17 posts tagged “movies”
The summer movie I'm really looking forward to in 2008 (or 2009?) is the Spielberg/Peter Jackson adaption of the Tintin graphic novels.
I read Tintin obsessively as a kid, and I still think they're some of the most exciting and interesting adventure stories ever written (or drawn.) I like the fact that the movies are not going to be live-action, but motion-capture animation, which seems exactly the cinematic equivalent of Herge's books, which were cartoons but highly realistic (to the degreee that in for later books he would research for months to find exactly the right buildings to put in the background.)
I've always thought of 3D movies as kind of a cheezy gimmick and not had any interest in them, but Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in IMAX/3D? Holy crap... that's like nothing I've ever seen before. Seriously, it was like watching Star Wars in '77, T2 in '91, or the Matrix in '99, just so far ahead of anything else I'd ever seen before. It really felt like everything was happening right in front of you, and not in the cheezy "things jumping out at you" but more "shit Voldemort is pointing his wand at me and he's pissed!"
The rest of the movie is pretty great, too. A lot of the reviews I had read were so-so, but I thought it was the best of the HP movies. Good acting, great action sequences, the magic genuinely felt magical. The only fault I had with it wa that it felt a bit rushed and episodic--if there was ever a movie that cried out for an extended DVD cut, this it it. Imelda Staunton really nailed Dolores Umbridge, and the girl they found to play Luna Lovebood is a real find.
What's the most famous movie you've never seen?
Submitted by Mike.
I've never seen the top grossing film of all time, Gone With the Wind. In fact, of the top ten grossing films of all time inflation adjusted (according to BoxOfficeMojo.com):
1. Gone with the Wind MGM $1,329,453,600 $198,676,459 1939^
2 Star Wars Fox $1,172,026,900 $460,998,007 1977^
3 The Sound of Music Fox $937,093,200 $158,671,368 1965
4 E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial Uni. $933,401,500 $435,110,554 1982^
5 The Ten Commandments Par. $861,980,000 $65,500,000 1956
6 Titanic Par. $844,515,900 $600,788,188 1997
7 Jaws Uni. $842,758,600 $260,000,000 1975
8 Doctor Zhivago MGM $816,811,300 $111,721,910 1965
9 The Exorcist WB $727,541,800 $232,671,011 1973^
10 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Dis. $717,220,000 $184,925,486 1937^
I've only seen three: Star Wars, ET and Jaws.
I think the inflation adjusted list is much more interesting than the raw grosses. It shows you that movies really aren't as big a deal nowadays then they were back in the 40s-70s. The only movie of the past ten years on the list is Titanic, and that barely squeaks in. The biggest grossing film of the oughts is "Shrek 2" at #29.
Of course, these numbers are for box-office gross. An even more interesting list would be inflation-adjusted total money made, including DVD sales. In that case recent franchises like Harry Potter and LotR would do much better,
I've enjoyed all of the Harry Potter movies so far, but I feel like the perfect one is yet to be made. Perhaps HP5 aka "Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix" will be that one. I like the poster that was just released.
What movie can you quote by heart?
Submitted by clamhead.
Movie? Although I'm not proud of it, Star Wars.
"A more wretched hive of scum and villainy you'll not find through out the galaxy." (Alec Guiness eared his knighthood the day he said this line out loud with a straight face. And pefectly enunciated.)
"Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi... you're my only hope."
"I have a bad feeling about this" (one of the ways you can tell how crappy the Star Wars prequel trilogy is that it makes the original trilogy seem crappier by reminding me us of it when we watch the original one.)
"Let the wookie win" (having just watched Star Wars I can tell you this line is still funny.)
"I find your lack of faith disturbing." (a good line to bust out in any staff meeting when someone raises an objection... almost as good as The Empire Strikes Back's "The emporer is disturbed at your apparent lack of progress" which is useful in any discussion of project status.)
"Use the force, Luke." (self-explanatory... I'm rather proud that I never once used this line with my valued co-worker Luke Knowland)
Dazed and Confused is another movie I have semi-memorized. Everyone remembers Matthew Mcaughahey's lecherous "That's what I love about these high school girls... I keep gettin' older and they stay the same age."
One of my favorites is early in the film, when the eighth graders pleads with their teacher to let them go early so they can avoid being paddled. "It's like my saergent said in Viet Nam... fifty of you are goin' out. Twenty-five of you ain't comin' back."
Another classic and very portable line: "Be a lot cooler if you did." Good for any situation where someone has neglected to bring some important item.
But like Laurel, my true forte is Simpsons quotes. I could write a book on that.
Apple just sent out invitations to their media event on September 12th. Looks like rumors of the "iTunes Music Store" and video streaming device are accurate, judging by the logo Apple used on the invite.
Unless it's all just a big red herring, and the event is actually about the iPhone. Which would be epic.
The five-year anniversary of the iPod is fast approaching (Oct. 23rd) and it seems that new models are imminent. In recent days the Mac rumor community has reached consensus that September 12th will bring us the following:
- 2nd generation iPod Nanos, with increased capacities and possibly more colors.
- Upgraded 5g iPods w/videos (I'm hoping for bigger capacities, like 80 or 100gb)
- Movie sales through the ITMS (14.99 for new, 9.99 for older titles)
- 23" iMac
Hopefully a new version of iTunes, too, with more power-user playlist management features Like the ability to use sql to write really complex smart playlists (dream on, sigh.)
Update: AppleInsider is predicting that the "one more thing" surprise at the 9/12 event will be a video streaming device, an Airport Express for video. If so, sweet-I'd buy one of those in a second, as long as it worked with my current hardware-I wouldn't want to have to buy a new Mac Mini just to use it.
Who's your favorite movie villain?
Since I already answered this for movies, I thought maybe I'd pretend the question is "who's your favorite TV villain"?
There are so many good choices: Mr. Burns, the boss on either the US or UK versions of "The Office," Baltar or Number 6 on "Battlestar Galactica." However, I've been watching the first season of The Sopranos recently, and marveling at the monstrous awfulness of Tony Soprano's mother, Livia.
David Chase does a great job of creating sympathy for Tony through his interactions with his mother, without really excusing the bad things he does. A great example of non-teleological story-telling.
I recently purchased the Critereon edition of Dazed & Confused, Richard Linklater's film which originally came out in 1993 to little fanfare (or box office) but has since become a cult classic, wildely recognized as one of the best high school films of all time. Set on the last day of school, 1976, in an un-named Texas town, the film is notable for how it effortlessly weaves together about twenty characters and subplots, and successfully captures that paradoxical feeling of youth, when there's a lot of impatience, but no sense of urgency.
As you can see from my picture, the Criteron DVD is quite lavish. Although it costs about $40, you get a lot for your money-two discs, a nice fold-out case with orginal artwork, a poster, and best of all, a booklet with essays written by a music critic, film critic and Richard Linklater himself. The booklet also has the original notes that Linklater wrote to his cast, and bios for the principal characters. Since most DVDs, even "speical editions," tend to skimp on the printed documentation, it's nice to see one that really does a good job of it.
Irenically, I've actually been too busy to actually watch any of it, but once I do i'll post another review. If you've never seen Dazed & Confused, or haven't watched it in a while, I recommend hitting it up-I think it' sa movie that's aged extremely well, which most high school movies (er, John Hughes) really don't.
I'm planning on picking these up after work:
Dazed and Confused is one of my favorite movies of all times, and Entourage is an enjoyable, if light, look at a up and coming Hollywood star's posse. the D&C critereon edition is "blessed" by Richard Linklater, unlike the special edition that came out in fall 2004. Although I don't often listen to audio commentaries, I am going to listen to his for D&C because I bet it will be interesting to hear him talk about his real life experiences growing up in Texas that inspired the movie.
Also coming out today is Ice Cube's first album in six years.
It's good to hear Ice Cube rapping again after (not) seeing him in some really God-awful movies. He's one of the best, if not the best, MCs ever, with high ranks in delivery, flow and verbal ingenuity.
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