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Movies

D&D Players Can Be Ruthless In This Trailer for ‘Zero Charisma’

Posted on July 22, 2013

Long ago, when Dungeons & Dragons was just called D&D and about the time the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons arrived, I started playing the game. Back then it was a group of like-minded friends who gathered around the ping pong table in my parent’s garage and had adventures.

It was a simpler time and I don’t remember the games ever getting violent, or even very confrontational, except when we were engaged in epic battles for our band of adventurers very survival. In the game, of course.

So when I saw this trailer for the indie film Zero Charisma (a title which works for me on several levels), I had to think if I ever had these kinds of problems as a young D&D player. I was pretty sure I didn’t, but perhaps I was remembering it wrong? Or, was I just lucky that none of the people I played with back then were bona fide sociopaths as, unfortunately, the character of Scott (the terrifically creepy Sam Eidson) seems to be.

I like to think we were all just good friends brought together by our love of role playing games, the desire to use or imaginations and because we liked to have fun. I really hope it wasn’t that other stuff. I don’t like to think that I can’t remember things or that I could have misjudged people’s character so badly back then.

As I still keep in touch with most of the guys I played with “back in the day,” I guess I can just check with them and see if my recollection of events jives with their own. I’m pretty sure it will.

You can call a prison directly, right? I kid, I kid.

Check out this trailer for Zero Charisma and some scenes from the movie. It looks like a lot of fun and I look forward to seeing it when I get a chance.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRRCt0tbQvw?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgbLhDUqAXM?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

How ‘Man of Steel’ Should Have Ended

Posted on July 16, 2013

I’m not sure I agree with everything in this video. However, I do appreciate the time and effort that went into making it by the folks at HISHE.com and it does raise some very good points.

So, if you’re one of the people who thought Man of Steel should have gone a bit differently, this just might be for you. Okay, who am I kidding, it never would have ended this way, especially not for a big Hollywood blockbuster. It’s just for fun.

But heck, it’s still pretty funny.

Also, while we’re on the subject of comics and movies (as we often are), I’ll be in San Diego later this week for Comic-Con. So, if you’re going to be there, be sure to say “Hello” if you see me.

I will also be posting some stuff here and over at The Flickcast during the show so be sure and look out for that. You don’t want to miss it.

Enjoy the video.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjSNLmb0Ndw?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

A ‘Blade Runner’ Speedrun for a Sunday

Posted on July 14, 2013

If I was going to make a list of my all-time favorite sci-fi movies, on that list would have to be Ridley’s Scott’s 1982 masterpiece Blade Runner. As I mentioned in a previous missive, the film made quite an impression on me as a young man.

I first saw it at a screening in San Diego in May of 1992, after having won tickets from a local radio station, and was treated to a version somewhat different from the finished product released to theaters the following month. It was an amazing experience.

I’ve watched it many time since that day and each time I enjoy it more. It’s definitely a movie worth seeing again and again.

Of course, not everyone has the time to watch entire movies. People have lives and schedules to keep. For those with limited free time, the Speedrun was invented.

Simply put, a Speedrun is an animated version of a popular film told in sixty seconds made by the talented folks at 1A4 Studio. This one is Blade Runner, as if you couldn’t guess.

Enjoy. Oh, it has some adult language, so be advised it’s probably NSFW.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ILbDz7tTqU?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

Think ‘Pacific Rim’ Is Total Fantasy? Meet Atlas

Posted on July 12, 2013

Yes, the movie Pacific Rim is out today and yes, it features giant monsters called Kaiju who we humans fight with giant, mechanized, human-piloted robots we build called Jaegers. And sure, the idea that monsters come from wherever they come from (no spoilers here) and we need to build giant, mechanical creatures to fight them may seem far-fetched and relegated to the world of fantasy and the movies.

And really, I can’t vouch for the likelihood of giant, alien monsters coming to destroy humanity. That does seem rather unlikely. However, I do believe we’re not that far away from being able to create the mechanical robots that would fight them if they did come.

Don’t believe me? Meet Atlas in this video and maybe you just might change your mind.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkBnFPBV3f0?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

The First Trailer for Spike Lee’s ‘Oldboy’

Posted on July 10, 2013

As with many things in life, I don’t like change. Change to me isn’t something to embrace, it’s something to resist. That being said, change can occasionally brings good things.

In fact, I’ve had some changes of late that have been very good and very positive. So, perhaps, I may have to rethink my “No Change” policy. Maybe.

Until then, this brings us, in a roundabout way, to Spike Lee’s remake of Park Chan-Wook’s film Oldboy. At first, of course, I resisted the notion that Oldboy needed a remake at all. The original is a complex, gripping thriller that if you haven’t seen, is definitely worth watching.

I also wasn’t sure Spike Lee was the right guy for the job of bringing the film to mainstream American audiences. I don’t know why, exactly, I just didn’t think he necessarily had the requisite mindset to get the film right. Park Chan-Wook, on the other hand, that guy has a mindset, in spades.

Anyway, as I’ve heard and seen more of Lee’s vision for Oldboy, Ive started to become convinced he may, indeed, be on to something. This new trailer, a redband of course, helps push that hypothesis even further.

The short version is I like what I see so far and I want to see more. As with many thing, your mileage may vary.

Oh, one more thing, this trailer is a redband for a reason. Please exercise appropriate precautions before watching it at work or something. Unless you work at a really cool place which, let’s face it, you probably don’t. Not this cool anyway.

It’s Saturday, So Here’s a Trailer for ‘Yakuza Weapon’

Posted on July 6, 2013

I can’t keep putting things away in the new house and not take a break. So, during one of said breaks, I came across this trailer for the movie Yakuza Weapon.

If you’ve followed this site for any length of time, you know my fondness for movies and TV shows out of the Hollywood mainstream. I think Yakuza Weapon qualifies.

I won’t bother trying to explain the movie except to say it involves transformation, the fight between good and evil and the question of what it means to be human. Oh yeah, there’s lots of action and stuff blows up too. Of course.

It was directed by Tak Sakaguchi (who also stars) and written by Sakaguchi and Yūdai Yamaguchi. It’s based on the manga by Ken Ishikawa. Check out the trailer below and enjoy.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTs-mM4A6TQ?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

‘Great Gatsby’ VFX Before and After

Posted on June 28, 2013

Helping to continue our irregular series of visual effects articles is this new video from visual effects supervisor Chris Godfrey. According to Godfrey, he’s been allowed by director Baz Luhrmann to show this video highglighting the before and after visual effects of his most recent film The Great Gatsby.

This video serves to highlight, once again, what a crucial role visual effects play in modern motion picture production. In truth, it’s hard to imagine a movie made these days (especially a period piece) that didn’t have at least some visual effects shots in it.

With all that it does for filmmakers, let’s hope that the visual effects industry will begin to get the respect it deserves. That would be nice.

Meantime, as I’m a fan of this movie, the director and behind-the-scenes movie secrets in general, this video is pretty interesting to me.

I hope you find it that way as well.

[vimeo 68451324 w=560 h=315]

‘009ノ1: The End of the Beginning’ Looks Pretty Crazy

Posted on June 20, 2013

I’m a fan of movies from around the world, and this trailer for 009ノ1: The End of the Beginning is one reason why. Sure, it doesn’t have the high dollar production value of a Michael Bay “epic”, but it does have one important thing going for it: heart.

I know, I know, but I can tell these actors, and the rest of the team, are really having a great time here. And that, to me, is pretty important.

I think it makes for better, more entertaining, movies. Plus, I firmly believe loving what you do, and having a great time doing it, applies to pretty much all parts of life, not just work.

We’re all here a relatively short time so let’s try and not get so caught up in the BS and have a little fun along the way, okay? Good.

Turing back to the trailer, no, I can’t tell you what they’re saying or really, what the movie is about. I can tell you it’s based on a classic Manga from the late ’60s, early ’70s and that the movie is hitting Japan in September. Oh, and it has cyborg girls and other interesting bits too.

But all that doesn’t really matter at this point, does it? It just looks cool. Check it out below.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1zDPd10YIg?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

I’m Undecided About ‘The LEGO Movie’, Here’s A Trailer Anyway

Posted on June 18, 2013

I loved, loved, loved LEGO as a kid (That’s a lot of love, I know). I’m pretty sure I’ve spent thousands of hours building things with those little multi-colored plastic bricks over the years.

I still have all of my sets too. They are currently in boxes in storage until H and I move into the new house. Then, I will be able to fully unpack all of my sets of bricks and marvel, once again, at the vastness of my empire.

That brings us, somewhat indirectly, to the upcoming LEGO movie. Yes, a LEGO movie. I don’t know about this. What do you think?

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPnY2NjSjrg?rel=0]

The History of the Superman ‘S’ Logo

Posted on June 13, 2013

In honor of Man of Steel, Zach Snyder’s take on Superman (which opens tonight at midnight), I thought it would be fun to take a look at the evolution of Superman’s “S” logo over the years. Fortunately, someone has already thought of the idea and created a handy infographic showing all of the logos since the character was first introduced in Action Comics #1 in 1938.

Yes, there’s a lot of them. And yes, I think they’ve gotten better over the years. Of course, I do have a special place for the one from 1978. That’s the one worn by Christopher Reeve in Richard Donner’s classic Superman, which I saw in the theater with my parents on opening weekend.

That’s the logo, and the movie, that made a young boy truly believe a man could fly. As cliche’ as that may sound today, after a heavy dose of Star Wars the year before and a whole host of other sci-fi, fantasy and comic book influences and input on a daily basis, I was ready to believe . . . And I did.

Let’s hope Snyder’s Man of Steel can work that same magic again on the much older and somewhat cynical (yet still a kid at heart) adult I’ve become. I don’t think it’s too late for me. I think there’s still a chance.

Because, dammit, I want to believe again.

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