Chris Ullrich dot net - Page 19 of 93 -

The New ‘Die Hard’ and Some Amusement for President’s Day

Posted on February 18, 2013

Good-Day-to-Die-Hard-Willis

First off, I finally saw the latest Die Hard movie. This one, called A Good Day to Die Hard, was not terrible. It wasn’t great, by any means, but it wasn’t terrible. It just was.

I won’t get into a lengthy review here, mostly because Nat Almirall does a fine job of it over at The Flickcast. However, I will say I mostly agree with him and his review, but I didn’t dislike it as much as he obviously did.

I also didn’t have as much of a problem with following things as he seems to have had. Maybe it’s because I have a background in editing or have just seen so many rough assemblies of films that jump cuts and poor attention to scene geography don’t really bother me.

Perhaps it was all the coffee I had before I saw the movie? Or, maybe seeing the movie with Matt Raub made me stay on my toes and pay better attention in case of potential discussion later? I don’t know.

The movie did spark one thing, though, Matt and I have a terrific idea of what the next Die Hard movie should be. Maybe we’ll share that with the class if we ever do another podcast. Hey, it could happen.

Now this:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnM_tcDcZLE?rel=0&w=525&h=295]

Still More Useful and Interesting Things

Posted on February 14, 2013

poster-app-ios

As life returns to normal (or at least my version of it) I realize it’s been several days since I last put some useful and interesting things up here.

So, with that in mind, here’s some more for you:

• Have trouble getting people to do what you want? Maybe this technique can help.

• For the screenwriting nerds out there, John August and his team have come up with a new version of the venerable Courier font, called Courier Prime, to use when writing your scripts. I’ve switched to it and it’s quite nice.

• If you have a girlfriend who would love this as a gift, marry her. If you already did, kudos to you and it makes a nice Valentine’s Day gift too.

• Here’s a complete collection of Mac OS X install disks. I think I still have all of mine too. Yep, Mac nerd right here.

• Have and iPad? Want to use said iPad in the kitchen or other place where it might get wet? You want one of these.

• I like talented people doing cool things, so I like this. Granted, I know Brian so I may be a bit biased. But still, it’s pretty cool. BTW, you should also read his book. It’s very funny.

• Last, but not least, Tom Witkin’s Poster app for iOS is for posting to a WordPress site and is very awesome. It’s become my new favorite and I now use it pretty much every day. Check it out.

The Doc ‘Room 237’ Looks Very Interesting

Posted on February 8, 2013

Room-237-Doc-Pic

Even though they’ve already covered this over at The Flickcast, I also wanted to call attention to it here. As you know, I’m a big fan of director Stanley Kubrick. We’ve discussed this before.

So, when I hear they’re coming out with a movie about Kubrick and The Shining, I take notice. The movie in question is called Room 237 and a trailer for it has recently dropped.

Check it out below. Can’t wait to see this.

Video Friday: ‘Super Mario Busters’

Posted on February 8, 2013

Today is Friday. I’m tired and I don’t feel 100%. Still, that doesn’t mean I can’t share a video with you fine folks.

Today’s is an example of mashups done right. I present to you: Super Mario Busters. A mashup of Ghostbusters and Super Mario Brothers. Yep. Love this.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srXN-1DUd3Q?rel=0&w=525&h=295]

(h/t to Nerdsworth for today’s video)

And Just Like That . . . He Was Gone

Posted on February 7, 2013

keyser-soze-1

Or, so they thought. Turns out he was just working very long hours producing a movie called The Beautiful Ones. But now, at least for the moment, that’s over.

To explain in greater detail, the first phase of the shooting is over. The second phase will commence in about six weeks. I’m still working on other aspects of the production.

The reasons for this particular, and somewhat unorthodox, schedule are many, so I won’t bother to get into them now. Suffice it to say this is the way we’re doing it this time and that’s pretty much it.

Regarding this phase of production itself, I will have more to say about it, and various other related topics, after I’ve slept a bit more. Until then, enjoy this:

[vimeo 27009580 w=500 h=281]

A Couple More Useful and Interesting Things

Posted on February 1, 2013

sam-jackson-snakes-on-a-plane

Yeah, been kinda busy, you know, making a movie and all that. Still, I can’t forget you, my dear Internet friends. So, in the interest of furthering our relationship, here’s another in my semi-regular feature I like to call “Useful and Interesting Things.”

I hope you find these as useful and/or interesting as I do.

• This weekend in LA you can take not one, but two walking tours of the secret life of Los Angeles. It’s fun, you learn something and get much needed exercise. What could be better than that?

• Like emoticons? How about a collection of all Japanese emoticons in one place? Yeah, that’s right. My favorite? This one: ⊂(￣(工)￣)⊃

• Are you a writer? Thinking of self-publishing a book? If so, read Guy Kawasaki’s top ten list of mistakes writers make when self-publishing. You’ll be glad you did.

• And, as I’m currently making a movie, here’s a list of five survival skills the movies have taught us that are completely wrong.

Back On Set Again

Posted on January 29, 2013

me-beautiful-ones

So yeah, I’m producing a movie. It’s called The Beautiful Ones and it’s written and directed by a good friend of mine, Jesse Johnson. We’ve got a great cast, including Ross McCall, Julie Warner and Ed Lauter, and a great crew. So far, things are going very well. I’ve posted some pics and such on my Twitter.

It’s nice to be back on set again and I’m having a great time. I guess I missed all the fun and excitement. I’m not going back to producing full time, as I’ve got other things I want to do, but it isn’t a bad way to spend 14 or so hours a day.

I’m also meeting some interesting people. In fact, there’s a couple of them in the photo above. I’ll post more on the movie as it goes along.

For the D&D Fan In Your Life

Posted on January 26, 2013

dnd-classics-site

Okay, this is kinda cool. D&D fans, take note. The fine and generous folks at Wizards of the Coast, in conjunction with DriveThruRPG, have launched Dungeons & Dragons Classics.

What is this, you ask? Well, it’s an “online PDF store that features classic content from every issue of D&D, including fan-favorite supplement materials and iconic adventures.” Awesome, right?

As a true D&D geek, I still have all of my old rulebooks, modules, etc. Yes, I’m the guy who never gets rid of anything. But for the rest of you, or those of you who want new copies as PDF’s to put on the iPad (for example,) this is a great resource.

No, they’re not free. However, the prices are quite reasonable and if you really want the classic books in a much more manageable format, worth it. Check out all the fun over at the D&D Classics Website.

(H/T to ADD for the 411)