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Sunday Old School With ‘Jason and the Argonauts’

Posted on April 21, 2013

jason-and-the-argonauts-battling-skeleton-warriors

Today is Sunday. Check the calendar if you don’t believe me. Okay? We good? Maybe take a guy’s word for it next time, huh?

Anyway, as I often do on Sundays (at least until Project M “officially” begins), I’m watching old movies. Although, the one today isn’t that old.

It’s 1963’s Jason and the Argonauts featuring the amazing stop-motion work of the master Ray Harryhausen. If you’ve never seen it, it is definitely worth watching. . . for many reasons.

Not the least of which is this pretty awesome skeleton fight that blew me away when I first saw this movie as a kid. No, not when it came out. Later, on TV.

In fact, I think the first time was a Sunday much like this one on the old Channel 13 in LA. I miss that channel, they had some great stuff.

Here’s the skeleton fight, just so you can get a taste of what I’m talking about.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF_Fi7x93PY?rel=0&w=525&h=295]

Building a T-Rex

Posted on April 8, 2013

Jurassic-Park-T-Rex-Eye

I had the privilege of knowing effects guru Stan Winston a little, having met him originally though a mutual friend. In fact, I visited his studio during the time he was working on the first Jurassic Park movie.

I was amazed at what I saw and when the movie eventually came out, I was even more amazed at how it all came together combining Stan’s animatronics with Dennis Muren, Phil Tippett and Michael Lantieri’s work (among many others). It changed the way movies were made forever.

In short, he was pretty much a genius.

So, many years later, it’s fun to see these videos put out by the Stan Winston School shot during the time he was working on the movie. Things sure have come a long way in the visual effects world, but at the time, this was the pinnacle of technology and very cutting-edge stuff.

I think it still looks pretty damn good. Enjoy.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SK1qTnhHzI?list=UU1rKAv7IwCeynqa9MPNfYaA&w=525&h=295]

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoswY2-1AbM?list=UU1rKAv7IwCeynqa9MPNfYaA&w=525&h=295]

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZtJVh3nUyU?list=UU1rKAv7IwCeynqa9MPNfYaA&w=525&h=295]

All Six ‘Star Wars’ Movies at the Same Time

Posted on April 2, 2013

star-wars-movies-all

Yep, you read that right. Someone went to the trouble to put all six Star Wars movies together in the same screen and run them at the same time. To be honest, I don’t know if I love this or hate it. Maybe a bit of both.

I do know I’ve got a headache from watching it. Enjoy and you’re welcome.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOLqGxuvf08?rel=0&w=525&h=295]

How to Teach Your Unborn Child About ‘Star Trek’

Posted on March 26, 2013

star-trek-enterprise

Geeks/nerds out there expecting a child in the near future, this video is for you: How to Teach Your Unborn Child About Star Trek. That’s right, it’s never too early to start teaching your child the important fundamentals.

Well, you might want to wait until they actually have ears and can hear (about 20 weeks or so). But then, get to it.

If I ever have children (hey, you never know), in addition to Star Trek, I will also be teaching them about Star Wars during the all-important internal gestation period. This will, of course, inevitably lead to many enjoyable Star Trek vs. Star Wars debates.

That does sound like fun. I may have to work on that.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPt9vVYd-oE?rel=0]

(h/t to Dr. Tom Mahoney for the link)

Shakespeare and Joss Whedon? Heck Yeah

Posted on March 8, 2013

Joss-Whedon-Much-Ado-About-Nothing

In truth, this is one film I really wanted to see at SXSW. Sadly, due to other commitments, I won’t be going to Austin this year. Next year for sure. Of course, I said that last year too, so yeah, who knows?

Anyway, Joss Whedon has made an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. It’s got a great cast including Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof, Nathan Fillion, Fran Kranz, Jillian Morgese, Sean Maher, Reed Diamond, Clark Gregg and Tom Lenk, is in black and white and is based on one of my favorite plays. And yes, it’s Joss Whedon so I, of course, pay attention.

Anyway, here’s the trailer. Enjoy.

‘Before VFX’ Is Fascinating

Posted on March 7, 2013

dark-knight-arron-eckhart-before-vfx

A couple days ago I posted a video showing some before and after visual effects shots from various TV shows and movies. Many people were surprised at the number of effects being used and also that, in many cases, effects were used at all.

Yeah, Hollywood likes to use visual effects to do almost anything these days. They do it a lot. To help illustrate just how much, a new website has sprung up showcasing what the author calls “The Canvas” of visual effects.

It’s a fascinating look at the “Before” shots in lots of famous movies including The Dark Knight, Twilight, Captain America, Kick-Ass, Avatar and a whole lot more. Plus, it gives you a greater appreciation for what the actors have to go through. Playing a big, emotional scene with a bunch of dots stuck to your face can’t be that easy.

Here’s a few of the “Before” pictures. Head over to the Before VFX website for a whole lot more.

pirates-curse-black-pearl-1

“Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl”

kick-ass-1

“Kick-Ass”

cage-ghost-rider-spirit-of-vengeance-1

“Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance”

The Green Screen Is Your Friend

Posted on February 27, 2013

If you watch a lot of movies and TV as I do (and occasionally even make them), you’ve probably sometimes wondered “How did they do that”? Well, as you’ll see from this video, they “did that” with a lot of green screen and visual effects.

Visual effects is a huge part of Hollywood and the men and women who work in that industry should be recognized and rewarded as such. This is only a small fraction of the work they do each and every day.

Enjoy and try not to be too shocked.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clnozSXyF4k?rel=0&w=525&h=295]

Some Useful and Interesting Things For A Friday

Posted on February 22, 2013

alison-brie-ice-cream-1

Hey, it’s Friday. Congrats, you made it through another week! I’ve had a fun week (more on that below) but, as usual, I’m glad it’s Friday and the week is over.

Although, knowing me as I do, I’m pretty sure I won’t be taking the whole weekend off or anything. Much too much to do, especially with the new project and knowing we’re going to be moving again in a few months.

But that’s later. Now, sit back, relax and enjoy another edition of Useful and Interesting Things.

• My pal Matt Raub and I are back doing a podcast for The Flickcast. I’m very happy about it and you can listen to the brand new episode which kicks off season two right here.

• Confused about who’s who and who’s related to who in the Star Wars universe? Perhaps this handy chart will help.

• I know, you’re still sometimes having trouble with well-known punctuation like the comma “,” or the semi-colon “;” but that hasn’t stopped some enterprising individuals from coming up with 8 new punctuation marks to surprise and delight you.

• Feeling anxious or nervous? Lifehacker has you covered on how to beat it. No, alcohol or other controlled substances are not involved, sorry.

• If you make coffee at home and ever do a Pour-Over, you need a Hario V60 Power Kettle. They rock and I’m using one pretty much every day.

• Angry, sad, happy, undecided, indifferent about the end of Downton Abbey season three? Perhaps these tidbits about season four will help you feel better/worse/whatever?

Finally, a here’s a little video I like to call Lego Michael Jackson. Coincidentally that’s pretty much what the person who made the video calls it too.

Plus, in case you haven’t seen it, here’s a little bit of Alison Brie and her freestyle rap skills. This video is here mostly so I can put a photo of her at the top of this post. Yes, she’s eating ice cream, so?

What, you don’t like ice cream or something?

[vimeo 60169112 w=525 h=395]

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]

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.