Movies

Carrie (1976 film)

2009-09-16T15:51:00.000-07:00

Carrie
Original 1976 theatrical poster

Carrie is a 1976 American horror film directed by Brian De Palma and written by Lawrence D. Cohen, based on the novel by Stephen King. The film and the novel deal with a socially outcast teenage girl, Carrie White, who discovers she possesses telekinetic powers after being subjected to endless humiliation by her peers, teachers, and psychological torture by her mother. The film stars Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Betty Buckley, Amy Irving, Nancy Allen, William Katt, John Travolta, and Priscilla Pointer (Irving's real life mother).

During a survey taken in October 2008, it was revealed that "Carrie" was considered one of the most popular movies teens watch on Halloween.^[1] The film was also a major success for United Artists, grossing over $33 million at the U.S. box office, on a budget of $1,800,000. It was welcomed by immense critical acclaim.^[2]^[3] The film spawned a sequel The Rage: Carrie 2 and a made for television remake, released in 2002, neither of which involved De Palma.

Inglorious Basterds

2009-09-09T15:42:00.000-07:00

Inglorious Basterds is a dark and violent comic fantasy, gloriously so. Built on the framework of The Dirty Dozen, Inglorious Basterds ditches the elongated training sequences of The Dirty Dozen to plunge into the action right away. In the process, Tarantino fixes one of The Dirty Dozen's major flaws by giving the bad guys screen time to remind us just how bad the Nazis were. The Nazis with the most screen time end up becoming the most completely human characters in the film, which ironically makes them even worse monsters.

Bu ditching the training sequences, Tarantino is also able to give us a picture of the entire war, showing us not only British, American and German soldiers, but also giving us glimpses into the world of French and German civilians, both collaborators and Resistance.

It goes without saying that any Tarantino film is going to have fantastic dialogue, but when Tarantino made the decision to have the French characters speak French and the Germans speak German, beyond adding a level of authenticity, Tarantino also somehow ensured that his dialogue in French was as sharp and funny and clever as his English dialogue.

Case in point, during the opening sequence the Nazi "Jew Hunter" SS Colonel Hans Landa (Christian Waltz) is interrogating French dairy farmer Perrier LaPadite (Denis Menochet). Landa suspects that LaPadite is hiding a family of Jews. While subtly pressuring LaPadite, Landa asks for a glass of milk. After greedily gulping it down, Landa compliments LaPadite on his daughters and his cows, "Mes compliments a vos filles et vos vaches." The thing of it is, in French "vache" means cow, but it is also a vulgar name for the vagina. If reprimanded for this vulgar pun, Landa could quite convincingly claim not to understand French well enough to have meant it that way, but Landa does mean it that way and he means it as a threat. And LaPadite understands his meaning all too well.

That is a really subtle piece of acting and word-play that many audiences would never catch, or at least they might understand the subtext without knowing the exact nature of the threat. The film is rich with that kind of detail. All of the French and English dialogue is chosen with that same attention to detail and while I can't swear to the German, I would suspect that it shows a similar level of craft.

Inglorious Basterds opens with the phrase, "Once Upon a Time... in Nazi-Occupied France." Personally, this reminds me of the opening of every Asterix book and movie, another comic fantasy in a war-torn occupied France. Like Asterix, Inglorious Basterds is howlingly funny in places, although the film also turns darkly serious.

In its more serious moments, Inglorious Basterds reminds us that the first casualties of war are compassion and the ability to relax, as in almost every elongated sequence of the film, Tarantino finds a new way to build cruel tension to almost unbearable levels.

Tarantino also reminds us that film is dangerous, even inflammable and that its power deserves respect.

If you can see this film as I did in a packed theatre filled with knowledgeable fans who get every joke, that you will see this masterful film the way that it was meant to be seen. If you are not that lucky, all that you will see is a great, great film that delivers a darkly funny punch.

I Love You Man

2009-09-02T15:35:00.000-07:00

Sexy Beast

2009-08-26T15:25:00.000-07:00

Sexy Beast is a funny and highly enjoyable crime movie punctuated by some blood curdling violence. The film was directed by Jonathen Glazer, who was responsible for most of the recent amazing Guinness beer adverts.

Ray Winstone is Gal, a retired criminal enjoying retirement in Spain with friends and the woman he loves. But this is shattered by the arrival of a menacing figure from his past in the shape of pyschotic Don Logan (played with evil intensity by Ben Kingsley). Don wants Gal for one last spectacular job and will do just about anything to get him, including threatening Gal's beloved wife.

The story is told at a fast pace, with several surreal interludes but never loses momentum. Ray Winstone puts in another loveable badboy performance that he does so well, but the film is dominated by Kingsley who steals every scene he is in and creates one of the most menacing screen villains in recent memory. The brilliance of the film is that it manages to combine so many disparate elements (thriller, comedy, and a touching love story to say the least) into a cohesive and highly entertaining whole. A real pleasure to watch and a striking, brilliant debut.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High

2009-08-20T15:30:00.000-07:00

Fast Times at Ridgemont High

Original movie poster.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High is a 1982 American coming-of-age teen comedy film written by Cameron Crowe (adapted from his book) and directed by Amy Heckerling. The film follows a school year in the lives of freshman Stacy Hamilton (Jennifer Jason Leigh), freshman Mark Ratner (Brian Backer) and their respective friends Linda Barrett (Phoebe Cates) and Mike Damone (Robert Romanus), who believe themselves wise in the ways of romance and counsel their younger counterparts. The ensemble cast of characters also includes Jeff Spicoli (Sean Penn), a perpetually stoned surfer, who faces off against uptight history teacher Mr. Hand (Ray Walston), who is convinced that all of his students are on "dope." Stacy's brother, Brad (Judge Reinhold), is a popular senior who works to pay for a car.

It includes early appearances by several actors who would later become stars, including Sean Penn, Eric Stoltz, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Nicolas Cage, Anthony Edwards, Phoebe Cates, Forest Whitaker, and Judge Reinhold. Three of the actors who appeared in the film — Cage, Penn, and Whitaker — would win the Academy Award for Best Actor later on in their careers, with Penn winning twice.

Crowe would soon become a celebrated Hollywood director and screenwriter, winning an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for his movie Almost Famous.

Star Wars

2009-08-12T08:39:00.000-07:00

Star Wars is an epic space opera franchise initially conceived by George Lucas. The first film in the franchise was originally released on May 25, 1977 by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, spawning two immediate sequels, released at three-year intervals. Sixteen years after the release of the trilogy's final film, the first in a new prequel trilogy of films was released, again released at three-year intervals, with the final film released on May 19, 2005.

As of 2008, the overall box office revenue generated by the six Star Wars films has totalled approximately $4.3 billion, making it the third-highest grossing film series,^[1] behind only the James Bond and Harry Potter films.

The Star Wars film series has spawned other media including books, television series, video games, and comic books. These supplements to the film trilogies comprise the Star Wars Expanded Universe, and have resulted in significant development of the series' fictional universe. These media kept the franchise going in the interim between the film trilogies. In 2008, Star Wars: The Clone Wars was released to theaters as the first ever worldwide theatrical Star Wars film outside of the main trilogies. It was the franchise's first animated film, and was intended as an introduction to the Expanded Universe series of the same name, a 3D CGI animated series based on a 2003 animated 2D series, also of the same name.

Setting

The events depicted in Star Wars media take place in a fictional galaxy. Many species of alien creatures (often humanoid) are depicted. Robotic droids are also commonplace and are generally built to serve their owners. Space travel is common, and many planets in the galaxy are members of a Galactic Republic, later reorganized as the Galactic Empire.

One of the prominent elements of Star Wars is the "Force", which is an omnipresent form of energy which can be harnessed by those with that ability. It is described in the first produced film as "an energy field created by all living things [that] surrounds us, penetrates us, [and] binds the galaxy together."^[2] The Force allows users to perform a variety of supernatural feats (such as telekinesis, clairvoyance, precognition, and mind control) and also can amplify certain physical traits, such as speed and reflexes; these abilities can vary from user to user and can be improved through training. While the Force can be used for good, it has a dark side that, when pursued, imbues users with hatred, aggression, and malevolence. The six films feature the Jedi, who use the Force for good, and the Sith, who use the dark side for evil in an attempt to take over the galaxy. In the Expanded Universe many dark side users are Dark Jedi rather than Sith, mainly because of the Rule of Two (see Sith Origin).^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]

Feature films

The film series began with the film Star Wars, released on May 25, 1977. This was followed by two sequels; The Empire Strikes Back, released on May 21, 1980, and Return of the Jedi, released on May 25, 1983. The opening crawl of the sequels disclosed that they were numbered as "Episode V" and "Episode VI" respectively, though the films were generally advertised solely under their subtitles. Though the first film in the series was simply titled Star Wars, it later had the subtitle Episode IV: A New Hope added to distinguish it from its sequels and prequels.^[8]

In 1997, to correspond with the twentieth anniversary of the release of Star Wars, Lucas released "Special Editions" of the three films to theaters. The re-releases featured alterations to the original films, primarily motivated by the improvement of CGI and other special effects technologies, which allowed visuals that were not possible to achieve at the time of the original filmmaking. Lucas continued to make changes to the original trilogy for subsequent releases, such as the first ever DVD release of the trilogy on September 21, 2004.^[9]

More than two decades after the release of the original film, the film series continued with the long-awaited prequel trilogy; consisting of Episode I: The Phantom Menace, released on May 19, 1999, Episode II: Attack of the Clones, released on May 16, 2002, and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, released on May 19, 2005.^[10]

Plot overview

The prequel trilogy follows the upbringing of Anakin Skywalker, who is discovered by the Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn. He is believed to be the "Chosen One" foretold by Jedi prophecy to bring balance to the Force. The Jedi Council, led by Yoda, sense that his future is clouded with fear, but reluctantly allows Qui-Gon's apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi to train Anakin after Qui-Gon is killed by the Sith Lord Darth Maul. At the same time, the planet Naboo is under attack, and its ruler, Queen Padmé Amidala, seeks the assistance of the Jedi to repel the attack. The Sith Lord Darth Sidious secretly planned the attack to give his alias, Senator Palpatine, a pretense to overthrow the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic.^[3] The remainder of the prequel trilogy chronicles Anakin's fall to the dark side, as Sidious attempts to create an army to defeat the Jedi and lure Anakin to be his apprentice.^[4] Anakin and Padmé fall in love and secretly wed, and eventually Padme becomes pregnant. Anakin soon succumbs to his anger, becoming the Sith Lord Darth Vader. While Sidious re-organizes the Republic into the Galactic Empire, Vader participates in the extermination of the Jedi Order, culminating in a lightsaber battle between him and Obi-Wan. After defeating his former apprentice, Obi-Wan leaves Vader for dead. However, Sidious arrives shortly after to save him and put him into a suit of black armor that keeps him alive. At the same time, Padmé dies while giving birth to twins. The twins are hidden from Vader and are not told who their true parents are.^[5]

Tatooine has two suns, as it is in a binary star system. This shot from A New Hope remains one of the most famous scenes of the entire saga.^[11]

The original trilogy begins 19 years later as Vader nears completion of the massive Death Star space station which will allow him and Sidious, now the Emperor, to crush the rebellion which has formed against the evil empire. He captures Princess Leia Organa who has stolen the plans to the Death Star and hidden them in droid R2-D2. R2-D2, along with his counterpart C-3PO, escape to the planet Tatooine. There, the droids are purchased by Luke Skywalker, son of Anakin, and his step-uncle and aunt. While Luke is cleaning R2-D2, he accidentally triggers a message put into the robot by Leia, who asks for assistance from Obi-Wan. Luke later assists the droids in finding the Jedi Knight, who is now passing as an old hermit under the alias Ben Kenobi. Obi-Wan tells Luke of his father's greatness, but says that he was killed by Vader.^[12] Obi-Wan and Luke hire the Corellian space pilot and smuggler Han Solo and his Wookiee co-pilot Chewbacca to take them to the rebels. Obi-Wan begins to teach Luke about the Force, but allows himself to be killed in a showdown with Vader during the rescue of Leia. His sacrifice allows the group to escape with the plans that allow the rebels to destroy the Death Star.^[2]

Vader continues to hunt down the rebels, and begins building a second Death Star. Luke travels to find Yoda to become trained as a Jedi, but is interrupted when Vader lures him into a trap by capturing Han and the others. Vader reveals that he is Luke's father and attempts to turn him to the dark side.^[6] Luke escapes, and returns to his training with Yoda. He learns that he must face his father before he can become a Jedi, and that Leia is his twin sister. As the rebels attack the second Death Star, Luke confronts Vader under the watch of the Emperor. Instead of convincing Luke to join the dark side, the young Jedi defeats Vader in a lightsaber duel and is able to convince him that there is still some good in him. Vader kills the Emperor before succumbing to his own injuries, and the second Death Star is destroyed, restoring freedom to the galaxy.^[7]

Themes

Star Wars features elements such as (Jedi) knights, witches, and princesses that are related to archetypes of the fantasy genre.^[13] The Star Wars world, unlike science-fiction and fantasy films that featured sleek and futuristic settings, was portrayed as dirty and grimy. Lucas' vision of a "used universe" was further popularized in the science fiction-horror films Alien,^[14] which was set on a dirty space freighter; Mad Max 2, which is set in a post-apocalyptic desert; and Blade Runner, which is set in a crumbling, dirty city of the future. Lucas made a conscious effort to parallel scenes and dialogue between films, and especially to parallel the journeys of Luke Skywalker with that of his father Anakin when making the prequels.^[3]

Technical information

All six films of the Star Wars series were shot in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. The original trilogy was shot with anamorphic lenses. Episodes IV and V were shot in Panavision, while Episode VI was shot in Joe Dunton Camera (JDC) scope. Episode I was shot with Hawk anamorphic lenses on Arriflex cameras, and Episodes II and III were shot with Sony's CineAlta high-definition digital cameras.^[15] Lucas hired Ben Burtt to oversee the sound effects on A New Hope.

Burtt's accomplishment was such that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented him with a Special Achievement Award because it had no award at the time for the work he had done.^[16] Lucasfilm developed the THX sound reproduction standard for Return of the Jedi.^[17] The scores for the six Star Wars films were composed by John Williams. Lucas' design for Star Wars involved a grand musical sound, with leitmotifs for different characters and important concepts. Williams' Star Wars title theme has become one of the most famous and well-known musical compositions in modern music history.^[18]

The technical lightsaber choreography for the original trilogy was developed by Hollywood sword-master Bob Anderson. Anderson trained Mark Hamill and performed all the sword stunts as Darth Vader during the lightsaber duels wearing the Vader costume. Bob Anderson's role in the original Star Wars trilogy was highlighted in the film Reclaiming The Blade where he shares his experiences as the fight choreographer developing the lightsaber techniques for the movies.^[19]

Production history

Original trilogy

George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars

In 1971, Universal Studios agreed to make American Graffiti and Star Wars in a two-picture contract, although Star Wars was later rejected in its early concept stages. American Graffiti was completed in 1973 and, a few months later, Lucas wrote a short summary called "The Journal of the Whills", which told the tale of the training of apprentice C.J. Thorpe as a "Jedi-Bendu" space commando by the legendary Mace Windy.^[20] Frustrated that his story was too difficult to understand, Lucas then wrote a 13-page treatment called The Star Wars, which was a loose remake of Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress.^[21] By 1974, he had expanded the treatment into a rough draft screenplay, adding elements such as the Sith, the Death Star, and a young boy as the protagonist named Annikin Starkiller. For the second draft, Lucas made heavy simplifications, and also introduced the young hero on a farm as Luke. Annikin became Luke's father, a wise Jedi knight. The "Force" was also introduced as a supernatural power. The next draft removed the father character and replaced him with a substitute named Ben Kenobi, and in 1976 a fourth draft had been prepared for principal photography. The film was titled Adventures of Luke Starkiller, as taken from the Journal of the Whills, Saga I: The Star Wars. During production, Lucas changed Luke's name to Skywalker and altered the title to simply The Star Wars and finally Star Wars.^[22]

At that point, Lucas was not expecting the film to become part of a series. The fourth draft of the script underwent subtle changes that made it more satisfying as a self-contained film, ending with the destruction of the Empire itself by way of destroying the Death Star. However, Lucas had previously conceived of the film as the first in a series of adventures. Later, he realised the film would not in fact be the first in the sequence, but a film in the second trilogy in the saga. This is stated explicitly in George Lucas' preface to the 1994 reissue of Splinter of the Mind's Eye:

It wasn't long after I began writing Star Wars that I realized the story was more than a single film could hold. As the saga of the Skywalkers and Jedi Knights unfolded, I began to see it as a tale that could take at least nine films to tell—three trilogies—and I realized, in making my way through the back story and after story, that I was really setting out to write the middle story.

The second draft contained a teaser for a never-made sequel about "The Princess of Ondos," and by the time of the third draft some months later Lucas had negotiated a contract that gave him rights to make two sequels. Not long after, Lucas met with author Alan Dean Foster, and hired him to write these two sequels as novels.^[23] The intention was that if Star Wars were successful, Lucas could adapt the novels into screenplays.^[24] He had also by that point developed a fairly elaborate backstory to aid his writing process.^[25]

When Star Wars proved successful, Lucas decided to use the film as the basis for an elaborate serial, although at one point he considered walking away from the series altogether.^[26] However, Lucas wanted to create an independent filmmaking center—what would become Skywalker Ranch—and saw an opportunity to use the series as a financing agent.^[27] Alan Dean Foster had already begun writing the first sequel novel, but Lucas decided to abandon his plan to adapt Foster's work; the book was released as Splinter of the Mind's Eye the next year. At first Lucas envisioned a series of films with no set number of entries, like the James Bond series. In an interview with Rolling Stone in August 1977, he said that he wanted his friends to each take a turn at directing the films and giving unique interpretations on the series. He also said that the backstory where Darth Vader turns to the dark side, kills Luke's father and fights Ben Kenobi on a volcano as the Galactic Republic falls would make an excellent sequel.

Later that year, Lucas hired science fiction author Leigh Brackett to write Star Wars II with him. They held story conferences and by late November 1977, Lucas had produced a handwritten treatment called The Empire Strikes Back. The treatment is very similar to the final film except that Darth Vader does not reveal he is Luke's father. In the first draft that Brackett would write from this, Luke's father appears as a ghost to instruct Luke.^[28]

Brackett finished her first draft in early 1978; Lucas has said he was disappointed with it, but before he could discuss it with her, she died from cancer.^[29] With no writer available, Lucas had to write his next draft himself. It was this draft in which Lucas first made use of the "Episode" numbering for the films; Empire Strikes Back was listed as Episode II.^[30] As Michael Kaminski argues in The Secret History of Star Wars, the disappointment with the first draft probably made Lucas consider different directions in which to take the story.^[31] He made use of a new plot twist: Darth Vader claims to be Luke's father. According to Lucas, he found this draft enjoyable to write, as opposed to the year-long struggles writing the first film, and quickly wrote two more drafts,^[32] both in April 1978. He also took the script to a darker extreme by having Han Solo become imprisoned in carbonite and left in limbo.^[6]

This new story point of Darth Vader being Luke's father had drastic effects on the series. Michael Kaminski argues in his book that it is unlikely that the plot point had ever seriously been considered or even conceived of before 1978, and that the first film was clearly operating under an alternate storyline where Vader was separate from Luke's father;^[33] there is not a single reference to this plot point before 1978. After writing the second and third drafts of Empire Strikes Back in which the point was introduced, Lucas reviewed the new backstory he had created: Anakin Skywalker was Ben Kenobi's brilliant student; he had a child called Luke but was swayed to the dark side by Emperor Palpatine (who became a Sith and not simply a politician). Anakin battled Ben Kenobi on the site of a volcano and was wounded, but then resurrected as Darth Vader. Meanwhile Kenobi hid Luke on Tatooine while the Republic became the Empire and Vader hunted down the Jedi knights.^[34]

With this new backstory in place, Lucas decided that the series would be a trilogy, changing Empire Strikes Back from Episode II to Episode V in the next draft.^[35] Lawrence Kasdan, who had just completed writing Raiders of the Lost Ark, was then hired to write the next drafts, and was given additional input from director Irvin Kershner. Kasdan, Kershner, and producer Gary Kurtz saw the film as a more serious and adult film, which was helped by the new, darker storyline, and developed the series from the light adventure roots of the first film.^[36]

By the time he began writing Episode VI in 1981 (then titled Revenge of the Jedi), much had changed. Making Empire Strikes Back was stressful and costly, and Lucas' personal life was disintegrating. Burnt out, and not wanting to make any more Star Wars films, he vowed that he was done with the series in a May 1983 interview with Time magazine. Lucas' 1981 rough drafts had Darth Vader competing with the Emperor for possession of Luke—and in the second script, the "revised rough draft," Vader became a sympathetic character. Lawrence Kasdan was hired to take over once again and, in these final drafts, Vader was explicitly redeemed and finally unmasked. This change in character would provide a springboard to the "Tragedy of Darth Vader" storyline that underlies the prequels.^[37]

Prequel trilogy

After losing much of his fortune in a divorce settlement in 1987, Lucas had no desire to return to Star Wars, and had unofficially canceled his sequel trilogy by the time of Return of the Jedi.^[38] However the prequels, which were quite developed, continued to fascinate him. After Star Wars became popular once again, in the wake of Dark Horse's comic line and Timothy Zahn's trilogy of novels, Lucas saw that there was still a large audience. His children had begun to grow older, and with the explosion of CGI technology he was now considering returning to directing.^[39] By 1993 it was announced, in Variety among other sources, that he would be making the prequels. He began outlining the story, now indicating that Anakin Skywalker would be the protagonist rather than Ben Kenobi, and that the series would be a tragic one examining Anakin's transformation to evil. Lucas also began to change how the prequels would exist relative to the originals; at first they were supposed to be a "filling-in" of history, backstory, existing parallel or tangential to the originals, but now he saw that they could form the beginning of one long story that started with Anakin's childhood and ended with his death. This was the final step towards turning the film series into a "Saga".^[40]

In 1994, Lucas began writing the first screenplay titled Episode I: The Beginning. Following the release of that film, Lucas announced that he would also be directing the next two, and began working on Episode II at that time.^[41] The first draft of Episode II was completed just weeks before principal photography, and Lucas hired Jonathan Hales, a writer from The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, to polish it up.^[42] Unsure of a title, Lucas had jokingly called the film "Jar Jar's Great Adventure."^[43] In writing The Empire Strikes Back, Lucas initially decided that Lando Calrissian was a clone and came from a planet of clones which caused the "Clone Wars" mentioned by Kenobi in A New Hope;^[44]^[45] he later came up with an alternate concept of an army of clone shocktroopers from a remote planet which attacked the Republic and were repelled by the Jedi knights.^[46] The basic elements of that backstory became the plot basis for Episode II, with the new wrinkle added that the entire event was personal manipulation of Palpatine's.^[4]

Lucas began working on Episode III even before Attack of the Clones was released, offering concept artists that the film would open with a montage of seven Clone War battles.^[47] As he reviewed the storyline that summer, however, he says he radically re-organized the plot.^[48] Michael Kaminski, in The Secret History of Star Wars, offers evidence that issues in Anakin's fall to the dark side prompted Lucas to make massive story changes, first revising the opening sequence to have Palpatine kidnapped and Dooku killed by Anakin as the first act in the latter's turn towards the dark side.^[49] After principal photography was complete in 2003, Lucas made even more massive changes in Anakin's character, re-writing his entire turn to the dark side; he would now turn primarily in a quest to save Padme from death, rather than the previous version in which that reason was one of several, including that he genuinely believed that the Jedi were evil and plotting to take over the Republic. This fundamental re-write was accomplished both through editing the principal footage, and new and revised scenes filmed during pick-ups in 2004.^[50]

Lucas often exaggerated the amount of material he wrote for the series; much of it stemmed from the post–1978 period when the series grew into a phenomenon. Michael Kaminski explained that these exaggerations were both a publicity and security measure. Kaminski rationalized that since the series' story radically changed throughout the years, it was always Lucas' intention to change the original story retroactively because audiences would only view the material from his perspective.^[5]^[51]

Future releases

At a ShoWest convention in 2005, Lucas demonstrated new technology and stated that he planned to release the six films in a new 3-D film format, beginning with A New Hope in 2007.^[52] However, by January 2007, Lucasfilm stated on StarWars.com that "there are no definitive plans or dates for releasing the Star Wars saga in 3-D." At Celebration Europe in July 2007, Rick McCallum confirmed that Lucasfilm is "planning to take all six films and turn them into 3-D," but they are "waiting for the companies out there that are developing this technology to bring it down to a cost level that makes it worthwhile for everybody".^[53] In July 2008 Jeffrey Katzenberg, the CEO of Dreamworks Animations, let it slip that George Lucas is to redo all six of the movies in 3D.^[54]

Lucas has hinted in the past that he will release future, more definitive editions of the six Star Wars films on a next-generation home-video format.^[55]^[56] There have been discussions that he will take this opportunity to make any final adjustments, changes, additions, and/or subtractions to his films for this final release. An altered clip from The Phantom Menace included in a featurette on the DVD release of Revenge of the Sith features a computer generated Yoda replacing the original puppet; animation director Rob Coleman stated that the clip had been created as test footage of Yoda prior to work on Revenge of the Sith.^[57] Lucasfilm Vice President of Marketing Jim Ward announced that Lucasfilm is likely to do more work on the films, stating "As the technology evolves and we get into a high-definition platform that is easily consumable by our customers, the situation is much better, but there will always be work to be done."^[58]

Expanded Universe

Main article: Star Wars Expanded Universe

The term Expanded Universe (EU) is an umbrella term for officially licensed Star Wars material outside of the six feature films. The material expands the stories told in the films, taking place anywhere from 25,000 years before The Phantom Menace to 140 years after Return of the Jedi. The first Expanded Universe story appeared in Marvel Comics' Star Wars #7 in January 1978 (the first six issues of the series having been an adaptation of the film), followed quickly by Alan Dean Foster's novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye the following month.^[87]

George Lucas retains artistic control over the Star Wars universe. For example, the death of central characters and similar changes in the status quo must first pass his screening before authors are given the go-ahead. In addition, Lucasfilm Licensing devotes efforts to ensure continuity between the works of various authors across companies.^[88] Elements of the Expanded Universe have been adopted by Lucas for use in the films, such as the name of capital planet Coruscant, which first appeared in Timothy Zahn's novel Heir to the Empire before being used in The Phantom Menace. A character introduced in Dark Horse Comics' Star Wars series, a blue Twi'lek Jedi Knight named Aayla Secura, was liked enough by Lucas to be included as a character in Attack of the Clones.^[89]

To date, six films and three animated series have been produced for television, with a live-action series and a 3D CGI animated series in pre-production as well as a 3D CGI full-length theatrical movie, The Clone Wars, which was released on August 15, 2008. Lucas has played a large role in the production of the television projects, usually serving as storywriter or executive producer.^[90] Star Wars has had numerous radio adaptations. A radio adaptation of A New Hope was first broadcast on National Public Radio in 1981. The adaptation was written by science fiction author Brian Daley and directed by John Madden. It was followed by adaptations of The Empire Strikes Back in 1983 and Return of the Jedi in 1996. The adaptations included background material created by Lucas but not used in the films. Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, and Billy Dee Williams reprised their roles as Luke Skywalker, C-3PO, and Lando Calrissian, respectively, except in Return of the Jedi in which Luke was played by Joshua Fardon and Lando by Arye Gross. The series also used John Williams' original score from the films and Ben Burtt's original sound designs.^[91]

Other films

In addition to the two trilogies, several authorized films have been produced:

The Star Wars Holiday Special, a 1978 two-hour television special, shown only once and never released on video. Notable for the introduction of Boba Fett.
Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure, a 1984 American made-for-TV film - released theatrically overseas.
Ewoks: The Battle for Endor, a 1985 American made-for-TV film - released theatrically overseas.
The Great Heep, a 1986 animated television special from the Star Wars: Droids TV series.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars, a 2008 theatrical release that leads into the animated TV series of the same name.

Animated series

Following the success of the movies and merchandising for both the original trilogy and its spin-offs, two cartoons were created for the younger fan base:

Star Wars: Droids, also known as Droids, which premiered in September 1985, focused on the travels of R2-D2 and C-3P0 as they shift through various different owners/masters, and vaguely fills in the gaps between the events of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
Star Wars: Ewoks and colloquially as The Ewoks, was simultaneously released in September 1985 and focused on the adventures of Wicket and various other recognizable Ewok characters from the original trilogy in the years leading up to Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.
Star Wars: Clone Wars cartoon series created by Genndy Tartakovsky that aired on Cartoon Network from 2003 to 2005.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series coming off of the animated movie of the same name, that began in October, 2008.

Literature

Main articles: List of Star Wars books and List of Star Wars comic books

Star Wars-based fiction predates the release of the first film, with the 1976 novelization of Star Wars (ghost-written by Alan Dean Foster and credited to Lucas). Foster's 1978 novel, Splinter of the Mind's Eye, was the first Expanded Universe work to be released. In addition to filling in the time between the films, this additional content greatly expanded the Star Wars timeline before and after the film series. Star Wars fiction flourished during the time of the original series (1977–1983) but slowed to a trickle afterwards. In 1992, however, Timothy Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy debuted, sparking a new interest in the Star Wars universe. Since then, several hundred tie-in novels have been published by Bantam and Del Rey. A similar resurgence in the Expanded Universe occurred in 1996 with the Steve Perry novel Shadows of the Empire, set between Episodes V and VI, and accompanying video game and comic book series.^[92]

LucasBooks radically changed the face of the Star Wars universe with the introduction of the New Jedi Order series, which takes place some 20 years after Return of the Jedi and stars a host of new characters alongside series originals. For younger audiences, three series have been introduced. The Jedi Apprentice series follows the adventures of Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi before Episode I. The Jedi Quest series follows the adventures of Obi-Wan Kenobi and his apprentice Anakin Skywalker after Episode I and before Episode II. The third and currently on-going series is The Last Of the Jedi series which follows the adventure of Obi-Wan Kenobi and the adventures of a surviving Jedi almost immediately after Episode III.

Marvel Comics published Star Wars comic book series and adaptations from 1977 to 1986. A wide variety of creators worked on this series, including Roy Thomas, Archie Goodwin, Howard Chaykin, Al Williamson, Carmine Infantino, Gene Day, Walt Simonson, Michael Golden, Chris Claremont, Whilce Portacio, Jo Duffy, and Ron Frenz. They also published a Star Wars newspaper strip by Russ Manning, Steve Gerber, and Archie Goodwin, the latter under a pseudonym. In the late 1980s, Marvel announced it would publish a new Star Wars comic by Tom Veitch and Cam Kennedy. However, in December 1991, Dark Horse Comics acquired the Star Wars license and used it to launch a number of ambitious sequels to the original trilogy instead, including the very popular Dark Empire stories.^[93] They have since gone on to publish a large number of original adventures set in the Star Wars universe. There have also been parody comics, including Tag and Bink.^[94]

Games

Main articles: Star Wars computer and video games, List of Star Wars video games, and Star Wars Trading Cards

Since 1982, dozens of video games have been published bearing the Star Wars name, beginning with Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back published for the Atari 2600 by Parker Brothers. Since then, Star Wars has opened the way to a myriad of space-flight simulation games, first-person shooter games, roleplaying games, RTS games, and others. Two different official tabletop role-playing games have been developed for the Star Wars universe: a version by West End Games in the 1980s and 1990s, and one by Wizards of the Coast in the 2000s. The best-selling games so far are the Lego Star Wars and the Battlefront series, with 12 million and 10 million units respectively.^[95]^[96]

The latest games released are Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, for the PS3, PSP, PS2, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS and Wii. While The Complete Saga focuses on all six episodes of the series, The Force Unleashed, of the same name of the multimedia project which it is a part of, takes place in the largely unexplored time period between Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and casts players as Darth Vader's "secret apprentice" hunting down the remaining Jedi. The game features a new game engine, and was released on September 16, 2008 in the United States.^[97]^[98] There are two more titles based around the Clone Wars which were released in November 2008 for the Nintendo DS (Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Jedi Alliance and Wii (Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Lightsaber Duels).

Star Wars trading cards have been published since the first 'blue' series, by Topps, in 1977.^[99] Dozens of series have been produced, with Topps being the licensed creator in the United States. Some of the card series are of film stills, while others are original art. Many of the cards have become highly collectible with some very rare 'promos', such as the 1993 Galaxy Series II 'floating Yoda' P3 card often commanding US$1000 or more. While most 'base' or 'common card' sets are plentiful, many 'insert' or 'chase cards' are very rare.^[100]

The board game Risk has been adapted to the series in two editions by Hasbro: Risk Star Wars: The Original Trilogy Edition^[101] (2006) and Risk Star Wars: Clone Wars Edition^[102] (2005).

Fan works

Main article: Star Wars fan films

The Star Wars saga has inspired many fans to create their own apocrypha set in the Star Wars galaxy. In recent years, this has ranged from writing fan-fiction to creating fan films. In 2002, Lucasfilm sponsored the first annual Official Star Wars Fan Film Awards, officially recognizing filmmakers and the genre. Because of concerns over potential copyright and trademark issues, however, the contest was initially open only to parodies, mockumentaries, and documentaries. Fan-fiction films set in the Star Wars universe were originally ineligible, but in 2007 Lucasfilm changed the submission standards to allow in-universe fiction entries.^[103]

While many fan films have used elements from the licensed Expanded Universe to tell their story, they are not considered an official part of the Star Wars canon. However, the lead character from the Pink Five series was incorporated into Timothy Zahn's 2007 novel Allegiance, marking the first time a fan-created Star Wars character has ever crossed into the official canon.^[104] Lucasfilm, for the most part, has allowed but not endorsed the creation of these derivative fan-fiction works, so long as no such work attempts to make a profit from or tarnish the Star Wars franchise in any way.^[105] Lucasfilm's open support and sanction of fan creations is a marked contrast to the attitudes of many other copyright holders.

Legacy

Main article: Cultural impact of Star Wars

The Star Wars saga has had a significant impact on modern American pop culture. Both the films and characters have been parodied in numerous films and television. Notable film parodies of Star Wars include Hardware Wars, a 13 minute 1977 spoof which Lucas has called his favorite Star Wars parody, and Spaceballs, a feature film by Mel Brooks which featured effects done by Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic.^[106]^[107] Lucasfilm itself made two mockumentaries, Return of the Ewok (1982), about Wicket W. Warrick's actor Warwick Davis, and R2-D2: Beneath the Dome (2002), which depicts R2-D2's "life story".^[108]^[109] There have also been many songs based on, and in, the Star Wars universe. "Weird Al" Yankovic recorded two parodies: "Yoda", a parody of "Lola" by The Kinks; and "The Saga Begins", a parody of Don McLean's song "American Pie" that retells of The Phantom Menace from Obi-Wan Kenobi's perspective.^[110]

When Ronald Reagan proposed the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), a system of lasers and missiles meant to intercept incoming ICBMs, the plan was quickly labeled "Star Wars," implying that it was science fiction and linking it to Ronald Reagan's acting career. According to Frances FitzGerald, Ronald Reagan was annoyed by this, but Assistant Secretary of Defense Richard Perle told colleagues that he "thought the name was not so bad."; "'Why not?' he said. 'It's a good movie. Besides, the good guys won.'"^[111] This gained further resonance when Reagan described the Soviet Union as an Evil Empire, which was taken from the opening crawl to A New Hope.^[112]

Source: wikipedia.orgS

Iron Man Teaser Trailer

2008-01-24T03:17:00.000-08:00

Iron Man: Coming to theaters in 2008 from Paramount Pictures and Marvel Entertainment, based on Marvel's best-selling Iron Man comic book character.

Based on the long-running Marvel comic book series, "Iron Man" tells the story of Tony Stark, the enigmatic heir to the Stark Enterprises fortune. A driven inventor and executive who seems to have it all, Tony is haunted by his dark side. Though he commands his empire by day, by night he secretly becomes "Iron Man," the living embodiment of decades of defense spending and innovation. Strapping on billions of dollars worth of state-of-the-art armor and weaponry each night to fight crime, terrorism and corporate espionage, Tony begins to crack under the strain of his fractured lifestyle and must ultimately confront the one enemy he can never beat -- himself.

Second Sweeney Todd Trailer!

2008-01-24T03:15:00.000-08:00

You know.
Julie from Depp Impact rules, everyone. Props to her.

check out my real profile "jaxparr0w"

No Country-Now Playing

2008-01-24T03:09:00.000-08:00

Miramax Films: NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN is a mesmerizing new thriller from Academy Award® winning filmmakers Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, based on the acclaimed novel by Pulitzer Prize winning American master Cormac McCarthy. The time is our own, when rustlers have given way to drug-runners and small towns have become free-fire zones. Featuring a cast that includes Academy Award®-winner Tommy Lee Jones ("The Fugitive," "Men in Black"), Josh Brolin ("Grindhouse"), Academy Award®-nominee Javier Bardem ("The Sea Inside"), Academy Award®-nominee Woody Harrelson ("The People Vs. Larry Flynt") and Kelly Macdonald ("Trainspotting"), NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN is written for the screen and directed by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, produced by Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen & Joel Coen and executive produced by Robert Graf and Mark Roybal.

The story begins when Llewelyn Moss (BROLIN) finds a pickup truck surrounded by a sentry of dead men. A load of heroin and two million dollars in cash are still in the back. When Moss takes the money, he sets off a chain reaction of catastrophic violence that not even the law - in the person of aging, disillusioned Sheriff Bell (JONES) - can contain. As Moss tries to evade his pursuers - in particular a mysterious mastermind who flips coins for human lives (BARDEM) - the film simultaneously strips down the American crime drama and broadens its concerns to encompass themes as ancient as the Bible and as bloodily contemporary as this morning's headlines.

A Knight's Tale

2008-01-24T03:04:00.000-08:00

Laura Clifford

Robin Clifford

In the days of yore only those of noble birth were allowed the honor of knighthood. The superstar athlete of his day, the knight would compete in mock battle at staged tournaments for the pleasure of the masses. One young man, lowborn William Thatcher (Heath Ledger), defies convention when he impersonates his now-dead liege lord and goes for the gold in "A Knight's Tale."

Robin:
Writer/director Brian Helgeland delved into film noire, and earned a screenplay Oscar in the process, with his period crime thriller, "L.A. Confidential." He takes a sharp turn from mayhem to mirth with his latest oeuvre, covering territories that range from medieval fairytale adventure to contemporary pop culture. Mixing period and pop is a hard task that rarely meets with success, though there are exceptions, most involving Shakespeare.

There is an obvious hip ness to the material that is the crux of the juggling act the writer/director is trying to perform. Throughout the film he intersperses modern music and readily identifiable contemporary film and social references that meld the modern with the medieval. We're greeted, at the start of a jousting tournament, with the raucous refrains of Queen's "We Will Rock You" and the Middle Ages crowd of onlookers clapping and stomping and doing waves. It's slick and amusing, though the disparity in periods brings attention to itself as the film plays on.

The routine, oft-told tale of a young commoner striving to be something beyond his birthright, to "change his stars," is a staple for modern storytelling. Helgeland doesn't screw around with the rags to riches structure and concentrates on the exciting action of the tournament events - particularly the high-profile jousting matches - and his characters.

Heath Ledger is the first among equals in an ensemble effort that gives the young actor a chance to showcase himself while others get their chance at the limelight, too. The young Australian made a likable debut in "10 Things I Hate About You" and continues to build upon his good looks and easygoing charm as the ambitious Will Thatcher. Ledger handles the gamut of tasks put before him and acquits himself quite well riding, singing, dancing, sword fighting, and in comedy and stunt work.

The band of misfits accompanying William on his quest are an eclectic collection of affable rogues who are reluctantly drawn in to the young squire's hair-brained, and potentially deadly, scheme. Mark Addy ("The Full Monty") is solid as the serious-minded best friend, Roland. Alan Tudyk plays William's enforcer, Wat, a carrot-topped vassal whose hot-headedness is tempered by his loyalty to his friends. Rounding out William's merry men is a young poet and story-teller named Geoff Chaucer (Paul Bettany), who acts as Williams press agent, promoter and ring announcer, and a pretty blacksmith named Kate (Laura Fraser), a real master of metals. The only problem with these characters and their performances is you don't get enough of them. The rest of the cast is adequate, though Shannyn Sossamon as the love interest, Jocelyn, is pretty but little more than an object of affection - no sparks fly between her and William.

The production is first-class with great attention paid to medieval period details, but with a contempo feel throughout. The big tournie scenes maintain a Super Bowl atmosphere with the audience hyped to a fever pitch as the jousting action mounts. The jousts tend to be repetitive, as expected when two guys try to knock each other off their horses with a big stick, but slickly edited and visually exciting. The behind-the-camera tech team members providing the visuals for "A Knight's Tale" are equal to the director's talent and vision. Cinematographer Richard Greatrex, production designer Tony Burrough, and costumer and armor designer Caroline Harris contribute to the modern/medieval look that Helgeland seeks. The use of modern pop and rock music is handled in an amusing and interesting way, with each tune selected to appropriately fit the scene in which it is used. David Bowie's "Golden Years" is used over a Middle Ages line dance; Bachman-Turner Overdrive's "Takin' Care of Business" plays as William establishes himself as the leader and true friend of his little band; The World Series of tournaments, London, has the dream team come into town under Thin Lizzy's "The Boys Are Back In Town." Each tune works and will please the hipsters in the audience.

Brian Helgeland picked a tough nut in his combo of "Rocky" meets the knights of old yarn and, while not a great film, "A Knight's Tale" does a sound job in putting together the combination. The attractive, likable cast and excellent production values overcome the sometimes overly hip screenplay. I give it a B.

Laura:
A young thatcher's son William aspires to the impossible dream of becoming a knight, a title reserved for the noble born. When the adult William (Heath Ledger, "The Patriot") is faced with his liege Knight's death before the final round of a joust, he seizes an opportunity, shielded from questioning eyes by his benefactor's armor in writer/director Brian Helgeland's "A Knight's Tale."

Who would have predicted the writer of "L.A. Confidential" and director of Mel Gibson's "Payback" would make his hyphenate debut with such a risky premise? "A Knight's Tale" is a bold melding of a modern rock score and culture with the medieval jousting tournament circuit of the 14th century. We're thrown into the excitement as Queen's "We Will Rock You" blares, peasants in the stands do a wave and a young wench boogies to the music.

William wins the third round merely by staying on his horse (his knight was ahead in the first two rounds) and amusingly stays undercover by dint of the dent delivered to his helmet by his opponent's lance. William and his starving cohorts Roland (Mark Addy, "The Full Monty") and Wat (Alan Tudyk, "28 Days") quickly convert the prize into fifteen silver florins. After heated debate, William convinces them to invest the money into turning him into a tournament competitor rather than immediately gratifying their stomaches.

One amusing Rocky-like training montage later, the trio make their way towards the next meet, picking up a very nude Geoffrey Chaucer (Paul Bettany, "Bent") along the roadside when he offers to fake William's nobility papers and perform as his herald. Once there, William espies his lady fair, Jocelyn (newcomer Shannyn Sossamon) and crosses the man who will be his arch rival in both love and war, Count Adhemar (Rufus Sewall, "Dark City"). A need for armor repair on account over currency adds female blacksmith Kate (Laura Fraser, "Titus") to William's entourage.

If "The Patriot" didn't catapult Heath Ledger into full fledged stardom, "A Knight's Tale" surely will. Ledger exudes down to earth charm as well as being up to the physical demands of medieval tournament competition. He can also cut a mean rug. Ledger's more than ably supported. Paul Bettany is comically inspired as the scene-stealing, gambling addicted future author of 'The Canterbury Tales.' His hammy, hilarious deliveries of 'Sir Ulrich's' qualifications are one of the film's highlights and his character's weakness provides an opportunity for William to show what he's made of. Alan Tudyk also provides laughs as the fiery redhead whose approach to almost any situation is like a pitbull's. Addy is the more level-headed voice of reason. Laura Fraser quietly makes a strong stand for women's lib. Sewell is a haughty, egotistical cheat, and therefore, a good villain. Newcomer Sossamon has an exotic beauty, but adds little else to the mix.

Helgeland's script has the right mix of humor, action, adventure and sentiment, although a couple of jarring character changes (William accuses his beloved of being a silly girl out of the blue, only to have to win her back; a romance that seems to be percolating between the widowed Kate and Roland is abandoned) may be attributable to editing for run time. He blends pop culture in with ancient history cleverly, usually managing to get a laugh. Kate designs new, more lightweight armor and etches in her 'brand,' which resembles a Nike logo. A courtly medieval dance evolves into present day moves to David Bowie's "Golden Years."

Cinematographer Richard Greatrex ("Shakespeare in Love") along with the film's editor and sound designer make you feel every connection of the knights' lances with their targets. Costume design by Caroline Harris ("An Ideal Husband") mostly works, although Jocelyn's outfits are sometimes too outlandish (one costume featuring a straw bonnet would look more at home at "My Fair Lady's" horse race).

"A Knight's Tale" is rousing fun - it rocks.

Source: http://www.reelingreviews.com

Spider-man Trailer

2008-01-24T03:00:00.000-08:00

The trailer of the first movie

News & Features

2008-01-24T02:43:00.000-08:00

'There Will Be Blood' scored Oscar nominations for Achievement in Art Direction, Achievement in Cinematography, Achievement in Directing, Achievement in Film Editing, Achievement in Sound Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Motion Picture of the Year.

'There Will Be Blood' scores a Golden Globe Nomination for Best Picture - Drama

Holiday Movies 2007: 23 Flicks You Can't Miss

Now Playing In Theaters

Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Kevin J. O'Connor, Ciaran Hinds, more cast
Directed By: Paul Thomas Anderson
Released By: Paramount Vantage
Theatrical Release Date: 12/26/2007
Run Time: 158 min.
Genre: Drama
Rating: R
Synopsis: A loose adaptation of author Upton Sinclair's 1927 novel Oil!, visionary director Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood stars Daniel Day-Lewis ...
Read Full Synopsis

Next TCC Story Set in Transtech Universe

2008-01-24T02:29:00.000-08:00

Update: Head into the full article for the full story The Transformers Collectors' Club has provided a four-page preview up their upcoming story set in the Transtech Universe. Transtech was to be the follow-up line to the Beast Wars, Beast Machines era, but the Transformers: Armada, Energon, and Cybertron universe was chosen instead. Titled "Transcendent," the storyline will run in the club magazine in 2008. The first installment of the story, included with issue 19 of the magazine, is heading to club members' mailboxes right now.

Juno (2007)

2008-01-24T02:26:00.000-08:00

Trailers:
•	'Juno' Theatrical Trailer

Clips:
•	"Anything But This" -- Ellen Page introduces a clip where her character Juno tells her parents (J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney) that she is pregnant.
•	"The Coolest Person" -- Juno (Ellen Page) admits to Paulie (Michael Cera) that she is in love with him.
•	"Genetic Gifts" -- Juno (Ellen Page) meets Vanessa (Jennifer Garner) and Mark (Jason Bateman).
•	"Immature" -- Juno (Ellen Page) tells Paulie (Michael Cera) she will not go to prom with him.
•	"Just Tell Them" -- Juno (Ellen Page) finally comes clean to her parents (J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney).
•	"Magical" -- Juno (Ellen Page) encourages Vanessa (Jennifer Garner) to speak to the baby.
•	"A Little Morose" -- Mac (J.K. Simmons) asks Juno (Ellen Page) what is bothering her.
•	"Not Set in Stone" -- Vanessa (Jennifer Garner) and Mark (Jason Bateman) spend some time with Juno (Ellen Page).

Source: http://movies.yahoo.com

WonderCon '06: Holy Terror, Batman!

2008-01-24T02:17:00.000-08:00

Batman kicks Al Qaeda's ass. Frank Miller's talks about upcoming book.

by Hilary Goldstein

February 12, 2006 - During his WonderCon panel, Frank Miller discussed his next graphic novel. Once again, Miller returns to the world of the Batman, this time with Holy Terror, Batman!. Though the title plays with Robin's classic catchphrase, the book deals with a serious subject. Gotham has been attacked by Al Qaeda and Batman sets out to defend the city he loves. The book, which Miller has inked through 120 pages, is expected to run roughly 200 pages total.

Miller proudly announced the title of his next Batman book, which he will write, draw and ink. Holy Terror, Batman! is no joke. And Miller doesn't hold back on the true purpose of the book, calling it "a piece of propoganda," where 'Batman kicks al Qaeda's ass."

The reason for this work, Miller said, was "an explosion from my gut reaction of what's happening now." He can't stand entertainers who lack the moxie of their '40s counterparts who stood up to Hitler. Holy Terror is "a reminder to people who seem to have forgotten who we're up against."

It's been a long time since heroes were used in comics as pure propaganda. As Miller reminded, "Superman punched out Hitler. So did Captain America. That's one of the things they're there for."

"These are our folk heroes," Miller said. "It just seems silly to chase around the Riddler when you've got Al Qaeda out there."

Miller gave warning on our expectations over the visual style of the book. "Be afraid," he said, adding, "I think it's some of the best artwork I've ever done." Miller's career took off with Daredevil, a visual love letter to New York city. In some respects this is an artistic return to his roots. "Gotham City comes under attack, so it involves a lot more industrial landscapes than I've done in years."

"Emotionally, it's really raw," Miller explained. Imagine the powerful rage when someone crosses the "passion between a man and a woman or a man and his city. "

"The Greeks had their Gods and heroes," Miller said. "We have ours." And if you truly consider these characters our mythological figureheads, you have to wonder about their place and purpose in our culture. "What are they there for?" Miller asked, rhetorically. "Are they really going to be saving damned cats from damn trees?"

Source: http://comics.ign.com

TODAY'S SLAP: The Razzies

2008-01-24T02:10:00.000-08:00

WHY I WILL SLAP YOU: Normally, we're kindred spirits, you Razzies and I — you set Hollywood up with a stiff left jab to the jaw, and I come in and finish it off with an uppercut slap to the kisser. But this time, you really whiffed it with your 2005 nominations. Sure, you've got Son of the Mask (fittingly) nominated about a zillion times, and my old pal Rob Schneider gets the nod he deserves. But you pick Tommy the Cruise in the mediocre (but certainly not horrid) War of the Worlds over, say, Jamie the Foxx in Stealth?! And what about Jennifer Garner's shudder-inducing Elektra? Wait, wait, wait; you ignored Supercross?! There is no justice.

WHAT I WILL SLAP YOU WITH: That stupid faux electronic Stealth brain; even that glorified autopilot could have picked movies more deserving of a razzing.

HOW HARD I WILL SLAP YOU: Hard enough that you'll personally apologize to Cruise. Before he sics the Scientologists on you.

Source: http://movies.go.com

Steep

2008-01-24T01:54:00.000-08:00

Steep

Spotlighting the sport of extreme skiing, from its inception to its present form.

Directed by: Mark Obenhaus
Year: 2007
MPAA Rating: PG
Genre: Documentary
Running Time: 1:30
Language: English
Country: United States
Color type: Color

Crew

Director

Producer

Producer

Executive Producer

Executive Producer

STAR WARS® LEGACY OF THE FORCE: EXILE

2008-01-24T00:50:00.000-08:00

Written by Aaron Allston
Fiction - Science Fiction - Space Opera; Fiction - Science Fiction - Adventure; Fiction - Movie or Television

About This Book

In the Stars Wars galaxy, evil is on the move as the Galactic Alliance and Jedi order battle forces seen and unseen, from rampant internal treachery to the nightmare of all-out war.

With each victory against the Corellian rebels, Jacen Solo becomes more admired, more powerful, and more certain of achieving galactic peace. But that peace may come with a price. Despite strained relationships caused by opposing sympathies in the war, Han and Leia Solo and Luke and Mara Skywalker remain united by one frightening suspicion: Someone insidious is manipulating this war, and if he or she isn’t stopped, all efforts at reconciliation may be for naught. And as sinister visions lead Luke to believe that the source of the evil is none other than Lumiya, Dark Lady of the Sith, the greatest peril revolves around Jacen himself. . . .

Author Biography

Aaron Allston is the New York Times bestselling author of the Star Wars: The New Jedi Order: Enemy Lines novels: Rebel Dream and Rebel Stand; novels in the popular Star Wars X-Wing series; and the Doc Sidhe novels, which combine 1930s-style hero-pulps with Celtic myth. He is also a longtime game designer and was recently inducted into the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design (AAGAD) Hall of Fame. He lives in Central Texas. Visit his website at www.AaronAllston.com.

10 Things I Hate About You

2008-01-24T00:26:00.000-08:00

Directed by Gil Junger.
Written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith.
Starring Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Larisa Oleynik, David Krumholtz, Andrew Keegan, and Allison Janney.
Based on the play 'The Taming of the Shrew' by William Shakespeare.

'Mountain' looms over Oscar nominations

2008-01-24T00:19:00.000-08:00

'Crash' earns six; Clooney picks up three

By Todd Leopold
CNN

(CNN) -- It has been the subject of controversy and the subject of jokes -- how many times have you heard variations on "I wish I knew how to quit you" or seen parodies of its poster? -- but mostly "Brokeback Mountain" has been the subject of honors.

On Tuesday, the story of two romantically involved male ranch hands -- which already has won best picture honors from the Golden Globes (drama), Broadcast Film Critics Association and New York Film Critics Circle -- crowned its status as Oscar front-runner by leading all films with eight nominations for the 78th annual Academy Awards.

"Brokeback," based on a short story by E. Annie Proulx, picked up nods for best picture, best director (Ang Lee), best actor (Heath Ledger), best supporting actress (Michelle Williams) and best supporting actor (Jake Gyllenhaal). Its screenplay adaptation, by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, also received a nomination.

"Brokeback," with its overtly gay love story, has proved much more popular at the box office than some pundits had predicted. Even director Lee has been surprised.

"I thought it was a small work of love," he told Reuters. "I never thought it would play like this."

Tuesday was also a big day for George Clooney, who picked up nominations for directing "Good Night, and Good Luck" and co-writing its original screenplay -- a story about CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow's battle with Sen. Joe McCarthy -- with Grant Heslov. Clooney was also a pick for best supporting actor for his performance as a CIA agent in "Syriana."

Clooney's nominations marked the first time the same person has been nominated for acting in and directing another movie.

"Good Night, and Good Luck" also received nominations for best picture and best actor (David Strathairn, who portrays Murrow), while "Syriana" earned a nod for best original screenplay for its director and writer, Stephen Gaghan.

Other nominees for best picture are "Capote," "Crash" and "Munich." "Crash" won the Screen Actors Guild award Sunday night for best performance by a cast. (Think you know who's going to win Oscar? Play our Inside the Envelope game.)

Some notable films were left out of the best picture running.

"Walk the Line," the Johnny Cash biography that has earned acting honors for stars Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon, was shut out of the best picture and best director races, but Phoenix and Witherspoon were nominated in lead acting categories.

"A History of Violence," another critical favorite, earned supporting actor and adapted screenplay nods, but nothing for its director, David Cronenberg. And "King Kong," despite some support for actress Naomi Watts and director Peter Jackson, only picked up technical nominations.

Forecasters on the mark

With a handful of exceptions, the nominations matched prognosticators' forecasts. ( Watch what the surprises were -- 4:08)

Philip Seymour Hoffman, who has garnered several awards for his portrayal of author Truman Capote in "Capote," was nominated for best actor. Ledger, Strathairn and Phoenix have been on many short lists. The category's mild surprise was "Hustle & Flow's" Terrence Howard, who earned critical raves but was seen by many as being on the bubble.

The best actress category is seen as a two-person race between Witherspoon, who played June Carter Cash in "Walk the Line," and Felicity Huffman, for her performance as a pre-op transsexual in "Transamerica." Both actresses won Golden Globes for their performances -- Witherspoon for best actress (comedy/musical), Huffman for best actress (drama). Witherspoon took the SAG Award on Sunday night.

Other nominees are previous Oscar winners Charlize Theron ("North Country") and Judi Dench ("Mrs. Henderson Presents") and newcomer Keira Knightley ("Pride & Prejudice").

In the best supporting actor category, Paul Giamatti -- left out of the nominations last year despite being much-lauded for "Sideways" -- was nominated for his performance as boxing manager Joe Gould in "Cinderella Man." William Hurt, who popped up for short, sharp performances in "Syriana" and "A History of Violence," was nominated for the latter film.

The other nominees are Clooney, Gyllenhaal and Matt Dillon ("Crash") .

Rachel Weisz, already a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award winner for "The Constant Gardener," earned an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress. Her competition includes Amy Adams ("Junebug"), Catherine Keener ("Capote"), Frances McDormand ("North Country") and Williams ("Brokeback Mountain").

Newsweek, in its annual Oscar preview chat among likely nominees, hit it exactly right with the five directors it selected for this year's talk: Paul Haggis ("Crash"), Lee ("Brokeback Mountain"), Bennett Miller ("Capote"), Clooney ("Good Night, and Good Luck") and Steven Spielberg ("Munich").

Some of the directors already knew each other from previous projects. Haggis was a writer and Clooney was an actor on the TV show "The Facts of Life," and Haggis is working with Spielberg on the Clint Eastwood-directed "Flags of Our Fathers."

"Long after the Oscars this year, I think we're going have weekly dinners together. We're all planning to all move in together," Spielberg joked to the AP.

Other categories

Woody Allen, a frequent original screenplay nominee, was nominated once again, this year for "Match Point." His competition includes Clooney and Heslov, Gaghan, Haggis and Bobby Moresco ("Crash"), and Noah Baumbach ("The Squid and the Whale").

The nominees for best adapted screenplay are McMurtry and Ossana; Dan Futterman, "Capote"; Jeffrey Caine, "The Constant Gardener"; Josh Olson, "A History of Violence"; and Tony Kushner and Eric Roth, "Munich."

Oscar steered away from computer-animated films this year, picking "Howl's Moving Castle," "Tim Burton's Corpse Bride" and "Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-rabbit" for best animated feature. The latter two were done with stop-action figures.

Nominees for best foreign film are "Don't Tell," Italy; "Joyeux Noel," France; "Paradise Now," Palestinian territories; "Sophie Scholl -- The Final Days," Germany; and "Tsotsi," South Africa.

After "Brokeback's" eight nominations, three films follow with six: "Crash," "Good Night, and Good Luck" and "Memoirs of a Geisha." "Geisha" was shut out of the major categories.

"Munich" received five nominations.

None of the year's blockbusters was well represented. "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith" received one nomination, for makeup -- perhaps the first time a "Star Wars" film did not receive a special effects nomination. "King Kong" picked up four nods, and "War of the Worlds," Spielberg's other 2005 film, scored three nods in technical categories.

"The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" was nominated in the sound mixing, makeup and visual effects categories. "Batman Begins" is up for a cinematography prize.

The documentary feature nominees included "March of the Penguins," perhaps the biggest sleeper hit of 2005, along with "Darwin's Nightmare," "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room," "Murderball" and "Street Fight."

The academy apparently didn't like many songs this year; only three were nominated instead of the usual five. They were "In the Deep" from "Crash," "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" from "Hustle & Flow" and "Travelin' Thru" from "Transamerica."

The awards will be held March 5 at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, California. Jon Stewart is the host, and ABC will broadcast the ceremony.

Source: http://www.cnn.com

Iron Man (2008)

2008-01-10T19:19:00.000-08:00

Tony Stark, a billionaire industrialist and inventor, is kidnapped and forced by his captors to design and build a weapon. Secretly, Stark instead creates a mechanized suit of armor and escapes. Returning to the U.S., he discovers a dangerous plot and becomes Iron Man to stop it.

Genres:	Action/Adventure, Science Fiction/Fantasy and Adaptation

Release Date:	May 2nd, 2008 (wide)

Distributors:	Paramount Pictures

Iron Man Game Trailer HIGHEST QUALITY

Also Known As: Ironman
Production Status: In Production/Awaiting Release
Logline: Billionaire industrialist Tony Stark leads a double life as an iron-plated crime fighter.
Genres: Action/Adventure, Science Fiction/Fantasy and Adaptation
Release Date: May 2nd, 2008 (wide)
Distributors:
Paramount Pictures
Production Co.:
Marvel Studios
Produced in: United States

Alvin and the Chipmunks (film)

2008-01-10T19:10:00.000-08:00

Bad Day-Alvin & The Chipmunks

Bad Day-Alvin & The Chipmunks

Alvin and the Chipmunks
First theatrical poster

Directed by	Tim Hill
Produced by	Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. Janice Karman Steve Waterman
Written by	Jon Vitti
Starring	Jason Lee Justin Long Matthew Gray Gubler Jesse McCartney David Cross Cameron Richardson Jane Lynch Celestina
Music by	Christopher Lennertz
Cinematography	Peter Lyons Collister
Editing by	Peter Berger

Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	December 14, 2007 December 20, 2007 December 21, 2007 January 3, 2008
Running time	93 min.
Country	USA
Language	English
Budget	US $60 million^[1]
Gross revenue	Domestic: $153,632,443 Worldwide: $156,357,344

Spider-Man 3 (2007)

2008-01-10T19:06:00.000-08:00

Peter Parker has finally managed to strike a balance between his devotion to M.J. and his duties as a superhero. But there is a storm brewing on the horizon. When his suit suddenly changes, turning jet-black and enhancing his powers, it transforms Peter as well, bringing out the dark, vengeful side of his personality that he is struggling to control. Under the influence of the suit, Peter becomes overconfident and starts to neglect the people who care for him most. Forced to choose between the seductive power of the new suit and the compassionate hero he used to be, Peter must overcome his personal demons as two of the most-feared villains yet, Sandman and Venom, gather unparalleled power and a thirst for retribution to threaten Peter and everyone he loves.

Spider-Man 3 Green Goblin Vignette

Spider-Man 3 Green Goblin Vignette for the upcoming videogame, Spider-Man 3, based on the upcoming movie.


Also Known As:	Spider-Man III Spiderman 3

Production Status:	Released

Genres:	Action/Adventure, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Adaptation and Sequel

Running Time:	2 hr. 20 min.

Release Date:	May 4th, 2007 (wide)

MPAA Rating:	PG-13 for sequences of intense action violence.

Distributors:	Sony Pictures Releasing, Sony Pictures Releasing International

Production Co.:	Laura Ziskin Productions, Marvel Studios, Renaissance Pictures

Studios:	Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group

U.S. Box Office:	$336,530,303

Filming Locations:	Los Angeles, California USA New York, New York USA

Produced in:	United States

JUNO Trailer

2008-01-10T19:03:00.001-08:00

A whip-smart teen confronts an unplanned pregnancy by her classmate. In select theatres December 14th.

Iron Man (Anthony Stark)

2008-01-10T18:52:00.000-08:00

A "cool exec with a heart of steel," Tony Stark is the invincible Iron Man, fighting for justice with his scientific genius, repulsor rays, and the full resources of Stark Enterprises!

Iron Man Trailer (2008 Marvel Film)

Never Back Down

2008-01-10T18:40:00.000-08:00

Starring: Sean Faris, Djimon Hounsou, Cam Gigandet, Amber Heard, more cast
Directed By: Jeff Wadlow
Released By: Summit Ent.
Genre: Action and Adventure

An outsider teen acclimating to a new school finds a home in a reclusive teenaged fight club in this drama from Summit Entertainment. Djimon Hounsou and Cam Gigandet co-star in the film, with Sean Faris starring as the troubled young man. Jeff Wadlow (Cry Wolf) directs from a script by Christ Hauty and Robert Munic. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

Kings Of The Sun

2008-01-10T17:54:00.000-08:00

In pre-Columbian Mexico, Mayan ruler George Chakiris must lead his people on a perilous journey across the Gulf of Mexico and into the American Southwest as they're attacked and pursued by Toltec invaders. Luckily for Chakiris, a noble Indian chief (Yul Brynner) comes to their aid. Spectacular historical adventure directed by J. Lee Thompson ("Taras Bulba") also stars Shirley Anne Field, Richard Basehart. 108 min. Widescreen; Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital stereo, Dolby Digital mono, French Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, Spanish.