I saw the premiere of Watchmen at midnight on the IMAX screen and holy smokes was it ever awesome. My experience of watching the film was similar to the first time that I saw The Matrix. The action was spectacular, the characters were layered, and it actually made you think. Only with Watchmen I didn’t have to spend a week getting Keanu’s annoying voice out of my head. This time it was something else that distracted me… what was it again… oh yes the #bigbluedong. Looks like even Dr. Manhattan has something to prove. Ah, but who can blame him with lil Miss Lady Latex getting all snuggly with Mr. Horny Beak up in the fiery sex pod.
Go see Watchmen and then read the graphic novel. I’m half way through and it is equally, if not more entertaining than the movie.
Spend Sunday night with me & my friends watching the yearly film awards show that shall not be named due to scary copyright laws and yakking about movies, pop culture, & geeky stuff live on TWiT live! (more…)
Revenge is bitter sweet for Bond. In the latest 007 flick Quantum of Solace, Bond is heartbroken and haggard, as he tirelessly pursues the evil villain who killed his recent lover, Vesper Lynd.
Instead of dealing with these complex emotions in therapy, Bond blows off some steam by chasing down evil villains in cars, boats, planes, motorbikes, and on foot, all the while maintaining an unflappable charm that makes the ladies swoon. But this time Bond isn’t interested in romance. Well, maybe a quickie just for good measure, but love is not in the cards this time out. Even the smoldering Russian-Bolivian temptress, Camille, might have a tricky time peeling Bond out of those skintight, dirty, bloodstained white slacks. Poor fashion choice Bond. If you know you’re going to get in a bloody battle, wear something darker, a deep mahogany perhaps.
Alas, Bond has less time for such sartorial considerations in this dark and gritty installment to the series. Not even a sixth martini at the bar is able to dispel the dark clouds gathered over our favourite super-spy, and that’s saying something. The Big Bad, a mysterious organization known as Quantum, is causing major problems for MI6, and at the heart of it is Dominic Greene, an evil rich guy posing as a philanthropic environmentalist. Let’s just say that Dr. Greene is the type of guy who might take his social responsibility to an extreme – actively recycling paper, plastics, and people parts on a daily basis.
Like Bond’s various nemeses throughout the history of the franchise, Greene takes his plot cues from the top headlines of today. This time, the global threat of peak oil takes centre stage over previous Bondian concerns such as Communist-controlled nuclear missiles, terrorist plots, the dealing of weapons/diamonds/drugs, or weapons that shoot diamonds with drugs in them. Okay, maybe they haven’t made a movie about that last one (yet), but this time the villain is an evil tree-hugger that is green-thumbing his nose at all things good and true with a plot that would leave the whole world at his mercy.
Any outing with 007 is sure to provide thrills, and this film doesn’t waste any time in packing a major punch of adrenalin. The action is fast, furious, and fantastic. Anything a person could drive and blow up was driven and then blown up at some point by our hero. Vroom, vroom, kaboom.
This is definitely the best movie I have seen all year. For my tastes it had a perfect balance of 90% action and 10% showing-off of sleek, fancy gadgets. Also, Daniel Craig is stunning in this movie and his unique physicality, brutish and elegant in turns, makes him the best Bond yet.
What do you think? Who is your favourite Bond?
PS. I still don’t know why they didn’t cast me as evil Bond Girl Irina Secsibuti. What a mystery. I mean they even had a Canadian Bond Girl in Quantum of Solace. I bet her nun-chuck skills are rubbish.
I’m passionate about film. There are few things I love more than watching a great film. Even if a movie has a crap storyline or the acting is atrocious or the music is mainly comprised of midi horns, I’ll still learn something from it. Maybe it’s what not to do or maybe it’s just stunning visually.
I get a lot of my photo lighting and composition ideas from film. I’m actually just watching “The Assassination of Jesse James” and I have an uncontrollable hankering for tall wheat grass and dark and moody skies. … I’d take Roger Deakins over Mr Pitt any day. Well, maybe every other day :p
I also love learning all about the people who make films and their process. And yes, I watch all the special features. Yup, even the lame ones with just written credits or extended scenes. I do, however, hate watching deleted scenes. The scene was cut for a reason. Just leave it be. If you disagree, let’s argue! Ha! Cuz for me, you can’t beat hot n’ heavy, super geeky discussion about film.
When I was in Vegas for the NME, I ended up at a very swanky party with some of New Media’s top dogs talking/arguing about great directors. It was super fabulous. It went something like this.
What are your top 3 favourite directors?
The 19 year-old shaggy blond intern & film school n00b said, “Michael Bay. Dude. Transformers was seriously awesome!”
The 30 year old film school veteran & top dog retorted, “Michael Bay??? Scorsese. Hands down.”
The intern then shot back, “but dude… that car chase scene in Bad Boys 2 is like the best EVER!”
There was much back and forth discourse, until the fast-talking, smooth, good-looking agent, also a film school grad, gave a detailed and analytical description of his favourite directors, David Fincher,Tony Scott,Ridley Scott & James Cameron. I totally gave him a high five and we talked about how wikkid awesome James Cameron’s 3-D movie “Avatar” will be.
Then I threw in an awkward “they mostly come out at night, mostly” and waited for someone to get the film reference, but no one did, and it hung in the air like a hovering fly or perhaps something larger and more uncomfortable like a pelican.
Thankfully, the quiet intern with the dark framed designer specs broke the silence with, “I know that everyone is gonna say this lately because of Batman, but… Christopher Nolan.” I totally gave him an air high-five, because I wasn’t close enough to high five and I felt like we hadn’t reached that level of comfort yet. Eye-contact had been made, but no “safe zone” had been established.
And then the power mane loving intern pointed at me and said, “Now you! Go!”
Period. Some people say Tony is hit or miss. I say, he’s a visonary. He takes risks and takes jump cuts to the next level of awesome. Top Gun!? Classic. It was my absolute favourite movie when I was a kid. I even plastered my room walls with F-14 Tomcats. No Goose!!!!! Also, Spy Game (2001) is one of my top 10 movies. You know that one sequence with Brad and Robert Redford on the roof and the helicopter circling around? Yeah! That’s the stuff. The Last Boy Scout (1991), True Romance (1993), Crimson Tide (1995), Enemy of the State (1998), Man on Fire (2004)? Awesome. I love his visual style and how he always highlights sweet tech stuff and loads of gadgets. I know a lot of people didn’t like Deja Vu (2006), but seriously, it was a high tech visual orgasm of awesomeness.
knocks my socks off. His movies are so darn good. Every scene is meticulous and melts into each other. No one else could have captured Memento like Nolan. His awareness of time, structure, and lighting is insane. The Dark Knight (which I haven’t seen yet… forgive me) The Prestige (2006), Batman Begins (2005), Insomnia (2002), Memento (2000) & Following (1998).
Gosh only one more… But there’s Terry Gilliam, Paul Greengrass, Alfonso Cuarón, Sam Mendes, Francis Ford Coppola, Scorsese, Sofia Coppola, Mike Nichols, Oliver Stone, Ron Howard, Michael Mann, Steven Soderbergh, Wes Anderson, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Pedro Almodovar, David Fincher, Christopher Guest, Gorge Clooney (who is so ridiculously talented)… Ack…
is Epic. Everything he does is big, bold, and beautiful. Give this man an Oscar, seriously. That fact that he didn’t win best director for Gladiator (2000) was so totally lame. Uh! I don’t think I even have to tell you why I love Ridley. I’ll let the plethora of awesome Ridley Scott films speak for themselves. My personal favs are American Gangster (2007), Black Hawk Down (2001), Blade Runner (1982), Alien (1979) (my favourite of the Alien Quadrilogy) . I can’t watch Hannibal (2001) as it scares my pants off. Also, if you haven’t seen Ridley’s first movie, The Duellists (1977), go rent it and watch the last scene. One shot. It’s intense.
