I keep trying to get some sort of blogging mentality going - I've tried fiction, then movie news, and realised that I couldn't maintain the former, and the latter's covered far better in a great many other places. I still may yet return to fiction one day, but not just yet. So here goes attempt three, specifically me just randomly wittering. It'll be sporadic and most likely dull, but hopefully more free-flowing, at least. The discovery that this is read by literally tens of people a week made me realise that I shouldn't really worry too much about it either - so welcome, rare reader!
Anyway, this was prompted by a discussion with my flatmate about the olympics, about which I'll elaborate later if I remember, but I thought I'd start the ball rolling while I thought of it by pointing out that the BBC video player's volume control goes up to 11, no doubt in a nod to Spinal Tap. Not new news, I've since discovered, but made me smile. Not as much as reading PC Zone last night, however - in their review of the Incredible Hulk game they raised many negative points, and the only positive was "the box isn't full of bees". I giggled mightily.
Anyway, this was prompted by a discussion with my flatmate about the olympics, about which I'll elaborate later if I remember, but I thought I'd start the ball rolling while I thought of it by pointing out that the BBC video player's volume control goes up to 11, no doubt in a nod to Spinal Tap. Not new news, I've since discovered, but made me smile. Not as much as reading PC Zone last night, however - in their review of the Incredible Hulk game they raised many negative points, and the only positive was "the box isn't full of bees". I giggled mightily.
This is more meant be a general movie blog than mistake-based, but the title above has kind of stuck, and given that thus far it's covered both movies and miscellaneous musings, it's only fair I stick some mistakes in here...
I've been faintly skeptical of the potential for this ever since first hearing about it, gaming fan that I am. Max Payne 2 for me is still the benchmark for me of storytelling in games - you can stick your Bioshock and GTA IV (although not very far away, what with them both being impressive too). Bit by bit though my expectations are being elevated from "bloody awful" to "not bad", due to the ever average Mark Wahlberg (who I have absolutely no problem with, he's just never yet really grabbed me in any movie) and a director who's got a few solid but unexciting movies under his belt. Plus Mila Kunis, who's entirely too gorgeous to warrant being the voice of Meg Griffin.
I digress, as ever. A trailer's finally been released, and they seem to have got the tone of the movie pretty much bang onto that of the games, which is a good start at least, and the plot seems broadly consistent too. I'm still not champing at the bit for it, but it's looking at least vaguely worth having thus far. Put it this way, the trailer's a massive improvement on the Hitman trailer, which screamed a mindless lack of effort from the start, and yet still ended up being better than the execrable finished product. Great though the Hitman games are, none of them really had a plot, so turning them into a movie was always going to be a bad idea. Max Payne however has a solid enough footing that treated right it just might impress me...
I digress, as ever. A trailer's finally been released, and they seem to have got the tone of the movie pretty much bang onto that of the games, which is a good start at least, and the plot seems broadly consistent too. I'm still not champing at the bit for it, but it's looking at least vaguely worth having thus far. Put it this way, the trailer's a massive improvement on the Hitman trailer, which screamed a mindless lack of effort from the start, and yet still ended up being better than the execrable finished product. Great though the Hitman games are, none of them really had a plot, so turning them into a movie was always going to be a bad idea. Max Payne however has a solid enough footing that treated right it just might impress me...
Opinions are divided about B-roll footage - on one hand it's rarely exciting, often just shots being set up, rather than major action/dialogue, but on the other, if you're someone who genuinely enjoys the behind the scenes mechanics of things, it can make for interesting viewing. I've always been fascinated by the inner workings of things, even to the extent of taking a greater interest in backstage goings-on in my school plays rather than being front and centre. A distinct lack of acting talent helped me discover that, but even so...
All of which wittering leads me to this, namely some B-roll footage from the Dark Knight which has recently been released. No spoilers, as everything's randomly out of context, unless the knowledge that some cars blow up during the film is going to ruin it for you...
All of which wittering leads me to this, namely some B-roll footage from the Dark Knight which has recently been released. No spoilers, as everything's randomly out of context, unless the knowledge that some cars blow up during the film is going to ruin it for you...
I'm currently watching Batman Forever on Film4 - flawed in many ways, and has a great many hallmarks of what would becoming the steaming pile of awfulness that was "Batman and Robin", but still has moments of interest. Anyway, it set me thinking about my Two-Face knowledge, especially with The Dark Knight coming up (have you heard of that? New Batman film - information on it's been hard to come by...ahem). I loaded up Wikipedia and searched for Harvey Dent, which took me to the Two Face page with this at the top of it:
"This article is about the DC comics villain. For the Nigerian musician, see 2face Idibia. For the Brazilian soap opera, see Duas Caras. For craniofacial duplication, see Diprosopus."
Information geek that I am, I may have to read all of those too now, just out of curiosity...
"This article is about the DC comics villain. For the Nigerian musician, see 2face Idibia. For the Brazilian soap opera, see Duas Caras. For craniofacial duplication, see Diprosopus."
Information geek that I am, I may have to read all of those too now, just out of curiosity...
Talk of a Robocop remake has been doing the rounds for a while, but has recently picked up more steam, evidenced first by the image above, and now from the Hollywood Reporter claiming Darren Aronofsky is one of the directors being considered to helm it.I've always had a major soft spot for Robocop, it being the first 18-rated film I ever saw (on video at my cousin's house at the tender age of 11, and aside from permanent blood-lust it never did me any harm...), coupled with it appealing to the violence-loving satirist in me. It also fits into my theory of 1987 being the best ever year of classic action movies, what with that being the year of Robocop, Predator, and Lethal Weapon, plus no doubt others that have yet to occur to me. Robocop 2 wasn't as good but still followed the same basically enjoyable template, while Robocop 3 is one of the greatest cinematic travesties ever to be perpetrated, and if everyone responsible got their heads blown off by ED-209 I wouldn't be particularly saddened. Peter Weller steered clear from the start, and Nancy Allen at least had the good sense to die half-way through. They gave Robocop a ****ing jetpack!
Ahem. Anyway. I've never had a problem with remakes - yes they're arguably pointless, and rarely surpass the original, but they can still be very enjoyable in their own right, and despite its many qualities Robocop has aged quite badly. So having a good director attached to this bodes quite well, not least because Aronofsky was in line to reboot the Batman franchise before Christopher Nolan got involved. His take was apparently viewed by the studio as too dark, which can only be a good thing.
A relatively heavyweight Robocop remake which takes on board the relative depth of the original without being too burdened by CGI can only be a good thing, in my opinion. While obviously the technology needs to have moved on, part of Robocop's appeal was the fact that he was definitely an augmented cop, rather than any kind of superhero (Iron Man's got that quite nicely tied up now). Take it seriously enough and while it's unlikely to set the world aflame it could easily end up being a top quality movie.
Pics have made it online via VideoETA from the set of Terminator: Salvation - nothing massively radical but gives a sense of devastation, at least. I'm still faintly skeptical about this - the Christian Bale factor's obviously in its favour, but while I don't have a problem with McG per se, I'm not sure he can necessarily rise to the challenge of something weightier than Charlie's Angels...
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I realise this has been quite Dark Knight heavy since the beginning, but what can I say? I'm very excited. An equally-obsessed fan who clearly caught a preview screening has posted a load of photos from the movie here. Nothing spoilerish, but equally nothing particularly mind-blowing, with the possible exception of the first proper look at Two Face.
Photobucket for more...
Photobucket for more...
This is Presto, the animated short featuring an irate magician's rabbit showing before Wall-E, which due to annoying transatlantic delays won't be released here in the UK for a couple of weeks. Presto's great, but I can't help being reminded of a classic cartoon called "Musical Maestro", which takes up a very similar theme. It's only reminiscent in the same way that Galaxy Quest has the same premise as The Three Amigos (and the upcoming Tropic Thunder), but is still brilliant. Both are below for your enjoyment...
Presto
Magical Maestro
Magical Maestro
A new pic from X-Men Origins: Wolverine has been released into the wild - looks kinda cool while at the same time being nothing new whatsoever. It's got the look of a poster about it, but I'd hope for something a bit more impressive...
