So, here are the current Oscar contenders that have been theatrically released:
The Dark Knight
http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/thedarkknight/
WALL-E
http://www.apple.com/trailers/disney/walle/
Anything else? Nope. Not to my knowledge. Here's some upcoming ones:
Changeling (Already given a limited release, $500,000 opening weekend in... all of 15 screens. Whoa.)
http://www.apple.com/trailers/universal/changeling/
Frost/Nixon
http://www.apple.com/trailers/universal/frostnixon/
Gran Torino
http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/grantorino/
Doubt
http://www.apple.com/trailers/miramax/doubt/
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Monday, September 1, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
Sony HDR-HC1
I just purchased the Sony HDR-HC1, it should arrive tomorrow afternoon. I'm quite thrilled.
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http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/Sony-HCR-HC1-Review.htm
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http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/Sony-HCR-HC1-Review.htm
So.
So we're a little over eight months into the year. These remaining four (especially November onward) will see a huge Oscar push. Here are a couple of films you should definitely look into.
What this list is: This is a list of movies that I am especially looking forward to seeing. Will all of these receive Oscar nods? Probably not. Will some of them? I would expect so.
Note that so far this year, I can honestly name two movies that may receive Oscar nods. Those two are WALL-E and The Dark Knight.
BURN AFTER READING
What is it? A disk containing the memoirs of a CIA agent ends up in the hands of two unscrupulous gym employees who attempt to benefit from the discovery.
Who's in it? George Clooney, John Malkovich, Frances McDormand, Brad Pitt, Tilda Swinton, and J.K. Simmons
Who's directing it? Ethan and Joel Coen
When does it come out? September 12th
APPALOOSA
What is it? A pair of lawmen (Harris and Mortensen) out to save a Western town from a rancher's tyrannical reign find their bond, and their mission, tested by the arrival of a double-dealing widow (Zellweger).
Who's in it? Viggo Mortensen, Ed Harris, and Renée Zellweger
Who's directing it? Ed Harris
When does it come out? September 17th, limited release
CHOKE
What is it? An adaptation of the Chuck Palahniuk novel, in which sex-addicted con-man Victor Mancini (Rockwell) pays for his mother's (Huston) hospital bills by playing on the sympathies of those who rescue him from choking to death. Victor's mother's attending physician, Dr. Paige Marshall (Macdonald), initially sinks into his morass, only to become his best chance for redemption.
Who's in it? Sam Rockwell, Anjelica Huston, Kelly Macdonald
Who's directing it? Clark Gregg
When does it come out? September 26th, limited release
HOW TO LOSE FRIENDS AND ALIENATE PEOPLE
What is it? British journalist Sidney Young (Pegg) crosses the pond for a new job with a high-profile New York magazine, though he soon learns the bridges he burned on his way to the top can only lead to his downfall.
Who's in it? Simon Pegg, Kirsten Dust, Danny Huston
Who's directing it? Robert B. Weide
When does it come out? October 3rd
BODY OF LIES
What is it? In Jordan, an ex-journalist (DiCaprio) working to locate an Al Qaeda leader for the CIA faces pressure from an agent (Crowe) for whom failure is not an option.
Who's in it? Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Mark Strong
Who's directing it? Ridley Scott
When does it come out? October 10th
FLASH OF GENIUS
What is it? Once Robert Kearns (Kinnear) discovers that new cars are coming equipped with intermittent windshield wipers -- a technology Kearns invented, patented, and unsuccessfully tried to sell -- he launches a landmark lawsuit against the U.S. automotive industry.
Who's in it? Greg Kinnear, Lauren Graham, Alan Alda
Who's directing it? Marc Abraham
When does it come out? October 17th
W.
What is it? Texas Governor, George W. Bush, follows in the footsteps of his father, former President George H.W. Bush, in the wake of a controversial election to lead the United States of America.
Who's in it? Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Banks, Ioan Gruffudd
Who's directing it? Oliver Stone
When does it come out? October 17th, limited release
THE BROTHERS BLOOM
What is it? A pair of brothers and veteran conmen (Brody and Ruffalo) target an enigmatic wealthy woman (Weisz) as their potential last job, fully unaware of the twists in the road ahead of them.
Who's in it? Rachel Weisz, Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo
Who's directing it? Rian Johnson
When does it come out? October 24th
QUANTUM OF SOLACE
What is it? Picking up where Casino Royale left off, James Bond (Craig) sets his sights on the organization behind Vesper Lynd's betrayal. The mission puts him on a collision course with Dominic Greene (Amalric), a ruthless businessman who, Bond soon learns, is brokering a deal to take total control of one of the world's most precious resources. Relying on allies new and old -- including Camille (Kurylenko), a beautiful woman with her own agenda -- Agent 007 looks to bring down Greene and his conspirators.
Who's in it? Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Almaric
Who's directing it? Marc Forster
When does it come out? November 7th
FROST/NIXON
What is it? BBC host David Frost interviews Richard Nixon in 1977, where the scandal-plagued President opens up about his role in the Watergate scandal.
Who's in it? Frank Langella, Michael Sheen, Kevin Bacon
Who's directing it? Ron Howard
When does it come out? December 5th, limited release
DEFIANCE
What is it? In 1941, a group of Jewish brothers organize the largest armed rescue of Jews during the Holocaust.
Who's in it? Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell
Who's directing it? Edward Zwick
When does it come out? December 12th
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
What is it? Benjamin Button was born under unusual circumstances. As everyone around him grew older, he aged backwards, making the challenges of life such as creating friendships, finding a job and falling in love all the more difficult and heartbreaking.
Who's in it? Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton
Who's directing it? David Fincher
When does it come out? December 19th
VALKYRIE
What is it? Near the end of WWII, Claus von Stauffenberg (Cruise) leads to group of fellow German army colonels in an attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler; the event would later be called the July 20 Plot of 1944.
Who's in it? Tom Cruise, Bill Nighy, Clarice van Houten
Who's directing it? Bryan Singer
When does it come out? December 26th
What this list is: This is a list of movies that I am especially looking forward to seeing. Will all of these receive Oscar nods? Probably not. Will some of them? I would expect so.
Note that so far this year, I can honestly name two movies that may receive Oscar nods. Those two are WALL-E and The Dark Knight.
BURN AFTER READING
What is it? A disk containing the memoirs of a CIA agent ends up in the hands of two unscrupulous gym employees who attempt to benefit from the discovery.
Who's in it? George Clooney, John Malkovich, Frances McDormand, Brad Pitt, Tilda Swinton, and J.K. Simmons
Who's directing it? Ethan and Joel Coen
When does it come out? September 12th
APPALOOSA
What is it? A pair of lawmen (Harris and Mortensen) out to save a Western town from a rancher's tyrannical reign find their bond, and their mission, tested by the arrival of a double-dealing widow (Zellweger).
Who's in it? Viggo Mortensen, Ed Harris, and Renée Zellweger
Who's directing it? Ed Harris
When does it come out? September 17th, limited release
CHOKE
What is it? An adaptation of the Chuck Palahniuk novel, in which sex-addicted con-man Victor Mancini (Rockwell) pays for his mother's (Huston) hospital bills by playing on the sympathies of those who rescue him from choking to death. Victor's mother's attending physician, Dr. Paige Marshall (Macdonald), initially sinks into his morass, only to become his best chance for redemption.
Who's in it? Sam Rockwell, Anjelica Huston, Kelly Macdonald
Who's directing it? Clark Gregg
When does it come out? September 26th, limited release
HOW TO LOSE FRIENDS AND ALIENATE PEOPLE
What is it? British journalist Sidney Young (Pegg) crosses the pond for a new job with a high-profile New York magazine, though he soon learns the bridges he burned on his way to the top can only lead to his downfall.
Who's in it? Simon Pegg, Kirsten Dust, Danny Huston
Who's directing it? Robert B. Weide
When does it come out? October 3rd
BODY OF LIES
What is it? In Jordan, an ex-journalist (DiCaprio) working to locate an Al Qaeda leader for the CIA faces pressure from an agent (Crowe) for whom failure is not an option.
Who's in it? Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Mark Strong
Who's directing it? Ridley Scott
When does it come out? October 10th
FLASH OF GENIUS
What is it? Once Robert Kearns (Kinnear) discovers that new cars are coming equipped with intermittent windshield wipers -- a technology Kearns invented, patented, and unsuccessfully tried to sell -- he launches a landmark lawsuit against the U.S. automotive industry.
Who's in it? Greg Kinnear, Lauren Graham, Alan Alda
Who's directing it? Marc Abraham
When does it come out? October 17th
W.
What is it? Texas Governor, George W. Bush, follows in the footsteps of his father, former President George H.W. Bush, in the wake of a controversial election to lead the United States of America.
Who's in it? Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Banks, Ioan Gruffudd
Who's directing it? Oliver Stone
When does it come out? October 17th, limited release
THE BROTHERS BLOOM
What is it? A pair of brothers and veteran conmen (Brody and Ruffalo) target an enigmatic wealthy woman (Weisz) as their potential last job, fully unaware of the twists in the road ahead of them.
Who's in it? Rachel Weisz, Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo
Who's directing it? Rian Johnson
When does it come out? October 24th
QUANTUM OF SOLACE
What is it? Picking up where Casino Royale left off, James Bond (Craig) sets his sights on the organization behind Vesper Lynd's betrayal. The mission puts him on a collision course with Dominic Greene (Amalric), a ruthless businessman who, Bond soon learns, is brokering a deal to take total control of one of the world's most precious resources. Relying on allies new and old -- including Camille (Kurylenko), a beautiful woman with her own agenda -- Agent 007 looks to bring down Greene and his conspirators.
Who's in it? Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Almaric
Who's directing it? Marc Forster
When does it come out? November 7th
FROST/NIXON
What is it? BBC host David Frost interviews Richard Nixon in 1977, where the scandal-plagued President opens up about his role in the Watergate scandal.
Who's in it? Frank Langella, Michael Sheen, Kevin Bacon
Who's directing it? Ron Howard
When does it come out? December 5th, limited release
DEFIANCE
What is it? In 1941, a group of Jewish brothers organize the largest armed rescue of Jews during the Holocaust.
Who's in it? Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell
Who's directing it? Edward Zwick
When does it come out? December 12th
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
What is it? Benjamin Button was born under unusual circumstances. As everyone around him grew older, he aged backwards, making the challenges of life such as creating friendships, finding a job and falling in love all the more difficult and heartbreaking.
Who's in it? Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton
Who's directing it? David Fincher
When does it come out? December 19th
VALKYRIE
What is it? Near the end of WWII, Claus von Stauffenberg (Cruise) leads to group of fellow German army colonels in an attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler; the event would later be called the July 20 Plot of 1944.
Who's in it? Tom Cruise, Bill Nighy, Clarice van Houten
Who's directing it? Bryan Singer
When does it come out? December 26th
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Summer is almost over
And I have done little to nothing with this blog. So in the spirit of keeping it alive, I'm going to post on it.
That is all. lol.
That is all. lol.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Review: The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight.
To most of us, Heath Ledger's final bow.
To others, Warner Brothers' second (and only) chance to turn a profit after the disaster that was Speed Racer.
To me, simply the most exciting two and a half hours I've spent watching a single movie. And I'd see it again.
To give you an idea of how good The Dark Knight is, you must look at it not just as a superhero genre type of film. This is a crime drama at its best. This is, as some critics are calling it, "Scorsesian".
The Dark Knight is the sequel to Christopher Nolan's 2005 film Batman Begins. It follows four characters: billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne (along with his alter ego, the crime-fighting Batman), Gotham City's new District Attorney Harvey Dent (played by Aaron Eckhart), Gotham's Police Detective Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman), and the Joker (played by the late Heath Ledger), a maniacal villain who has just dethroned Javier Bardem's Anton Chigurh for This Decade's Creepiest, Most Effective Villain (Hannibal Lecter is SO last decade).
The story revolves around the Joker, who rounds up Gotham City's villains for one goal: Kill Batman. At the same time, Batman and Gordon contemplate trusting the new District Attorney Harvey Dent and his ambition to rid the city of crime. I won't delve deep into the story since I know I'll spoil something eventually, so I'll just cut it at that much with the plot.
Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne is very calculated, arrogant, and fun. Bale is an amazing actor, one I've admired ever since seeing American Psycho. I look forward to a third Batman installment with him in it and also the fourth Terminator flick coming out next year(?).
Maggie Gyllenhaal takes on the role of Rachel Dawes in this film, dethroning Katie Holmes' previous performance in Batman Begins (Holmes opted to not sign on for Dark Knight). The character looks and feels like Rachel Dawes from the previous film, but adds much more personality to it.
Aaron Eckhart, an actor I was made aware of by Thank You For Smoking, takes on the role as Harvey Dent (whom most of you might make the connection as Two-Face). Eckhart shares about the same on-screen time with Bale and Ledger and not a single moment is boring. If anything, the script was basically centered around Dent who is Gotham's hero; a man who fights to take crime off the streets and in turn is heraled by many to be more effective than Batman. The movie perfectly ushers in the rise and fall of Harvey Dent as he transcends into Two-Face. A teaser line from the trailer foreshadows his fate: You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.
Heath Ledger is talent beyond recognition. If The Dark Knight proved anything, it was that Ledger's untimely passing away is a huge tragedy for everyone. Ledger is such a talented actor and he shows it by creating his own version of the Joker: a psychopathic, criminal mastermind that makes Jack Nicholson's version look like a circus clown. Mark Hamill's voice acting has nothing on this. You know, people were trying to start a petition on getting Ledger an Oscar nod because of his passing. To them, I say this: Give him an award based on his acting, not because of his death. Heath Ledger has put out one of the best performances I've ever seen, and as I said earlier: Heath's Joker completely blows Javier Bardem's Chigurh out of the water.
Verdict: Watch it in theatres. Watch it twice if you want. See it in IMAX. Whatever you do, don't miss out on The Dark Knight. It is simply the best movie of the year, or at least so far.
To most of us, Heath Ledger's final bow.
To others, Warner Brothers' second (and only) chance to turn a profit after the disaster that was Speed Racer.
To me, simply the most exciting two and a half hours I've spent watching a single movie. And I'd see it again.
To give you an idea of how good The Dark Knight is, you must look at it not just as a superhero genre type of film. This is a crime drama at its best. This is, as some critics are calling it, "Scorsesian".
The Dark Knight is the sequel to Christopher Nolan's 2005 film Batman Begins. It follows four characters: billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne (along with his alter ego, the crime-fighting Batman), Gotham City's new District Attorney Harvey Dent (played by Aaron Eckhart), Gotham's Police Detective Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman), and the Joker (played by the late Heath Ledger), a maniacal villain who has just dethroned Javier Bardem's Anton Chigurh for This Decade's Creepiest, Most Effective Villain (Hannibal Lecter is SO last decade).
The story revolves around the Joker, who rounds up Gotham City's villains for one goal: Kill Batman. At the same time, Batman and Gordon contemplate trusting the new District Attorney Harvey Dent and his ambition to rid the city of crime. I won't delve deep into the story since I know I'll spoil something eventually, so I'll just cut it at that much with the plot.
Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne is very calculated, arrogant, and fun. Bale is an amazing actor, one I've admired ever since seeing American Psycho. I look forward to a third Batman installment with him in it and also the fourth Terminator flick coming out next year(?).
Maggie Gyllenhaal takes on the role of Rachel Dawes in this film, dethroning Katie Holmes' previous performance in Batman Begins (Holmes opted to not sign on for Dark Knight). The character looks and feels like Rachel Dawes from the previous film, but adds much more personality to it.
Aaron Eckhart, an actor I was made aware of by Thank You For Smoking, takes on the role as Harvey Dent (whom most of you might make the connection as Two-Face). Eckhart shares about the same on-screen time with Bale and Ledger and not a single moment is boring. If anything, the script was basically centered around Dent who is Gotham's hero; a man who fights to take crime off the streets and in turn is heraled by many to be more effective than Batman. The movie perfectly ushers in the rise and fall of Harvey Dent as he transcends into Two-Face. A teaser line from the trailer foreshadows his fate: You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.
Heath Ledger is talent beyond recognition. If The Dark Knight proved anything, it was that Ledger's untimely passing away is a huge tragedy for everyone. Ledger is such a talented actor and he shows it by creating his own version of the Joker: a psychopathic, criminal mastermind that makes Jack Nicholson's version look like a circus clown. Mark Hamill's voice acting has nothing on this. You know, people were trying to start a petition on getting Ledger an Oscar nod because of his passing. To them, I say this: Give him an award based on his acting, not because of his death. Heath Ledger has put out one of the best performances I've ever seen, and as I said earlier: Heath's Joker completely blows Javier Bardem's Chigurh out of the water.
Verdict: Watch it in theatres. Watch it twice if you want. See it in IMAX. Whatever you do, don't miss out on The Dark Knight. It is simply the best movie of the year, or at least so far.
Friday, June 20, 2008
YouTube Screening Room: A new spotlight on indie films
Today YouTube launched a new section called the YouTube Screening Room. It is described as a "platform for films from around the world to find the audiences they deserve".
Films will be showcased in blocks of four for two weeks at a time, with an occasional feature-length film. Some have seen film festival showings, others have been nominated for (and won) Academy Awards. I'm hoping to see Six Shooter get featured.
The filmmakers get paid a portion on YouTube's ad revenue based on total views of their films and there is a "buy" option for the films.
If you want to get your short film considered for being featured, you can email them at ytscreeningroom@youtube.com
Films will be showcased in blocks of four for two weeks at a time, with an occasional feature-length film. Some have seen film festival showings, others have been nominated for (and won) Academy Awards. I'm hoping to see Six Shooter get featured.
The filmmakers get paid a portion on YouTube's ad revenue based on total views of their films and there is a "buy" option for the films.
If you want to get your short film considered for being featured, you can email them at ytscreeningroom@youtube.com
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