Up There, A Hand-Painted Advertising Documentary
Quote, “They can’t print what we paint. They print in pixels.” Up There is a gorgeously shot (and told) short documentary on the dying industry of big city, big scale, hand painted “out of home” advertising. I especially love the bits about apprenticeship and the passing on knowledge.
Roger Ebert’s Best Films of 2009 list is available for your perusal. I’ve only seen 3 of the 20, so it looks like I have some Netflix-ing to do. I’m already anxiously awaiting the 1/12 dvd release of The Hurt Locker.
Whhhhhhaaaaaat? They’re making a Jonah Hex movie? I know movie adaptations of comic book storylines seem to be all the rage these days, but talk about reaching back into the obscure corners of comic world for source material. So weird it’s cool.
Ways They’ll Screw-Up the New G.I. Joe Movie: Part 5
You remember Snake Eyes, right? Mysterious ninja master G.I. Joe operative? All black. Masked. Completely mute. Woah… why does a mute guy have a MOUTH on his uniform?
That’s just plain mean.
The Tron: Legacy trailer digs way back into our collective nerd consciousness. Go Disney.
Ways They’ll Screw-Up the New G.I. Joe Movie: Part 4
Again with the character design changes! Why can’t moviemakers leave well enough alone?
Up top you see a screenshot from the Japanese trailer for G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra with a glimpse of “Cobra Commander” (I use that term lightly here) having a chat with Destro. Then you see cartoon CC pointing (and likely laughing) because Destro is essentially Dr. Who with a Scottish accent. And cartoon Destro laughing because Joseph Gordon-Levitt Cobra Commander (henceforth referred to as JGLCC) is wearing a hightech SARS mask and a bad suit.
It’s not really the casting I take issue with. (Though Garry Oldman is Cobra commander in my mind.) It’s the incessant need for Hollywood to think they know better, and that they must change things. It’s rarely a good idea.
Quote, “If you want to save yourself the ticket price, go into the kitchen, cue up a male choir singing the music of hell, and get a kid to start banging pots and pans together. Then close your eyes and use your imagination.” I don’t think Robert Ebert cared too much for Transformers 2.
The visual look for the titles of upcoming movie Shutter Island is dark, understated and wonderful watercolory goodness. They treat the Paramount logo quite brutally as well.
Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes
To say that this take on Sherlock Holmes looks enjoyable is to undersell it.
One time, for a brief few seconds, just to see what it was like, Gene Kelly was unsure of his footing. The time he tap danced on roller skates in It’s Always Fair Weather was not that time.
Ways They’ll Screw-Up the New G.I. Joe Movie: Part 3
The new trailer introduces us to “accelerator suits.” Apparently, they exist to accelerate the movie as far away from the source material as possible. Look, Ma! I’m a Transformer!
Moon Trailer
I so badly want Moon to be amazing.
Ways They’ll Screw-Up the New G.I. Joe Movie: Part 2
Everyone’s outfits are black. Joes. Cobra. Heroes. Villains. All black. Kind of hard to tell each other apart in battle when YOU’RE ALL WEARING THE SAME OUTFIT.