The Future As Predicted in Film - A Video Timeline

Cinematic History of the Future from Handshake Magazine on Vimeo.

Via: SF Signal

A Saturday Distraction: All of Alfred Hitchcock's Cameo Appearances

Behind the Scenes: Up In The Air Typography

I really like the use of typography in the opening titles for Jason Reitman’s Up In The Air by Shadowplay Studio.

Indie Wire interviewed Reitman, and asked about the film titles:

When did you come up with the title sequence; it perfectly sets the tone for the movie. What was your goal there?

“I figured you put a camera in a plane, you put it up in the air, you point down, you get aerial footage, right? I really thought it would be that simple. It was so complicated. Every time you see aerial footage in a movie it’s from a helicopter at 12,000 ft. To get it from 25,000 ft, first we went up with a jet and we had a camera that was going through this bubble system, except the optics weren’t good enough and atmosphere was giving us trouble. Then we went up with a propeller plane and the pilot had to wear an oxygen mask to get up that high; we took a camera out on a wing, we went digital instead of film, and then the camera would not go straight down, so they’d have to put the plane into a dive to get the camera to go down. I mean it was just like unreal how hard it was to get this footage. But I’m really happy with the results and of course it made for fun opening titles.”

Watch the Up in the Air opening sequence at MakingOf.

Apple also has a good behind-the-scenes featurette on the making of the sequence.

My Favorite Movies of 2009

• Up
• Star Trek 
• Food Inc.
• Dead Snow (Norwegian Død Snø)
• Coraline
• District 9
• Paranormal Activity
• Inglorious Basterds
• Wonder Woman

Tie for 10th:

• Zombieland
• The Hangover

The two that didn’t quite make the list
Watchmen, Moon

Movie that I wish had been better than it was
Wolverine

I Can Name That Movie in Two Drawings, Bob

Fancy yourself a movie buff? Here’s a quick test: Try your hand at Name that Movie, a site that asks you to identify classic movies by viewing only six stylized drawings per film. It’s not as easy as it sounds.

RIP John Hughes

Director John Hughes suffered a heart attack today while taking a morning walk during a trip to New York City with family.

Hughes was best known for writing and directing some of my favorite films from the 1980’s - National Lampoon’s Vacation, Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, European Vacation, Weird Science, Pretty in Pink, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Planes Trains & Automobiles, Uncle Buck, Christmas Vacation, and Home Alone. He will be missed. I feel a little piece of my teen-hood died.

What was your favorite John Hughes film? My sentimental favorite is The Breakfast Club, but a tie for #1 would be Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Uncle Buck

Awesome Brat Pack Mashup

Late on this one, but this Phoenix Lisztomania "Brat Pack Mash-up" is just brilliant! 80s dancing - the crown jewel of 80s movies, and no one did 80s movies better than that group of roughly interchangeable teen actors collectively known as the Brat Pack.

How technology lifts Pixar’s ‘Up’

From CNET: How technology lifts Pixar’s ‘Up’.

If you want to consider a difficult computational problem, try thinking of the algorithms required to animate more than 10,000 helium balloons, each with its own string, but each also interdependent on the rest, which are collectively hoisting aloft a small house.

That was the challenge the production team at Pixar faced when it set out to begin work on Up, its tenth feature film, five years in the works, which hits theaters on Friday.

There was absolutely no way the team was going to hand-animate the balloons. Not with their numbers in five-figures, and especially not when you consider that within the cluster, every interaction between two balloons has a ripple effect: If one bumped another, the second would move, likely bumping a third, and so on. And every bit of this would need to be seen on screen. [continue]

You must chill. You must chill.

I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that. -- Lloyd Dobler

A Game Of Thrones pilot script leaked

Image via WikipediaThis blog has released the full text of the A Game of Thrones pilot script. Or you can download it here.

Related articles

• HBO Reveals New Game of Thrones Preview (tor.com)
• "New Teaser For HBO's 'Game Of Thrones'" and related posts (deadline.com)

My Top Ten (15) Movies of 2008

As the year winds down, the top lists are appearing all over the Internet. I decided to compile a list of items I liked in 2008. As with any list, this is my opinion, yours may differ. Leave a comment if moved to do so.

I'll also post My Favorite Books of 2008, My Favorite Websites, My Favorite Albums.

(Just in case you're the curious type, click on the title of each film to watch it's trailer.)

My Top Ten (15)

Movies of 2008

15

The Wackness

It's the summer of 1994, and the streets of New York are pulsing with hip-hop. Set against this backdrop, a lonely teenager named Luke Shapiro spends his last summer before university selling marijuana throughout New York City, trading it with his unorthodox psychotherapist for treatment, while having a crush on his stepdaughter.

14

Vicky Christina Barcelona

Two girlfriends on a summer holiday in Spain become enamored with the same painter, unaware that his ex-wife, with whom he has a tempestuous relationship, is about to re-enter the picture. Directed by Woody Allen

13

Gone Baby Gone

Two Boston area detectives investigate a little girl's kidnapping, which ultimately turns into a crisis both professionally and personally. Based on the Dennis Lehane novel. Directing debut of Ben Affleck (He's a better director than actor, he should stick to it.)

12

Kung Fu Panda

Po the Panda is the laziest animals in all of the Valley of Peace, but unwittingly becomes the chosen one when enemies threaten their way of life. There was so much charm and amusement in this movie. It's without doubt the best animation from Dreamworks since the first Shrek. Voices of Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman and Angelina Jolie

11

Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

The infamous story of Benjamin Barker, a.k.a Sweeney Todd, who sets up a barber shop down in London which is the basis for a sinister partnership with his fellow tenant, Mrs. Lovett. Based on the hit Broadway musical. Get past the musical, get past Johnny Depp talk singing and just enjoy the amazing, sets, costumes, screenplay, direction and acting! Directed by Depp's long time film partner and Helena Bonham Carter's husband, Tim Burton.

10

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

Master filmmaker Sidney Lumet directs this absorbing suspense thriller about a family facing the worst enemy of all -- itself. Oscar-winner Philip Seymour Hoffman plays Andy, an overextended broker who lures his younger brother, Hank (Ethan Hawke), into a larcenous scheme: the pair will rob a suburban mom-and-pop jewelry store that appears to be the quintessential easy target. The problem is, the store owners are Andy and Hank's actual mom and pop and, when the seemingly perfect crime goes awry, the damage lands right at their doorstep. Oscar-winner Marisa Tomei plays Hoffman's trophy wife, who is having a clandestine affair with Hawke, and the stellar cast also includes Albert Finney as the family patriarch who pursues justice at all costs, completely unaware that the culprits he is hunting are his own sons. A classy, classic heist-gone-wrong drama in the tradition of "The Killing" and Lumet's own "The Anderson Tapes," BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOW YOU'RE DEAD is smart enough to know that we often have the most to fear from those who are near and dear.

9

Cloverfield

Director Matt Reeves (THE PALLBEARER) and producer J. J. Abrams (LOST, ALIAS) turn a mysterious monster loose in Manhattan in the disaster flick CLOVERFIELD. The movie begins at a party for Rob (Michael Stahl-David), who has accepted a promotion that will send him to Japan. Hud (T. J. Miller) is entrusted with the responsibility of videotaping the party--and as the trouble grows, he holds on to the camera, recording everything that happens. In fact, the entire movie is seen through the lens of his camera, reminiscent of THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT. As terrified people in a post-9/11 New York City take to the streets, Rob decides to head uptown to try to save Beth (Odette Yustman), the woman he loves, though he's afraid to tell her so. Rob is joined by his brother Jason (Mike Vogel), Jason's girlfriend Lily (Jessica Lucas), Lily's friend Marlena (Lizzy Caplan), and Hud, who has a thing for Marlena. Rob is determined not to give up, even after almost being crushed by the Statue of Liberty's head and as the military shows up to force evacuation of the city.

Reeves and first-time screenwriter Drew Goddard, who previously has written television episodes of such series as BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, ANGEL, ALIAS, and LOST, focus in on the central aspect of the story: people trying to survive the monster attack. Very little else is explained, since the story is told completely through the video camera. And there is no additional score to heighten the drama; the only music is that which is picked up by Hud and the camera's microphone, including snippets of songs by Kings of Leon, Parliament Funkadelic, Of Montreal, and others. The anticipation of CLOVERFIELD's release was enhanced by a viral marketing campaign that included Web sites built around the main characters and even the fictional drink Slusho.

8

Quantum of Solace

James Bond (Daniel Craig) tries to heed the orders of mentor/Mother figure M (Judi Dench) in this electrifying follow-up to the amazing CASINO ROYALE. The film opens with two gripping, back-to-back chases, as James Bond tries to heed the orders of M and, at the same time, track down the people who blackmailed his love, Vesper. Bond is still struggling with Vesper's death, displaying a new, ferocious violence in his work, and a recklessness that M would very much like to get under control. When Bond discovers a massive, secret organization called Quantum, he believes it might have been a part of the scheme that killed Vesper. Bond knifes, shoots, and kick-boxes his way to the center of the sinister scheme, and discovers that the plot reaches even higher than he imagined, forcing him to abandon M's orders and step out on his own. Where we see the origins of the Lone Wolf Bond we are used to.

Director Marc Forster (STRANGER THAN FICTION) has crafted some truly memorable fight scenes, setting them in the most elegant of locales. Everything is beautifully shot, from Bond racing across the rooftops of Italy, to his showdown at an Austrian opera house. As for Craig, he is once again all cold precision and steely eyes. His 007 is positively riveting. He struts determinedly into every scene, ready to display his near superhuman fight moves, or bed a bombshell with merely a glance. Yet, just as in CASINO ROYALE, Craig never lets us forget Bond's humanity. He may fight like a ninja and smirk like Steve McQueen, but beneath his impeccable wardrobe, Bond is still but an ordinary man, wearily battling his own inner demons.

7

Wal-E

What if mankind had to leave Earth, and somebody forgot to turn the last robot off?

Academy Award-winning writer-director Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo) and the inventive storytellers and technical geniuses at Pixar Animation Studios (The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille) transport moviegoers to a galaxy not so very far away for a new computer-animated cosmic comedy about a determined robot named WALL•E.

After hundreds of lonely years of doing what he was built for, WALL•E (short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) discovers a new purpose in life (besides collecting knick-knacks) when he meets a sleek search robot named EVE. EVE comes to realize that WALL•E has inadvertently stumbled upon the key to the planet’s future, and races back to space to report her findings to the humans (who have been eagerly awaiting word that it is safe to return home). Meanwhile, WALL•E chases EVE across the galaxy and sets into motion one of the most exciting and imaginative comedy adventures ever brought to the big screen.
Joining WALL•E on his fantastic journey across a universe of never-before-imagined visions of the future, is a hilarious cast of characters including a pet cockroach, and a heroic team of malfunctioning misfit robots.

Filled with surprises, action, humor and most of all - heart, WALL•E was written and directed by Andrew Stanton and features original and innovative sound design by Academy Award-winner Ben Burtt (Star Wars, Indiana Jones, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial).

6

Hell Boy II: The Golden Army

HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY begs any number of referential mash-ups to be used as description of its outlandish tonal and stylistic qualities. It's a little like a romantic and sophisticated live-action Ninja Turtles movie imbued with a cracked version of H.P. Lovecraft's monster storytelling. It's a feature-length version of STAR WARS's Mos Eisley Cantina mixed with a scrappy, proficient passion for creature design reminiscent of Ray Harryhausen.

It's also kind of director/co-writer Guillermo del Toro's HELLBOY (2004) wrapped in a blanket of his PAN'S LABYRINTH. This sequel is all these things, but none of them can accurately capture the singularity of a movie which, in some ways, stands alone in its ability to capture the crass and literary luridness of reading a comic book. It's filled with gross creatures bursting with humanity, dark poetry, and slapstick comedy; in one scene, an argument between Hellboy and Johann Krauss, a formless gas contained in a mobilized suit, escalates to the point of Tom-&-Jerry-like parody.

As Hellboy himself, a heartfelt anti-hero who regularly eliminates supernatural threat as an agent for the U.S. Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense alongside girlfriend Liz (Selma Blair) and comrade Abe Sapien, Ron Perlman (Beauty and the Beast, Easy Money) again embodies the role with the kind of pathos and humor that one can only expect from a horned, red-skinned Hell-spawn who loves kittens and acts like a hardboiled detective who happens to watch TV and drink a lot of canned beer.

HELLBOY II's rather interesting antagonist, Prince Nuada, isn't just an evil dude. In the mold of the complex villains typically found in Hayao Miyazaki's animated fairy tales, his intentions of restoring control over Earth to an Elvish race by regaining the key to unlock the indestructible Golden Army are at least based on a legitimately noble sentiment before megalomania kicks in, of course.

5

Iron Man

For both comic book fans and those who can't tell the Green Lantern from the Green Arrow, IRON MAN is the type of summer blockbuster whose appeal lasts far beyond the season. Robert Downey Jr. stars as Tony Stark, a billionaire playboy and genius who puts as much effort into chasing skirts as he puts into chasing his next big idea. A trip to Afghanistan to sell weapons quickly devolves into chaos, and Stark finds himself at the mercy of a warlord who wants him to build a missile. Instead, Stark creates a powerful suit of armor, turning him into Iron Man and allowing him to escape. When he returns to America, his assistant Pepper Pots (Gwyneth Paltrow), friend Rhodey (Terrence Howard), and right-hand man Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) all marvel at the change in the man they knew. IRON MAN is the first film to be self-financed by Marvel Studios, and they should be proud of their freshman effort. They didn't take any obvious routes with choosing the cast or crew, and it pays off.

Director Jon Favreau, who also has a small role in the film, is best known for directing ELF, but his first action-driven effort is nearly flawless. Casting Downey was gutsy but inspired: this is his first big action picture as well, but the wit he displays in films such as the cult hit KISS KISS, BANG BANG works perfectly for the character of Stark. IRON MAN features nods to its beloved source material, as well as to the classic animated series of the 1960s. But even for the uninitiated, this film provides an interesting entry into the Marvel superhero's universe. Audiences who keep watching after the credits have rolled will be rewarded with a bonus scene!

4

The Diving Bell and The Butterfly

Celebrated and controversial painter and filmmaker Julian Schnabel's third feature finds him reaching new artistic heights with this audacious and personal biopic, based on the best-selling memoir of the same name. The film tells the remarkable tale of Jean-Dominique Bauby (Mathieu Amalric), the world-renowned editor of French ELLE magazine, who suffered a stroke and was paralyzed by the inexplicable "locked in" syndrome at the age of 43.

Bauby's only way of communicating with the outside world was by blinking with one eye, and after several dedicated helpers--a string of impossibly beautiful women (Emmanuelle Seigner, Marie-Josee Croze, Olatz Lopez Garamendia, Anne Consigny)--helped him to speak through this seemingly irrelevant gesture, he began to produce the words that would form his memoir. Along the way, as he swam in and out of consciousness, memories from his past swelled into the present, resulting in a cinematic experience that is at once heartbreaking and hopeful. Schnabel somehow manages to convey Bauby's internal life with remarkable clarity, employing first-person perspective, striking cinematography (by the always great Janusz Kaminski), and Amalric's pained, life-affirming monologues. The result is a wholly original experience, a painful and tender portrait of a life that is made all the more exhilarating because of its close proximity to death.

3

In Bruges

Martin McDonagh makes his directorial debut on the film, from his own original screenplay. His plays (which include The Lieutenant of Inishmore and The Pillowman) have brought him two Olivier Awards and four Tony Award nominations.

In Bruges was filmed on location; Bruges (pronounced "broozh"), the most well-preserved medieval city in the whole of Belgium, is a welcoming destination for travelers from all over the world. But for hit men Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson), it could be their final destination; a difficult job has resulted in the pair being ordered right before Christmas by their London boss Harry (two-time Academy Award nominee Ralph Fiennes) to go and cool their heels in the storybook Flemish city for a couple of weeks. Very much out of place amidst the gothic architecture, canals, and cobbled streets, the two hit men fill their days living the lives of tourists. Ray, still haunted by the bloodshed in London, hates the place, while Ken, even as he keeps a fatherly eye on Ray's often profanely funny exploits, finds his mind and soul being expanded by the beauty and serenity of the city. But the longer they stay waiting for Harry's call, the more surreal their experience becomes, as they find themselves in weird encounters with locals, tourists, violent medieval art, an hedonistic American dwarf actor (Jordan Prentice) shooting a European art film, Dutch prostitutes, and a potential romance for Ray in the form of Chloë (Clémence Poésy), who has some dark secrets of her own. When the call from Harry does finally come, Ken and Ray's vacation becomes a life-and-death struggle of darkly comic proportions and surprisingly, deeply emotional consequences.

2

The Visitor

In a world of six billion people, it only takes one to change your life. In actor and filmmaker Tom McCarthy’s follow-up to his award winning directorial debut The Station Agent, Richard Jenkins (Six Feet Under) stars as a disillusioned Connecticut economics professor whose life is transformed by a chance encounter in New York City. Walter Vale (Jenkins) is sleepwalking through his life. Having lost his passion for teaching and writing, he fills the void by unsuccessfully trying to learn to play classical piano. When his college sends him to Manhattan to attend a conference, Walter is surprised to find a young couple has taken up residence in his apartment. Victims of a real estate scam, Tarek (Haaz Sleiman), a Syrian man, and Zainab (Danai Gurira), his Senegalese girlfriend, have nowhere else to go. In the first of a series of tests of the heart, Walter reluctantly allows the couple to stay with him.

Touched by his kindness, Tarek, a gifted musician, insists on teaching the aging academic to play the African drum. The instrument’s exuberant rhythms revitalize Walter’s faltering spirit and open his eyes to a vibrant world of local jazz clubs and Central Park drum circles. As the friendship between the two men deepens, the differences in culture, age and temperament fall away.

After being stopped by police in the subway, Tarek is arrested as an undocumented citizen and held for deportation. As his situation turns desperate, Walter finds himself compelled to help his new friend with a passion he thought he had long ago lost. When Tarek’s beautiful mother Mouna (Hiam Abbass) arrives unexpectedly in search of her son, the professor’s personal commitment develops into an unlikely romance. it’s through these new found connections with these virtual strangers that Walter is awakened to a new world and a new life.

This film deeply and profoundly moved me in ways much too personal to share here. Please rent or buy this wonderful film.

1

The Dark Knight

To say that Christopher Nolan's THE DARK KNIGHT is the best comic book adaptation does the film a bit of a disservice. It may be a Batman film, but this isn't a kid-friendly action movie full of the bams and pows of the original series. This is a pitch-black thriller with enough drama and tragedy to please even William Shakespeare, that keeps both comics fans and uninitiated audiences equally happy.

THE DARK KNIGHT starts in the wake of BATMAN BEGINS with the appearance of Batman (Christian Bale), Gotham City's criminal underworld becomes unnerved. They're also plagued by the new D.A., Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), who, in his quest for justice, remains incorruptible. Enter a new costumed villain, the Joker (The Amazing Heath Ledger), who wants to unite the criminals for a common purpose: to kill Batman.

THE DARK KNIGHT is one of the most hyped movies to date, and a lesser film would be crushed under the weight of all that expectation. Some of the publicity stems from the early death of Ledger, who turns in an excellent Oscar-worthy performance. He provides moments of humor, but this Joker is terrifying, sharing more with classic villains such as Hannibal Lechter than with his comic book predecessors. Eckhart is equally good as Dent, and Maggie Gyllenhaal deserves praise for taking over the role of Rachel Dawes from Katie Holmes.

Ledger’s Joker, giggling with delight over the mayhem he causes with a perfect indifference over the outcome is such an overwhelmingly dynamic performance that it overshadows everyone else, despite excellent work, including Christian Bale, who is wonderfully tortured, dark and achingly vulnerable. Joker is the Trickster in the archetypal sense. It’s my prediction that when Heath Ledger is nominated for an OSCAR, it’s as Best Actor, not Supporting.

Though there's more emphasis on plot and character development than in most comic book adaptations, that doesn't mean Nolan has skimped on any of the action sequences. Each set piece is done perfectly, leaving the audience breathless. THE DARK KNIGHT is filmmaking at its best; its subject matter may be dark and depressing, but it's tough not to feel exhilarated by its artistry when the credits begin to roll. In short, this was a great film - period! Completely deserving a Best Picture Nomination.

The blog post I wrote for my geek blog, ab initio. ab intra.:

The Dark Knight’s Joker Is A Mystical Trickster Not Mad Super-Villain

As an afterthought I wanted to mention that the very funny and very wrong, Forgetting Sarah Marshall was a very very close #16. Nearly a tie for 15th place.

Movies coming out this month that may unseat one or more on this list include:

Seven Pounds
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Slumdog Millionaire
Wrestler
and Clint Eastwoods' Gran Torino

Guy Ritchie on His Sherlock Holmes Movie (I'm Worried)

Guy Ritchie came to Comic-Con International to promote his London crime film "RocknRolla" but talked to LA Times' Geoff Boucher about his Sherlock Holmes project, which will star Robert Downey Jr. as Arthur Conan Doyle's iconic sleuth.

"I'm very excited about it, Robert is brilliant," Ritchie said. "I came to the character through the books when I was young and what the film will reflect is the intelligence on the page and also the action. There's quite a lot of intense action sequences in the stories; sometimes that hasn't been reflected in the movies. it's been a relatively long time since there's been a film version that people embraced. I want to make a very contemporary film as far as the tone and texture. It's exciting for me to do a period piece, that's a departure."

Ritchie said his Holmes will be a man of adventure in a gritty world, not a prim thinker in staid parlor play. "There's a darkness to the movie we want to make," said Ritchie, who will be adapting Lionel Wigram's upcoming comic book tale about Holmes as opposed to the classic canon.

Wait! You have RDJr in your movie, an actor who can play troubled geniuses better than any actor out there, and your making him an action hero? Sherlock Holmes? Really?!? I'll file this under "tentatively cool" but with reservations.

Wolverine Meets His Maker OR Hugh Jackman Thanks The Man Who Made Him A Movie Star

One of the most gracious moments I've ever heard happen at a convention occurred yesterday at San Diego's famed Comic-Con International 2008.

Hugh Jackman was flown in to appear as a surprise guest at the X-Men Origins: Wolverine panel. He had just finished filming and was resting in Australia. After a 10 hour flight, he jumped on stage where 6,500 fans stuffed into the room, erupted in cheers and applause.

The first thing Jackman did was crack some jokes, humbly thanked the fans for their support, then looked into the audience, pointing out Len Wein. Len is a newly minted Eisner Hall of Fame inductee (congratulations sir!) He, along with Neal Adams and Jim Shooter instilled my early love of comics and social activism - thank you! Working for Marvel in 1974, Len, along with Herb Trimpe and John Romita, Sr., created the character of Wolverine. Making Jackman a very rich star. Now if only Marvel would return creator rights like DC did, Len and the others would be pretty well set too. Just sayin'

Jackman told Len with complete sincerity, “I waited a long time to thank you personally and I wanted to shake your hand, mate. It’s one of the best comic book characters ever created and as an actor, it’s a challenge to play and I’ve just done it for the fourth time, and I still feel there’s more to find out and that’s down to you, from your great mind and heart creating a great character.”

Len's blog, doesn't mention it yet, but his wife, former attorney for the SFWA, M. C. Valada, apparently got a heads-up. She didn't tell Len, she just told him to "de-geek". She writes about it in her blog.

Watch the Comic-Con appearance on YouTube.

Here's the link to an EW.com interview Jackman did just minutes after his Panel appearance.

bring out your anachronisms

 
Generally speaking, anachronisms in movies make me smile. Things like a 19th Century western gunman brandishing a gun made ten years later than the film is set (points for ingenuity Western Dude!). Or when Jack in Titanic mentions he fished at a lake that wasn't built yet or that he'd seen Santa Monica Pier, never mind that it wasn't built till after the Titanic sank. He was just being visionary, showing us the potential architect he might have been if only Rose would have shared the #$%& door! Anyway, I digress.

I rented 10,000 BC from Netflix. WOW! What a tortured torpid turd of a movie it was!!! I was almost ready to call their California HQ to demand another movie be sent out immediately and I would kindly burn this copy for them.

I won't go into much detail. I will say that the FX were first rate. I'm sure there are tons of Easter Eggs the animators put in there. They had to know how badly this movie would suck. Woolly Mammoths helping build the Egyptian Pyramids in 10,000 BC?? Universal language? Corn?!? Riding horses? Egypt?? *In best Shatner* Brain.About.To. Explode!

I'm gonna link you over to the IMBD page of mistakes and anachronisms for this heaping pile. Don't rent it, just look for the FX work on YouTube or something, just pretend a saber tooth tiger is chasing your butt and get on your, as yet imaginary domesticated horse, grab an ear of maze from the new world (1492 anyone?) and whiptail it to Egypt, through the rain forest, of course.

harvey korman dies at age 81

Sad news today. One of my favorite performers Harvey Korman died. God, I loved watching that man. As a kid, I loved it as he and Tim Conway would crack each other up on Carol Burnett. Then came the Mel Brooks movies. Those lines, as only he can deliver them are floating around in my memory. I think I loved his performance as Hedly Lamar in Blazing Saddles the most, with High Anxiety and History of the World, Part I tying for second. Rest in peace Mr. Korman, the word was much better to have had you in it.

Carol Burnett Show veteran Harvey Korman has died at age 81. He died of heart failure at his home in California.

Besides The Carol Burnett Show, where Korman teamed for a ton of great sketches with Tim Conway (often cracking each other up), Korman appeared in many other shows since the early 60s, including ER, Ellen, Perry Mason, Route 66, The Red Skelton Show, Dennis the Menace, Hazel, Jack Benny, Gidget, The Lucy Show, The Munsters, The Wild, Wild West, F Troop, and many others. He was a regular on the sitcom Mama's Family and did the voice of The Great Gazoo on The Flintstones. Movies that Korman appeared in include History of the World, Part 1, High Anxiety, The Pink Panther Strikes Again, Blazing Saddles, Son of Flubber, Gypsy, and others.

Do you ever get the feeling that all of the great classic stars and performers are dying and it's going to be a very different world in a couple of years? Rather depressing.
via tvsquad.com

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an appreciation of sydney pollack

I wanted to post something about fellow Hoosier and adopted New Yorker, Sydney Pollack. He wasn't a gifted actor or director but he had taste and integrity.

His charm overcame the small defects of his acting; by saying he wasn't gifted I'm by no means saying he wasn't good. He was a terrific actor and director. I think his greatest strength lay in his taste. He knew what made a good movie, he seemed to always have the pulse of the Zeitgeist. With a few exceptions, he succeeded with every movie he directed or produced.

His wonderful performance and Nicole Kidman in her see-thru skivvies are the only good memories I have of "Eyes Wide Shut".

I could go on and on about the man, but I'm sure it's been done elsewhere. I just really enjoyed his work and was deeply saddened and surprised when he died. Movies truly won't be the same. RIP.

Three Days of the Condor (1975) movie trailer - Directed by Sydney Pollack.

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