Sunday, April 30, 2006
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Music lover, that's me.
Download episode 32 of the Icrywolf podcast now.
Tom Hanks thanks Dan Striepeke
Monday, April 24, 2006
Fan review of "Gamera the Brave" at AICN
Through most of the film, we watch as Gamera is raised by an innocent little boy from a regular-sized turtle to the gargantuan fighting monster he becomes by the film's finale. It's more heartwarming than adrenaline producing. That said, there's still plenty of what you came for: monster-on-monster, man-in- suit, model-crushing action.
Read the full review of Gamera the Brave at AICN.
Geek alert! Godzilla and '50s sci-fi on Sci-Fi Channel and TCM
Get the low-down on all the geeky movies this week from the Flick Filosopher.
Ultraman Mebius: Postmaster for a day
"We're trying our best as we head toward privatization. Mebius has given us energy," said 58-year-old postmaster Yoshinori Suganuma after Ultraman's arrival.
Ultraman appeared at the post office at 9:30 a.m., and was handed a letter of request from Suganuma, before setting about his tasks in the postmaster's office.
While he appeared hesitant about using a pen -- something he normally doesn't do -- he managed to carry out his duties.Read the full article at the Mainichi Daily News.
[via Kaiju Shakedown]
Friday, April 21, 2006
Improving the theater experience
Since the fall of fascism there has been a steady decline in manners and attentiveness at public gatherings. Sick of ringing phones and people yammering or coughing too hard? Be sick no longer. Not only will there be more ushers patrolling the aisles, but they will be armed with tasers, batons and the legal authority to dispense corporal punishment to anyone who breaches the sound (i.e., silence) barrier.
Read "Improving the Theater Experience" at cbc.ca now.
Why HD-DVD and Blu-Ray are different
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Save MGM Midnite Movies
Over a year ago, DVD Drive-In started an online petition for Sony to continue MGM's Midnite Movies series after the studio purchased MGM's film library. We also suggested dozens of possible Midnite Movie candidates, and the petition has gathered over 4,100+ signatures to date. We are sad to report that none of the titles on the list are on Sony's current DVD schedule, and it looks like the Midnite Movies are still in serious trouble.
Click here to sign the petition, or click here for the Twitch entry on this subject, which includes a huge list of possible candidates for release which Sony has acquired from MGM.
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Riya recognizes the faces in your photos
Friday, April 14, 2006
Rethinking theaters
Mark Glaser at PBS weighs in with his thoughts about the theater and the concept of the Long Tail.
What if each multiplex had its own theme for the movies it shows? One might be known for great dramas, another for comedies, another for horror flicks.I'm not convinced that the content is as much the problem at multiplexes as the presentation and atmosphere – audiences that have become accustomed to talking to one another and on their cell phones during movies, terrible food, surly staff, and pre-show advertising – but I'd certainly be happy if theater owners started paying more attention to what it's like to be a moviegoer.
Got thoughts about the best and worst theaters you've been to recently? Leave them in the comments.
The Wrong Jon Stewart
Instead, they actually booked Jon A. Stewart, a 39-year-old former motivational speaker, businessmen [sic] and part-time professional wrestler from Deerfield.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Pulgasari director Shin Sang-ok dies
Shin Sang-ok a renonwned Korean movie director who lived a life just as dramatic as a movie died in a Seoul National University hospital on Tuesday night. He was 80.
...During the 1970s, Shin became less active, while South Korea's cinema industry in general suffered under strict censorship and constant interference by dictatorial government. Most of the films he directed during the period ended up being flops. After running afoul of the repressive government in 1978, the then president Park Chung-hee closed Shin's studio.
The director and his wife were separately abducted to North Korea in 1978 while in Hong Kong to produce a film, by orders from the future North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, who wanted to establish a film industry for his country, according to the South Korean government at the time. The North Korean authorities have denied the kidnapping accusations, claiming that Shin came to the country willingly.
Shin later recounted that he enjoyed a close relationship with current North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, known as a movie buff, during his nine years in the North. Pyongyang provided him with a luxury villa built for the leader, a Mercedes Benz and US$3 million every year for his work, he said.
Shin directed seven films with Kim Jong-il acting as an executive producer. The best known of these films is Pulgasari, a giant-monster film similar to the Japanese Godzilla, which can be seen as a metaphor for the effects of unchecked capitalism. In 1986, Shin and his wife made a daring escape in Vienna, before eventually fleeing to the United States, seeking political asylum, until they returned to Seoul in 2002 for good.
While in the U.S., Shin worked under the pseudonym Simon Sheen, directing 3 Ninjas Knuckle Up and working as an executive producer for 3 Ninjas Kick Back and 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain, the latter starring Hulk Hogan. He also served on the jury for the Cannes Film Festival and for various Korean film festivals.
Friday, April 07, 2006
Song in a Movie (more Snakes on a Plane news)
Blockbuster considers "return to store" option for online renters
Upon return to the store, these online video rentals would be automatically cleared out from the “Shipped Movies” section in your BLOCKBUSTER Online Queue and the next movies in your Queue will be shipped to you. With this feature, your waiting time for the next movie would be reduced.
An interesting wrinkle, but hardly the kind of thing likely to drive people en masse from Netflix to Blockbuster, especially when you consider Netflix's far superior selection of titles.
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Hanna-Barbera's Godzilla cartoon series on DVD
Stomp Tokyo: Cult Movies Podcast Episode 20
Listen to episode 20 now.
Hell freezes over? Intel Macs dual-boot between OS X and Windows
I kept checking the announcement article on Apple's site for signs that it might be an April Fool's hoax, but no such signs jumped out at me. I'm sure that, if that is the case, we'll know soon enough.
[Thanks to Scott for the early morning e-mail pointing this out.]
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Netflix sues Blockbuster for patent infringement
At any rate, the news is that Netflix is suing Blockbuster for infringing on its "rental queue" patents. Read the full story over at Hacking Netflix.
Chevy Tahoe contest backfires
Check out some of the best of the satirical ads at C|Net.
[Thanks to Christina for pointing these out.]
Hong Kong Martial Arts Awards
It's a known fact that if Simon Yam merely lays his hand on your child's head he can cure many diseases and increase your kid's IQ by up to 50 points. However, that doesn't change the fact that he was woefully underdressed last night, especially when sharing the stage with Yasuaki Kurata. The club jacket and t-shirt were all right, but the worn jeans with ripped knees and sneakers were not.
Monday, April 03, 2006
Simpsons Teaser Trailer now online
Labels: youtube