Archive for the ‘entertainment’ Category
Filed Under entertainment, film
The Dark Knight is definitely not your father’s Batman, there’s no Adam West or grey spandex anywhere to be found. This was an incredible movie, a movie that technically doesn’t fit in the array of typical summer movies because its not a popcorn movie. I think TDK was as much epic crime saga as it was superhero movie, maybe more. It was ‘Heat‘ with capes, gadgets and a chaotic clown. Its flawless.
If you were to break it all down, every piece of the film added up to make this an epic that won’t soon be forgotten. The soundtrack, the stunt work (very little CGI used - love that), the acting, the story, the themes, cinematography and on and on and on. It’s truly an amazing movie. Everything I’d hoped.
Not that its any surprise, but Heath Ledger was amazing… as usual. It’s so sad that we’ve lost a true artist at the prime of his artistry. There’s a huge difference between a movie star and an artist, for an artist its a real expression or emotion, its something true from deep within their soul not just a mask they put on for a take. I admire the artistry of Heath Ledger and every other artist in this film. His portrayal of the Joker will go down in history as one of the “best” villians of all time.
I believe this will be one of the best films of 2008, and the greatest superhero film of all time.
I give it 5 out of 5 stars.
Filed Under entertainment, random foolishness
Some ‘Late Night’ writers are tired of NBC’s marketing campaign… take a sec and read this. It’s awecellent.
Filed Under entertainment, film, friday faves, random links
Here are a few of my favorite things from this past week.
/1. Lars and the Real Girl. A story about a guy who buys a sex doll and thinks that its his new girlfriend may seem like every other movie you’ve seen, but let me assure you its not. Rent it, download it, pay-per-view it, or buy it… I promise you won’t be sorry. Look for my review to be up soon.
/2. The Superhero Guide to Famous Pastors. If you haven’t started reading Stuff Christians Like yet, you really should, especially if you’ve been in the church world for any amount of time. This post is hilarious, and there’s a sequel.
/3. Michael Bay’s rejected Dark Knight Script. Hilarious. What if Michael Bay had written The Dark Knight? Spill has “found” pages from this fictional spec screenplay which was “ultimately rejected by Warner Bros.”
/4. Brad Ruggles Muxtape. This week Brad did a post featuring his favorite music and he followed that up with a muxtape with the top song from each of those albums. Take a listen, its good.
/5. iPhone 2.0 Apps. My top app so far is Twitterific, but I’m also liking the Facebook app, Yelp, and MixMeister Scratch which is a DJ scratch machine for your iPhone. I’m still exploring the App Store, but I’m most disappointed that there’s not a Wordpress app yet.
Filed Under entertainment, film
Aight, whats the deal people, why’s everybody hatin’ on Hancock. It wasn’t that bad. Before I walked into the theater I’d heard quite a few folks bash it for being a terrible movie. I couldn’t disagree more, and I don’t think its just because I love Will Smith. I think the problem was that most went in expecting Iron Man or any other typical superhero movie. Honestly I don’t even really think it was a superhero movie, it was really a dramatic story of redemption that only uses the superhero thing as a device in telling the story.
It’s obvious that Director Peter Berg and the writers were trying something new with the storyline itself. I’m not even sure it even followed the 3-act arc, it seemed to be more like 2- 45 minute movies slapped together. They did the whole Kill Bill thing but didn’t wait 6 months to release the 2nd, they just decided part 1 wasn’t long enough to release alone, so they went ahead and attached the sequel. 2 birds people. At least they tried something new, it worked for Tarantino in Pulp Fiction (trying something new that is).
Big negatives: the CGI wasn’t great. Thats a big deal for me. If your gonna spend $150 mil on a movie, a “superhero” movie… make sure the CGI is freakin’ good! The other misstep I think they made was in the promotion, which is why folks went in expecting a hilarious version of Iron Man. The marketing wanted us to believe Hancock was a special effects riddled action comedy centered around the hilariously cranky (and drunk) superhero as he botches every attempt to be a hero. In steps Bateman, who is the down on his luck PR guy who sees a golden opportunity in rehabilitating the public image of L.A.’s very own superhero. Ok, so thats what we were led to believe was the whole story, which in reality on took about the first 25 minutes or so. This is should be a lesson in marketing who you are, not who you wish you were. We’ve seen this type of promotion work before, but in this case, right smack in the middle of superhero summer, people needed to be pleasantly surprised, not disappointed.
I liked it, because right smack in the middle of superhero summer, they tried something risky and different. Hancock definitely does not conform to the typical superhero arc whether you like it or not.
I’m gonna give it a 3 out of 5.
Filed Under entertainment, friday faves
Happy 4th peeps. Here are a few of my favorite things for the past week.
./1 High Five song. The real title is The Dynamo of Volition, but I call it the High Five song… its a fun little song on Jason Mraz’s newest album you should check out.
./2 Squeeze Me video. You’ve got to check this video out, it uses the old flip-book style animation and its very cool & creative. Kinda reminds of something Spike Jonze would do. The band is Kraak & Smaak, pretty cool tune to.
./3 Quantum of Solace trailer. I know its a weird title, but its the new 007 movie and it looks reeally good. I love the new direction the series has taken, and I love Daniel Craig in that role. Take a minute and watch the trailer.
./4 Battle of the Batmans. I found this on /Film I think its pretty funny. The Pitch: Four Batmans wear the cape, but in Gotham City, there can only be one. Cut together using footage from all the contemporary Batman movies.
./5 Church Sign Generator. This is worth a few minutes of your time, you can create any church sign you want. Have fun.
Filed Under entertainment, friday faves
I thought I’d start periodically posting what pop culture type stuff I’m currently into just to give you a peek into my world. So here ya go…
1/. So You Think You Can Dance. Ok I know I may lose some cool points, but this is one of my favorite shows.
2/. Viva la Vida. I think this is my favorite Coldplay album as a whole. I don’t necessarily think my favorite song of theirs is on this album, but I love the complete album.
3/. Greensburg. Very cool show on Planet Green, which is quickly becoming my favorite channel. Greensburg is a small town in Kansas that was wiped out by a tornado last year, and the show is about them rebuilding the town completely green.
4/. Superhero movies. So far its been a great superhero movie summer, and I’m expecting it to get even better… The Dark Knight and Hancock are going to be awesome.
5/. Hulu. I’m loving watching some of the old shows, especially Team Knight Rider. Does anyone remember that show coming on? It’s got to be the worst show ever, but its really funny.
The Dark Knight is definitely not your father’s Batman, there’s no Adam West or grey spandex anywhere to be found. This was an incredible movie, a movie that technically doesn’t fit in the array of typical summer movies because its not a popcorn movie. I think TDK was as much epic crime saga as it was superhero movie, maybe more. It was ‘Heat‘ with capes, gadgets and a chaotic clown. Its flawless. 
