… well, he’s been compared to Clapton and Hendrix, not just by me. He and Back Door Slam are touring in support of Chickenfoot this summer, so I’ll see them in Boston next month, but I wanted to see Davy headline a small venue, thus the trek up to VT. Because of the extra long busride I got to the venue late, but hey, Burlington VT has mellow crowds, and I was able to worm my way almost to the front immediately, and was leaning on the stage by the end of the show (12:30am). The show was so amazing, I don’t know what to say. Davy is an incredible guitarist with a great stage presence, and his new bass player and drummer are much more skilled than the former back up players, and the three of them just tore the roof off the place, to the delight of the crowd. The drummer actually broke not one but two snare heads in the course of the show, which meant there was a pause while he affixed a new one. That’s what I call rock’n roll.

As I’m getting older I’m ever less willing to travel for shows (hell sometimes I skip shows in town) but I will so travel to see these guys play. My left ear was buzzing for three days, so maybe next time I should actually wear the earplugs.

Finally, last night was Steely Dan playing Gaucho and other tunes at the Wang Theater in Boston. I’d seen them before in Mansfield but the theater accoustics were much better suited to their style of music. Donald Fagen’s distinctive voice takes a while to warm up, and this time I got to hear “Time out of Mind” played and sung as it should be, very satisfying. Fagen is kinetic and interesting to watch, flailing around and opening and shutting his mouth like a jazzy Kermit the Frog. Walter Becker's onstage persona is reserved though his bass playing is not reserved in the least. The backup band is a collection of exceedingly talented jazz horns and percussionists so the jams were downright sizzling. Much as I love the typical concert in which the audience doesn't know what tune will be played next, there's also something very satisfying about hearing the songs from a specific album played in order. Now I kinda wish I had also gone to see them play Aja Wednesday night... drat that whole job thing!

Daily Spider-Man - Today's Edition: JPX called it

Ayyyyy!

"The Strangers" Sequel to Shoot in September

From worstpreviews, Intrepid Pictures has announced that it is planning to begin filming the sequel to the horror film "The Strangers" this September. The new movie is being called "The Strangers: Part 2."

Director of the original, Bryan Bertino, has written the script for the second installment but has been replaced by French helmer Laurent Briet to direct.

The sequel, which is written by Bertino, is said to take place in a trailer park. No word on whether Liv Tyler will return.

Released in 2008, the original "The Strangers" was a surprise hit, earning over $80 million in worldwide ticket sales on a $9 million budget.

Want now: Imperial Walker Bunk Bed

From geekology, Some guy went and built his son an AT-AT themed bunk bed. And by themed I mean it's actually an AT-AT. It almost makes me wish I had had a custom bunk bed growing up. But sleeping in the garage clutching a gas can builds character, right? THEN WHY AM I STILL ONLY A LEVEL 2 BLOGGER?!

Why you should never propose on live television

What kind of plot could Asteroids possibly have?

From worstpreviews, Universal Pictures recently announced that it would turn the classic arcade game "Asteroids" into a movie. IGN has now caught up with producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura to get some details.

"It's funny because people say there's nothing in the game, but that's not entirely right," he explained. "I was attracted to Asteroids, plain and simple, because I think what it tells you is that there's going to be this big thing in space."

He continued: "We've crafted a really strong, deep mythology for the thing. Without divulging too much about it, it's two lead characters - two brothers - who have to go through a seminal experience to figure out their relationship, against this huge backdrop."

So how will the game's point-and-shoot gameplay be included? "Well, you'd better have some guys in spaceships blowing stuff up or else you haven't honored the fun of Asteroids," di Bonaventura replied.

Pirates of the Caribbean 4 is happening

From cinemablend, While we were busy drooling over Tron, the boys at Coming Soon were running through the halls of the San Diego Comic Con chasing down Disney's Head of Production Oren Aviv, whom they cornered to ask questions about Pirates of the Caribbean 4. Yep, it’s still happening.

In fact Aviv told them that they already have a start date for production. He says they start shooting Pirates of the Caribbean 4 in April and May of 2010, with a release planned for 2011 if all goes well. There won’t be any of that shooting multiple movies at once nonsense that they did with the last two movies. Instead this one will be shot solo, and then they’ll wait and see if it generates the response to spawn a whole new trilogy. Judging from the amount of interest still lingering out there for Pirates of the Caribbean movies, I don’t think that’s going to be much of a problem.

What’s really interesting is that it sounds like they may be taking things back a step. The franchise started out as a fairly simple pirate tale and eventually ballooned into this huge, world-involving battle for total supremacy. Aviv hints that they may scale things down for the next movie because as he says, “we can’t get bigger.” Instead, they’re using Hollywood’s hottest buzz word: reboot.

Daily Spider-Man - Today's Edition: Wolverine asks a very good question

Haiku Hump Results: Fifty brings the "A"

Thanks for your patience. The winner is 50PageMcGee for this one:

Commander Koenig
Monster Hallucinations
He had too much "A"

That joke cracks me up. If you're unfamiliar with this piece of Horrorthonnery, check Jordan's Horrorthon 2006 review of the Space: 1999 two-part episode The Brings of Wonder.

Not only did it crack me up, but none of the lines are broken by punctuation. I find myself breaking up my haikus with commas and question marks and colons all the time, but I think the true poetic form is best when it flooooows.

There are individual 'kus that stuck out, but what was a total success for me was you guys goofing around with this subject matter. I dug the peppy sparring between Catfreeek and The Brothers XPants over CF's smackdown victory last year, and Catfreeek's reminiscences about early horror tooth-cuttings, like watching Phantasm on the other drive-in screen. Classic! You also gave me some good tips for this year, CF; Spiral Staircase sounds good, and I didn't know Homebodies was on dvd!

JPX made me giggle with the Horror 101 "basement/attic" rule, which reminded me of Annie Potts in Ghostbusters saying "well, just don't go in there!" I also liked JPX's "bad babysitter" triptych:

Halloween scared me
Watched it when I was 10
Yep, liberal parents

Salem's Lot scared me
Watched it when I was 10
Bad babysitter

The Ring scared me
Watched it in 2002
Watched it by myself

Like Freeek's story of peering over the back seat at wordless horror, this is another tooth-cutting tale with real pathos. We all have horror movie war stories from when we were kids. JPX evokes the lonely, sad feeling that goes with being scared and brings it forward to those rare moments when we manage to capture it again. Nice. (Although your syllable count is all over the place, dude.)

AC's story of her man's lost zombie movie broke my heart, but my favorite was this one:

silence of the lambs
it's scary because it's true:
your shrink will eat you.

and Mr. AC's

i feel so sleepy
is that a pod in my tub?
i'll check tomorrow

This one by JSP was a serious contender:

Must find missing girl
What's with all the penises?
This island is weird

Your second line echoes the punch of the second line in your winning Wizard of Oz haiku: "By the way, you killed someone." But 50's made me laugh harder.

Thanks, kiddoes! Remember Horrorthon is just a few months away!

And now, at no cost to you, this complete list of our Haiku Subjects So Far (and who thunk 'em up):

Star Wars - Johnny Sweatpants
Christmas - JSP (Octopunk won SW, but forgot cuz of Christmas)
Abandoned Houses - Whirlygirl
Fanboys - JPX
Ninjas - HansomeStan
Superheroes - Octopunk
Zombies - Catfreeek
Original Star Trek - AC
Lord of the Rings - nowandzen
Video Games - HandsomeStan
80s Movies - JPX
Sitcoms - Catfeeek
Saturday Morning TV - Dana's Brain
Action Figures - HandsomeStan
The Future - 50PageMcGee
Heavy Metal - Johnny Sweatpants
Jiggle Television - Chris
Science - 50PageMcGee
Wizard of Oz - Octopunk
Swine Flu - Johnny Sweatpants
The Comic Strip - JPX
Armageddon - HandsomeStan
The Matrix - Octopunk
Guilty Pleasures - AC and Mr. AC
Candy - Dana's Brain
Child Actors - Julie
The Devil - Johnny Sweatpants
Chick Flicks - HandsomeStan
Toys - Catfreeek
Musicals - Dana's Brain
The Simpsons - Johnny Sweatpants
Horror Movies - Octopunk

Thirty-two weeks and counting!

'Avatar' footage screens at Comic-Con. Minds are blown.

From ew, Director James Cameron had just two questions for the audience of 6,000 at today's much-anticipated Avatar sneak peek at Comic-Con. One: "How many of you have ever wanted to go to another planet?" And two: "Are you ready to go to Pandora?" That was Cameron's introduction to 25 minutes of never-before-seen footage of Avatar, which will hit theaters on Dec. 18. Attendees saw Sam Worthington's character travel to the world of Pandora as an Avatar and interact with the Navi and the other wild, mystical creatures around him.

Donning 3-D glasses for the footage, the audience went wild for Cameron's crazy-inventive world of Pandora, for which he created everything from floating mountains to the blades of grass to the language of the native Navi population. Cheering was most enthusiastic for a clip in which Worthington's Avatar wrestles a vicious pterodactyl-type creature to attain a new mode of air transportation. Cameron is clearly not just making a cool sci-fi movie here; for him, Avatar is socially-relevant filmmaking, regardless of how otherworldly it appears. "Avatar may have a spoonful of sugar with all the sci-fi and special effects, but it has a conscience. It makes you think a little bit about how you interact with nature and your fellow man."

Cameron also made an intriguing announcement: On August 21, Twentieth Century Fox will try to get a hold of as many 3-D and IMAX theatres as they can around the world to show 15 minutes of Avatar—for free. They're calling it "Avatar Day," and along with footage from the film they'll debut video game trailers and other Avatar-centric stuff. It sounds awesome, but you have to wonder: how will the theaters manage it?

Tron 2 info revealed

From slashfilm, Disney finally revealed the title to the Tron sequel at the Disney 3D panel at Comic-Con 2009 — TRON Legacy. Jeff Bridges explains that the title is in reference to the story’s theme: “It’s basically a story about a son’s search for his father. It was also revealed that Tron Legacy will be released in both Digital Disney 3D (old news) and IMAX 3D (new news).

Disney surprised nearly everyone by premiering a teaser trailer for the project (which was actually a test created to convince Disney not make the film) at last year’s Comic Con. The footage was easily the most talked about thing of last year’s con. The Tron crew returned to Hall H this year, but unfortunately weren’t able to live up to their last appearance. That is not to say that what we saw of the film was not impressive, it is just they didn’t have a lot to show since the film just wrapped production and they have a year of post production ahead of them.

“And the first Tron, when we made it in 81, there was no internet,” explained Jeff Bridges. “Cell phones were things you carried around in a suit case, and what you saw was so new and fresh, and the same thing is true with this one.”

Disney has released an official plot synopsis:

TRON is a 3D high-tech adventure set in a digital world that’s unlike anything ever captured on the big screen. Sam Flynn (GARRETT HEDLUND), the tech-savvy 27-year-old son of Kevin Flynn (JEFF BRIDGES), looks into his father’s disappearance and finds himself pulled into the same world of fierce programs and gladiatorial games where his father has been living for 25 years. Along with Kevin’s loyal confidant (OLIVIA WILDE), father and son embark on a life-and-death journey across a visually-stunning cyber universe that has become far more advanced and exceedingly dangerous.



See more pictures here

Death of a Ghost Hunter

***1/2 (2007)

Although I do continue to watch horror year round it's not often I feel moved enough to do an off month review. This movie however merits a little looksie especially for those of you who are fans of "The Blair Witch Project". The set up tells us the story is based on the journal entries of a ghost hunter leading you to believe the film is based on truth. Though not a 4 star film it certainly had it's merits. It was convincing enough to have inspired several blogs and forums to erupt discussing whether or not the story was real, sound familiar?


After a grizzly, confusing and somewhat disturbing opening sequence we arrive at the main story. The plot is simple, Carter Simms is a ghost hunter who is hired for $5000 to spend 3 nights in an inherited haunted house where a family was murdered. She agrees to do it with the company of a cameraman and a reporter. Upon arrival a young crazy eyed Jesus praising chick shows up claiming to be sent by the house owner to make sure things are kept respectful to the family. From here we spend the rest of the film exploring the wonders of the supernatural with the foursome.


The house looks ordinary, no creepy haunted mansion here adding to the "truthfulness" of the story. Also, it's shot partially with hand helds and night vision to give it that "Ghost Hunter" feel. The acting is poor, but the ammateur quality of it actually seems to aid in the 'did this really happen' feel of the film. I do recommend turning the surround sound up for this one since most of the jumps and jitters are accompanied by scream and loud noises, makes it more fun to watch. Anyhow, it was an interesting little film and I'd love to hear another opinion on it. Oh yeah, JPX there's boobs!