Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Whoops-a-daisy

Wow... I hadn't even realized I had abandoned these links in an old unpublished post. Here ya go...


Dr Horrible's sing-a-long blog trailer! Whee!!


Rapturous Rolling Stone review of the Dark Knight


Actor's strike could affect Comic Con WHAT?!? And stars choose sides as strike descends. I'm going to have to start reading Nikki Finke again daily, aren't I?


Snyder cutting Watchmen It won't be the book, but every interview I read makes me so excited for this.


The top 5 special effects in Bollywood's time travel movie Oh My God the robot dance. When was the last time you saw something that crazyamazing in an American film?

Monday, June 23, 2008

Burninator!

I am so loving Flight of the Conchords. Clips for your enjoyment here, here, and - maybe most amazingly - here. Also, I hate to say it, but without the beard, Bret kind of looks like Frodo. (I will also say that the show reminds me a bit of the Mighty Boosh. (Do they have that show in America?))

Since my last post I saw The Lookout, which was pretty good, the Notorious Bettie Page, which I enjoyed, although I felt the ending was a bit abrupt, and Enchanted, which I found amusing, particularly James Marsden's clueless prince.

I'd also like to point out that In Bruges is now out on DVD. It is most likely going to end up in my top 10 films of the year. I really, really highly recommend it. It is very dark and very funny.

7 moments of George Carlin greatness My brother and I were lucky enough to see him at Davies Symphony Hall a few years back. The stage at Davies had never seen that kind of language. Probably never will again...

The Saturn Awards SUCKED Seriously. Enchanted over STARDUST?!? Cloverfied over SUNSHINE?!? Although I'm okay with 300 for action and Sweeney Todd for Horror. No, it isn't a straight-up horror flick and I'm sure it won for being mainstream and critically adored. However, Tim Burton certainly made the scariest version of the story possible; the way he filmed the bodies being turned into meat was pretty horrific. And fairly brilliant.

Rip Roarin' ammo fest 'Wanted' is a Can't Miss


Wall*E downplays message


I saw this ad in EW. It made me laugh.

7 Chick flicks for guys Or for those of us who won't touch chick flicks with a ten foot pole. That was one thing I noticed about Definitely, Maybe. I usually cannot stand romantic comedies as a genre, but this stood out as something I'd like to see at some point. The list is fairly standard, Jerry Maguire aside (ugh.).

Is the sky falling on indies? Well, I was disappointed by the returns for Snow Angels and Joshua the year before. (Joshua may have been the most under appreciated film of the year.) Certainly the angle on Sundance coverage this year was the slow buyers market. I think once this year's crop of films gets released, there'll be a better idea of how things stand.

Arrested Development movie Maybe. I don't actually see anything in that quote that confirms a film.

Revisiting Brideshead

The Geek Beat: Super Careers

Youth in Revolt has a great cast

19 one scene wonders I'd add Sam Rockwell in Jarhead, but his scene only made it on the DVD, unfortunately.

Defiance screens Includes a comparison to the Wind that Shakes the Barley, which instantly makes me much more interested.

Is Wall*E the most expensive silent film ever? Umm.. first off, awesome. I love silent films. But doesn't Eve talk?

Hancock billboard amuses passing Londoners, film bloggers across pond I don't find the billboard as amusing as the fact that someone originally titled the film "Tonight, He Comes." What the???

Kate Winslet gets old for the Reader

Ann Curry prowls for James McAvoy Aah!

Could you shoot curvy bullets? This calls for... Mythbusters!

Movie posters vie for street cred

Poster premiere: Death Defying Acts


Sam Riley to play Robin Hood While I've heard great things about Control... I'm not sure he can cancel out Russell Crowe and Sienna Miller.

Watchmen trailer to go before the Dark Knight? Stuff at Comic Con? Neither of these (if true) seem particularly surprising. And it isn't as if there'd be any Watchmen fans not already seeing the Dark Knight when it opens...

Morning spoilers. Hello pretty Milo. Seriously, bless whichever costume designer picks out Peter's coats. And yes, I'm biased, but who doesn't look better with dark hair? Hayden Panettiere, Cameron Diaz, Sarah Jessica Parker, Sienna Miller, Gwenyth Paltrow. Still, I guess it's lucky for brunettes that so few Hollywood blonds choose to stay dark.

Sam news! Sam and Anna Faris to shoot Linda Lovelace biopic this summer?

And I'm reposting Cleolinda's entry about the following bit of news, because she's brilliant; "Hopkins Confirmed As Lear. Apparently Naomi Watts will also join Gwyneth Paltrow and Keira Knightley as the third daughter. Quoth the director, an "American newcomer," "It's pre-Roman, Celtic, very raw. It's a period in British history, from which Tolkien took a lot of his inspiration, where there were thatched-roof roundhouses and fortresses." AND THE TROGDOR COMES IN THE NIIIIIIIGHT!"

Listing

I live my life by lists. Truly.

Anyone who knows me knows that I have a daily routine of writing out a To Do list. This list includes things that must be done today, this week, even in the next several months. It generally also has a list of things I am saving money for. Now, as pre-OCD as it may seem, I like the list. I like crossing off things that I have done. I like knowing that something that needs to be done two weeks from now will not be forgotten. It gives me a semblance of control.

Additionally, though, I tend to carry entertainment lists around with me in my purse. Lists of books to be read, movies to be rented, music to be sought out. Conversely, I keep lists at home of the things I have already consumed. My brother and I check off how many of the top 100 novels we have read, how many of AFI's top films we have seen. I fall victim to afternoons spent listing books I have read on Facebook; movies I have seen on Netflix or Flixter. My favorite blog articles are lists; I like chiming in on what should have been included in the top ten westerns (kudos on Cat Ballou, but the Assassination of Jesse James should really be on there) or the top seven movies about making movies (no Adaptation?). I keep a list of links in my browser for the blogs, comics, and news sites I browse weekly.

When my last laptop failed I spent weeks in agony, worrying that my iTunes library had been lost. Not even the songs themselves so much, which were replaceable, as the list of what I listen to. It would have taken ages for me to try to piece back together the thousands of songs I had compiled into my aural landscape. (I found it, made it into an excel sheet, and emailed it to myself).

I have a small sheet of paper buried in my belongings that lists all of the plays, musicals, and operas I've seen. I list countries and cities I've been to, list which I still want to travel to. I keep my transcripts as lists of the classes I've taken. I update my resume and CV as records of my jobs. Going through old papers today, I came across a list of ideas for blog articles I compiled back in New Zealand.

I am sure a part of my addiction to Facebook is the chance to list favorites, list friends from various schools/in various cities, list groups, list travel. And while I can rattle off my favorite movies, bands and shows at the drop of a hat, I find I have a harder time with the categories that are supposed to sum me up as a person. I was musing ways of updating that category and the first idea I thought up was a list of all the jobs I wanted to hold when I grew up. I think in lists.

Perhaps it is a minor form of OCD. Lord knows I have an obsessive/addictive personality. I hear a song I love and I immediately play it over and over and over until something new comes along. Perhaps it is a way of managing stress; feeling I have control over at least certain aspects of my life. Perhaps it comes from an overly rational brain, trained for years in the field of science where results are quantified. Perhaps it is from growing up in a culture where success is measured by a list of possessions. Success often seems to be a list of some ilk. Even backpackers, who eschew possessions, compare country lists.

Am I a summation of the things I've seen? The books I've read? The ideas I've been exposed to? The places I've worked, volunteered, visited, camped in, walked through? The people I've met or known? Why do I bother trying to quantify who I am?


[Marine Biologist, Entomologist, Ecologist, Bartender, Forensic Anthropologist, Park Ranger, Travel Writer, Farmer, Actress, Theatre Manager, Opera Singer, Casting Director, Cinematographer, Environmental Activist, Zoo Keeper, Movie Critic.]


[This post was inspired by trying to revamp aspects of my Facebook profile, organizing my old papers (in which a distressing number of lists were discovered and compiled), the Entertainment Weekly 1000 issue of listiness and a reread of parts of Affluenza (which discusses the need Americans have to quantify their success or lifestyle by what they buy).]

Monday, June 16, 2008

New Zealand - It's not part of Australia!

Oops. Sorry to have been away. Things have been a wee bit hectic around here. I'm probably missing a bunch of linkspam, but oh well. In my life, I got a massage on Friday which did wonders for my back; I'm not sure I even realized how tense I'd become. I'm volunteering at the SPCA tomorrow (kitties!). And between interviews, housework and working on the family finances, I've been plowing through a book every two days as well as watching a ton of stuff from the tivo and netflix. To wit, in addition to Flight of the Conchords (have I mentioned I passed by Brett in Wellington?) I've recently seen:

Ratatouille. Very cute. I particularly loved Will Arnett's character; "with theeese thumb."

The Fountain. I'm still so disappointed I never got to see this on the big screen. The visuals were really made to be seen on something larger than my tv. I enjoyed it. I thought Hugh Jackman does a fantastic job. Rachel Weisz doesn't get much to do as Tess; her character doesn't have a lot of progression. It makes sense, as she is close to death and the movie covers 3 stories, but she exists more as a motivator for Hugh Jackman rather than as her own person, I felt.

Fracture. Kinda fun and twisty, if a bit overblown. Ryan Gosling and Anthony Hopkins both do alright and the way the murder is committed is interesting. I felt they spent too much time on Ryan's turnabout from corporate greed to activist. Plus, it has Cliff Curtis! I love it when he shows up in films.

The Anniversary Party. The jury's still out on this one. I can't decide if it's an interesting look at L.A. culture and relationships or a totally narcissistic and self-indulgent project.

Shoot Em Up. Whee! Clive Owen can kill a man.... with a carrot. Twice!

Breakfast on Pluto. I really liked this one. It stars Ireland (no, really. Think of an Irish actor. Got it? Trust me, he's in it.) Anyways, it actually stars Cillian Murphy as Patrick Kitten Braden, a transgender Irish youth growing up int he 1970s. Patty refuses to take things seriously, despite the Troubles, and the film is likewise fanciful and endearing. I think Cillian's golden globe nod was well-deserved.

The Incredible Hulk. No, it's not Iron Man (hi, Robert Downey Jr!). But I enjoyed it, much more than I thought I would. I think the main problem was that the film was sort of schizo. There were the Hulk action sequences, which were fun (explosions! whee!) and there was Edward Norton feeling maligned and angsting. Which he does very well. But there seemed to be no continuity between the two, Liv Tyler aside. Not being familiar with the comics, why was it the hulk bore no resemblance to Bruce Banner? Even Tim Roth's monster could talk and held onto aspects of his personality. So I enjoyed Edward Norton racing around trying to find a cure and I enjoyed the hulk smashing things, but they felt like two very different films. Can we put Edward Norton in a similarly angsty role that doesn't involve CGI (but is still big budget) and leave the action films to Wolverine and the Dark Knight? I feel like all of Edward Norton's films recently have been indie (Down in the Valley and the 25th Hour) or not marketed widely (hello, Painted Veil). I guess the Illusionist was big, but I felt it suffered compared to the Prestige. And you never saw his face in Kingdom of Heaven.

Also, Liv Tyler's breathy way of talking, while it worked in Empire Records and Lord of the Rings, really began to get on my nerves. Although I loved her quip about her lip gloss.

Sense & Sensibility. Okay - Masterpiece Theatre and not an actual film, but close enough. It was alright. I think the casting was pretty well done (hurrah for Dominic Cooper as Willoughby!) and I much preferred Dan Stevens to Hugh Grant as Edward. However, Kate Winslet made Marianne far more sympathetic and I think Emma Thompson's screenplay was better. Still, this version had sword fighting!

Linkspam:

First up, and most importantly, the first poster and image from Sam Rockwell's Moon. WHEEE! And no, I don't care if it is similar to another poster. Few posters are truly original these days.

Non-movie: Unless we get a superhero out of this who can fix the national economy and give me a pony, plutonium is bad! Also: Michael Ian Black tries to pick a fight with David Sedaris.

Also: I love these; haunting snow globes. They're very Edward Gorey. Personal faves here, here, and here.

Stan Winston passes away


Tyler Durden sings Also, Edward Norton's Fight Club PSA if you haven't already seen it.

Downey Jr. to play Cowboys and Aliens

Girls clamor for "pecked to within an inch of her life" Barbie

Oscar changes rules for foreign film, song Thank God. No more Disney medleys and hopefully we won't have a repeat of what happened in the foreign category last year.

New Joker poster It's a great poster, but a bit up close and personal I think, all things considered. I prefer the old one. And some more viral marketing. And Nestor Carbonell on LOST and the Dark Knight (ignore the headline). Yeah, didn't know he was in the Dark Knight.

Bolt poster reminds us...

New Burn After Reading Trailer Fantastic - what a great cast.

Liam Neeson in new Taken trailer

Full Mummy trailer hits I'm sorry, wasn't the last one full length?

Christian Bale as Robin Hood? Hmmm.... does casting Christian Bale cancel out Russell Crowe and Sienna Miller? Given that this is still a rumor, and Christian Bale is signed on in 2 major franchises, I think I'll stick with Jonas Armstrong and the boys for now.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is excited about GI Joe. No, really.

New Brideshead images. I'm torn between hating the story and thinking these images are fab. Also, isn't Aloysius supposed to be bigger?

New Mama Mia images Why hello there, Dominic Cooper.

The rest of the Spirit posters roll out I had no idea Sarah Paulson was in this.

Friday, June 13, 2008

At some point I need to write up the movies I've seen recently (Ratatouille, The Fountain, Fracture, The Anniversary Party) but I'm barely awake at the moment. I went downtown to check out Pride and then the subway stopped running and it took me more than 2 hours to get home and I'm completely knackered.

Predicting the Tonys Can't WAIT!! I love the Tonys. Too bad Hugh Jackman isn't hosting.

nom nom nom nom nom

New Watchmen images Just oh so excited for this. And here's the flaming man stunt.

Get Smart beats Watchmen to DVD stunt marketing There's something so wrong about that sentence.

Wall*E has the cutest fetishes It's true.

Public Enemies images All the photos taken on Johnny's 45th birthday. We're all agreed he has a mangy portrait tucked up in an attic somewhere, yes? And why have the only photos from this set been of him? Share a little love to Christian Bale, already.

Speaking of which, Christian Bale is lovely. And kudos to the interviewer for having the guts to ask, "do you feel silly playing a man who dresses up as a bat?" Also, I may have mentioned this before, but all the designer suits are so very American Psycho, which works well for Bruce Wayne's character (why yes, I did just read the Dark Knight Returns).


How long you have to finish reading The Road

Defiance poster I like the description

Miracle at Santa Ana Trailer

Benjamin Button In English!

Morning Spoilers Browse at your own risk, but read LOST's because Jorge Garcia is awesome and more importantly, check out SHIRLEY!!! (Under the Sarah Connor Chronicles)

Why the Happening is terrible; or, all of it's plot, so you don't have to watch it, too I love it. TREES. (Can I mention that, given my background in all things environmental, I love it when trees fight back? See: The Two Towers, Narnia, and Princess Mononoke. Or, I guess it was just the spirit of the forest there.)

Also; "Oops, did I not mention the Happening is supposed to be bad?"


22 twisty endings (you can choose to reveal the ending or not)


Q&A with Angelina Jolie


Free Fox Searchlight films


Vanity Fair's Blogopticon Whee!

Bottle Shock trailer


Downey Jr. as Holmes? Bad idea, BAD IDEA!


Leo as Captain America? Um.... no.


Lionsgate apparently unaware of completely stupid tiger movie

Friday, June 6, 2008

Vanfire of the Bonities

*sigh* My mad box office skills are deteriorating. 253rd this week, for a total of 74 overall. I'll basically need to win next week to crack the top 50. But then the game restarts after 10 weeks for the second half of summer.

Checked out the Scooper bowl at government center. My belly is full of ice cream (Breyer's strawberry and Garelick/Gifford's Maine wild blueberry were the best).

My brother just wandered in with; "Past the rock that looks like a long neck and the mountains that burn." My family is so weird.

Here's a backlog of links. I still have more to look through, but it'll have to do for now.

Whoa. What happened to Cinematical?

Lostesness first: LOST: 4 Open questions, The pre-finale Doc Jensen, Season 4's best 15 moments

And tv: emmy nom wishlist, Castmates who click I'll second the Doctor and Rose, House and Wilon and Ben and Locke. Little Dorritt to be made into a 15 part miniseries. Supposedly the cast is brilliant. I recognize only Matthew Macfayden and Freema from Doctor Who.

And my favorite lolcat in a long time

Page to Screen: Prisoner of Azkaban

Very positive Hulk reviews pouring in. I had to read that sentence twice. Maybe Edward Norton's involvement actually did make a huge difference?

Should the blockbuster season be longer? And more on the subject

The Changeling gets a new release date

A rewrite on Jake Gyllenhaal's moon movie
Miracle at St. Anna poster
Hollywood is burning

New Spirit poster I like this one better than the last one, which was very X2 (fine, and all, but it's a good idea to try something different. Although is this a bit Rosario Dawson in Sin City?)

Liam Neeson in film about the Troubles

13 impressive movie dresses Oh, Atonement dress. You are so pretty.

Jaime Kennedy As someone who did not see Scream 3.... WHAT NOW???

New Dutchess trailer I think the Diana bit is ridiculously stupid, but I love all the new plot details. I can't wait for this one.

Vote Dent

Ask Dr. Clive I wrote in. We'll see if it makes it on.

A moment of silence, please.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

I am not Paul Avery. I need a polar bear.

I love, love, love this graphic from the NYTimes. It went down for a little and now it's back. Hell yeah for people under 30 with graduate educations!! (You can highlight your state to follow it as it moves).

TV: Are you a binge viewer? I'm going to have to go with absolutely I'm a binge viewer on this one. I watched 5 seasons of Oz in about a month. Season 1 of Lost in one very intense week.

15 scary shows Some X-Files were just so good. I saw one on tv the other day - I forgot how much I loved some of the early seasons. And I've always wanted to see Carnivale.

All things Shirley: The trouble I'm in - Gavin Rossdale ft. Shirley (loooove the vocals), Shirley joining the Sarah Connor Chronicles well hell - now I have to watch and catch up. But yay Shirley!! And if you have yet to sign the petition: FREE SHIRLEY MANSON!

The primaries vs. LOST Speaking of LOST, I finally watched the season finale, thus begining the long 8? 9? month wait till next season. Loved Desmond (I didn't think his scene would be till next season, so it caught me totally off guard. My poor brother was in the room as I started bawling. Shut up.) Except now I'm very very very worried; there'll still be a Desmond ep. next year, right? RIGHT? Saw the final reveal coming, loved Ben (emmy now please?), thought Michael was highly anticlimactic, and loved Sawyer. Oh, and Farraday?? Also... Finale recap, your chance to join the dharma initiative, finale may have been series best, and again: mythbuster reviews finale. I don't think anything can top last year's, but this came close. And is there someplace where the 2 alternate fake-out endings can be seen? Or will that be a DVD extra? Ah.... gotcha. (SPOILER SWEEP: Either of those other two would have been more interesting. Locke seemed pretty obvious to me. WHo else would care so much about getting people back to the island in a fate-y kind of way? Sawyer is baffling - yeah the writers wouldn't have really been able to do much with it. Desmond, I could actually kind of see. He's got connections, he could run around under an assumed name. Plus then I would be ensured of more of him in the next two years.)

Brigitte Bardot gets fifth racism conviction Wait, what?

When seafood goes bad

Top 10 secret celeb scientologists Oh Giovanni Ribisi, really?

Great advice for making movies

From Page to Screen: The Road

Independent films get SAG waivers

Emmy Rossum joins interesting cast of Dare

Russell Crowe as Joe Wilson in Doug Liman's Plame film

Brian DePalma helming Boston Stranglers film Pish. It can't be as good as Zodiac.

Guy Ritchie directing Sherlocke Holmes This smacks of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. To be based on a comic by someone not as talented as Alan Moore. And possible script.

The Dark Knight's Score, New dark knight pics God, he's handsome. Very American Psycho here.

Valkyrie reshoots I can't stand Tom Cruise, but for Eddie Izzard's sake (particularly given the Riches has yet to get a reorder) I hope this film does well. Peter Bart's recommendation is good, and the Assassination of Jesse James was pushed back an entire year and it was one of the year's best (hell, of either year, really). So changing dates doesn't necessarily mean bad news.

Jon Favreau on Iron Man 2

Gosling and Gillespie reteam for uplifting AIDS movie Just give the boy the Oscar already.

Monday, June 2, 2008

Christian Bale could kick your ass

I was so off on the movies this weekend, I ranked 268th. Who knew so many people would be interested in a generic horror flick in June? (Apparently, 267 people knew better than I). This brings me to 89th for the summer so far. Next week, baby.

I also forgot to mention, on my trip to VT, I saw several hawks, an owl, a deer, and a groundhog. And we visited the Stone Zoo, which was cute.

Non-movie related: Tori Amos to leave Epic I love Tori, but I cannot afford how prolific she is.

And: Mythbuster reviews LOST Finale LALALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU. I clear it off the tivo tomorrow. I WILL NOT HEAR (more) ABOUT IT.

The top 25 animated films This list is terrible. Shrek and no Sleeping Beauty? The Little Mermaid above Finding Nemo? No Secret of NIMH - actually are there ANY Don Bluth on there??


The MTV awards (really the only good part is Carl, the nephew. "It'll do till the Dark Knight gets here"), No joke too old for the MTV awards

Speaking of the Dark Knight, it's featured in July's Empire.


Tim Burton and John August developing Dark Shadows AWESOME


Wall*E meets bouncy balls

Trailer for the Women They managed to take a feminist film from the 30s and turn it into crap. And get Annette Benning to sign on.

Also, I'm not really reporting on Twilight because I'm not a 13 year old girl. Sparkly vampires? Fun concept; if it's done well I might show up, but the absolute frenzy that is building this far in advance smacks of Snakes on a Plane with far less self-awareness. I enjoyed this comment by poster crumpeteer, "Okay, the Twilight people are really starting to scare me and MTV is enabling them."

Photos from Half Blood Prince

Awesome Kill Bill Poster

New, sexy Wanted trailer, Wanted Soundtrack Features Elfman Score, Vocals, new Russian Wanted posters

What Universal Lost in the Fire. Ba dum dum. Thanks folks, Defamer'll be here all week.