Category Archives: Movies

TIME Person of the Year is Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg (and other TIME Top 10 things)

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The man behind the social network has been crowned TIME’s Person of the Year “for connecting more than half a billion people and mapping the social relations among them, for creating a new system of exchanging information and for changing how we live our lives.”  Click here to read the 10-page cover article.  Zuck beat out the trapped Chilean Miners, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, Afghanistan’s president Hamid Karzai, and The Tea Party.

The zine also named the top ten albums and songs of the year.  Here’s what they had to say about the #1 album, Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy: “Kanye West can seem like an attention-hungry young child who constantly tugs on his mother’s pant leg, saying, “Watch this! Watch this!” But once Kanye got our attention, instead of a simple somersault, he delivered the musical equivalent of a one-handed back handspring.”  Cee Lo Green’s “F**k You” is Time’s #1 song.  Look after the break to see the full listing of TIME’s top ten albums and songs.

Other TIME Top 10 things worth noting: in the Top 10 TV Series category they included Parks and Rec, Party Down, and Boardwalk Empire; in the Top 10 TV episodes they included Community‘s “Modern Warfare”, Lost‘s “The End”, and Fringe‘s “Peter” (!).  Really digging the selection here.  The Social Network and Toy Story 3 are listed in the Top 10 Movies category, Angry Birds is a top video game, and Merton on Chatroulette, Bed Intruder, and Double Rainbow are favorite viral videos.  Again, look after the break to see the full listings from all of these categories to see if your favorites made the cut.  Or you can opt to head over to TIME to view many other Top 10 categories ranging from popular toys to scientific discoveries.

[Via TIME, here & here] Continue reading TIME Person of the Year is Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg (and other TIME Top 10 things) →

Trailer: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

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Johnny Depp is back as Capt. Jack Sparrow in another Pirates tale from Disney, Jerry Bruckheimer, and director Rob Marshall. Gore Verbinski, the original director from the first three films in the franchise, decided to sit this one out.  Actors Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley also parted ways with the film.  This time around Jack Sparrow is hellbent on finding the Fountain of Youth.  Depp is joined by new female lead Penélope Cruz who plays the daughter of the film’s main antagonist Blackbeard (Ian McShane).  Geoffrey Rush reprises his role as Captain Hector Barbossa.  As you’re watching the first theatrical trailer you’ll surely notice that the Klaus Badelt/Hans Zimmer collaborative score has carried over and is still fantastic.  On Stranger Tides hits theatres May 20, 2011 in standard, 3D and IMAX 3D formats.

Update: I’ve replaced the Yahoo! Movies clip with the trailer that’s been uploaded to Disney’s YouTube channel.  This one features a short introduction by Jack Sparrow and more importantly it can be viewed in full HD!

Trailer: Thor

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Here’s the first official trailer for Thor, the next Marvel movie set to release May 6. In it we witness Chris Hemsworth as the Norse God of Thunder get cast off his home planet of Asgard by his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins). He’s forced to live among humans on Earth and there his brute force gets questioned by Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) and he meets a young scientist (Natalie Portman) who has a profound effect on him. Thor wields the powerful Mjolnir hammer as he fights to save Earth from impending destruction. The trailer is visually splendid and features some awesome action sequences–I’m pretty psyched for this superhero flick. Mash play and enjoy.

This post is packed with TRON goodies including a music video, headphones, and a hotel room [Update: NSFW Playboy photoshoot]

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(1) Medicom Toy is celebrating the collaboration between Tron: Legacy and legendary electric duo Daft Punk by producing the masked musicians in Kubrick and RAH (Real Action Hero) form.  They will release in late December as part of the Series 21 BE@RBRICK assortment ($4.99).  The 400% BE@RBRICK ($199.99) and KUBRICK ($19.99) two-packs will release in mid-January.  The RAH figures are expected to come out in April at $229.99 each.  All the Daft Punk-inspired toys will feature the same outfits and helmets the duo wears in the cameo they make in the film.

Look after the break for so much more Tron content. Continue reading This post is packed with TRON goodies including a music video, headphones, and a hotel room [Update: NSFW Playboy photoshoot] →

Teaser trailer: Transformers: Dark of the Moon

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Transformers 3 (now titled “Dark of the Moon”, and I don’t like the way it rolls off the tongue because I want to say dark side of the moon) has a teaser trailer!  In a surprise move, director Michael Bay decided not to include any of the stars in the teaser; don’t expect to see Shia LaBeouf’s Sam Witwicky or his new love interest Carly played by Victoria’s Secret model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley make any appearances here.  Most of the trailer features scenes from the famed 1969 Apollo 11 moon mission, and it’s not that long until we discover the astronauts found more than just moon craters.  Robots on the moon?  Really?  As long as Huntington-Whiteley makes a good replacement for Megan Fox (and I have no doubt she will) and there are some epic fight scenes, I’ll pay the price of admission to see it in IMAX 3D when it hits theatres July 1, 2011.  Here’s a small synopsis of the upcoming robot-bashing flick:

In this new movie, the Autobots and Decepticons become involved in a perilous space race between the U.S. and Russia, and once again human Sam Witwicky has to come to the aid of his robot friends. There’s new characters too, including a new villain in the form of Shockwave, a longtime “Transformers” character who rules Cybertron while the Autobots and Decepticons battle it out on Earth.

‘Entourage’ movie is on track to happen, according to producer Mark Wahlberg

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We’ve heard through HBO programming president Michael Lombardo that Entourage creator Doug Ellin “wants to write a film, but wants to do it when the story will make sense.”  This week more Entourage movie talk added more flames to fan speculation about the possibility of a movie featuring Ari Gold and gang, and this time it comes from executive producer Mark Wahlberg.  “We have one last season left on TV and then it would probably take place after the finale,” said Wahlberg.  “There are places to go. I’m still here all these years later, aren’t I? My story didn’t end in my 20s.” (If you didn’t know, the show is loosely based on the life of actor Wahlberg.)  He says, “We want it to happen…[but] we won’t make it if we don’t have a good script,” echoing what Lombardo said about Ellin’s vision for a movie.

Well Entourage fans, it’s really starting to look like a movie is in the works.  The eighth and final season of the show will air next summer on HBO, and following that six-episode arc we should have a better idea about where the creator and producers might want to head for a movie adaptation.

[Via EW]

Spider-Man reboot is getting the RED EPIC 3D treatment

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Spider-Man reboot cinematographer Jason Schwartzman beat Peter Jackson to the punch!  Just about one week after Jackson announced his crew would be using 30 RED EPIC cameras to shoot The Hobbit in 3D, Schwartzman started production on Spider-Man using 3 EPIC cameras mounted on 2 3ality rigs.  This makes the Spidey reboot the very first major studio motion picture to be shot using the highly lauded RED EPIC configuration.  Schwartzman shared his initial thoughts after the first day of shooting.  “I can say for certainty the camera does exist and boy is it ready for primetime, as a matter of fact it’s a true game changer.  We shot in 3D…including running high speed and the images look stunning!”  Watching a movie in 3D is hotly debatable topic, but there’s no arguing against the 5K super hi-def resolution that EPIC camera make possible.  The Hobbit and Spider-Man are going to look good.

In related Spidey news, actress Emma Stone returned to her blonde roots for her Gwen Stacey role.  Let’s just say it’s a natural fit.

[Via Engadget; RedUserForums]

Documentary teaser: “Turning Into Gods”

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From the inquisitive mind of filmmaker Jason Silva comes Turning Into Gods, “a new feature length documentary exploring mankind’s journey to ‘play jazz with the universe’… it is a story of our ultimate potential, the reach of our intelligence, the scope of our scientific and engineering abilities and the transcendent quality of our heroic and noble calling.”  “Featuring interviews with the world’s most interesting minds, these luminaries will paint for us a picture of the world beyond the looking glass. The world we are creating.”

Sounds interesting, hm?  Silva’s asking the tough questions and one sticks out: What is the meaning of life?  Watch the teaser trailer above to get a taste of what’s to come in this riveting, thought-provoking doc that’s “coming soon.”

[Via Gizmodo; Vimeo]

Trailer: Black Swan

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From director Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler) comes a psychological thriller about a beautiful and talented ballerina (Natalie Portman) pushed to her limits when a new rival (Mila Kunis) joins a dance company headed by Vincent Cassel.  Since the original trailer hit the web back in August, there’s been much buzz surrounding the movie.  It premiered at the Venice Film Festival in early September and it received a standing ovation from the crowd and since then has been highly praised from critics all over.  Embedded above is newly released international trailer and it features new content from the film.  Black Swan just had a limited release in select cities around the US on December 3 and made an estimated $426,000 on that opening day.  Click here to see if it’s playing at a theatre near you; the film will hit additional venues through December.

You can get Avatar in 3D on Blu-ray …if you buy a Panasonic 3DTV

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There have been so many versions of Avatar released into the market it’s hard to count them all.  But this latest edition is especially sweet.  Why?  Because it includes the 3D version of the highest grossing flick!  The only way to get it (for now) is to purchase a Panasonic VIERA 3DTV.  When you pick up a Panny set you can also get the “Panasonic 3D Full HD Ultimate Pack” which includes Avatar in 3D on Blu-ray and two pairs of rechargeable Panasonic 3D glasses.  If you happen to have purchased a VIERA 3DTV between between March 10 and November 30 you are eligible to receive a copy of Avatar in 3D via a mail-in request program (hope you saved the receipt!).  So if you’re in the market for a new HDTV, you should definitely consider a VIERA 3D set because you will be able to watch Avatar on it the way it was meant to be seen.  Expect the Panasonic-Avatar in 3D exclusivity to end and a standalone release in 2011.  Full PR after the break.

[Thanks, Kristen Sweeney] Continue reading You can get Avatar in 3D on Blu-ray …if you buy a Panasonic 3DTV →

James Franco and Anne Hathaway to host Oscars

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Today it was announced that actors James Franco and Anne Hathaway will serve as co-hosts of the 83rd Academy Awards.  They follow last year’s hosting duo Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin.  Says Oscar telecast producers Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer: “James Franco and Anne Hathaway personify the next generation of Hollywood icons— fresh, exciting and multi-talented. We hope to create an Oscar broadcast that will both showcase their incredible talents and entertain the world on February 27. We are completely thrilled that James and Anne will be joining forces with our brilliant creative team to do just that.”

Injecting some fresh, young blood into the prestigious award show is a nice way to switch things up, but will Franco and Hathaway’s comedic experience (or lack thereof) prove to be entertaining enough to draw in viewers?  At 32 and 28 years old, respectively, Franco and Hathaway have only dabbled in comedic roles.  Franco is best know for his role as Harry Osborn in the Spider-Man films, but he also has Pineapple Express under his belt; and there’s this. Hathaway’s career hit its stride when she starred in The Princess Diaries and she recently shined as SNL host last weekend.  When you think about it these two might just make a hilarious Oscar duo, or it might all go up in flames. What’s interesting is the Franco is a likely contender for Best Actor for his work in the critically acclaimed film 127 Hours and Hathaway has a shot at a Best Actress nom for Love and Other Drugs.  It’ll be fun to see how they handle that situation if it arises.

The Oscars air February 27, 2011 on ABC.

[Via Deadline]

Peter Jackson will shoot ‘The Hobbit’ using 30 RED EPIC cameras

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Now that Peter Jackson is the official helmer of The Hobbit, production is ready to begin.  Jackson and the creative team have decided to opt for the RED EPIC digital camera to shoot the Lord of the Rings prequel in 3D.  The EPIC is the successor to the RED ONE camera, and it boasts 5K resolution, the highest dynamic range of any digital cinema camera ever made, and can shoot up to 120 frames per second.  According to RED founder Jim Jannard, Jackson will have “at least” 30 EPIC cameras on hand during production.  Jannard says, “The EPIC’s small size and relatively low weight makes it perfect for 3-D – where two cameras have to be mounted on each 3D rig.”  Jackson happens to be a big fan of RED cameras, and you can bet he’s stoked to have 30 EPICs when production on The Hobbit starts in New Zealand early next year.

Have an itch to shoot your own footage using the EPIC?  A whopping $58,000 will get you an EPIC rig consisting of an EPIC-M body, titanium PL mount, Bomb EVF and 5-inch touchscreen LCD, a REDmote, a four-pack of batteries, a charger, and a solid state storage module with a four-pack of 128GB SSDs.  A limited run of EPICs will be made available in December or January for the early adopter filmmakers.  Everyone else who’s interested (and miraculously not affected by the economy) will have to wait until at least April to nab a rig.

[Via Engadget]