Download and watch the HD trailer at Yahoo! Movies. This movie, due to be released on March 28, 2008, is going to look amazing.

I want to see Wanted, not just because it's an action movie and definitely not because of any of the actors or actresses in the film. Those things aren't really of much interest at all. In fact the dialog seems cliché, the storyline seems lame and the eye make up looks raccoonesque.

So why the post?

I want to see it because some of it, mostly the effects shots, were shot on RED cameras. No film, just super high definition video. Those big effects are going to look awesome being that clear.


Kodak and Fuji, you're going to have to rethink your business model. There are a few filmmakers (will that even be the correct word in a year?) who are taking full advantage of this new technology. These movies are stunning. As Hollywood directors play with this format and realize the versatility of it we're sure to see less film and more digital movies in our theatres. Jumper, already in theatres and doing well, used a RED One as its second unit camera and looks phenomenal.

Always up for an experiment Steven Soderbergh shot his movies The Argentine and Guerrilla both due out in 2008 and, The Informant, due in 2009 using only RED One cameras and lenses.

It's the wave of the future.

I'd love to get my grubby little paws on two full RED packages. Oh what a guy could do with a couple of those babies! All in all $17,500 isn't bad for a camera body. But, gear-head that I am we'd have to have all the lenses and accessories to go along with them.

Hey brother, can you spare $75,000?

"The Conservative government has drafted guidelines that would allow it to pull financial aid for any film or television show that it deems offensive or not in the public's best interest – even if government agencies have invested in them.

The proposed changes to the Income Tax Act would allow the Heritage Minister to deny tax credits to projects deemed offensive, effectively killing the productions. Representatives from Heritage and the Department of Justice will determine which shows or films pass the test."

more at source: globeandmail.com: Tories plan to withhold funding for 'offensive' productions

Hey Stephen Harper, guess what? You just lost a whole ton of votes. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.

That's it. Censor the film business rather than encouraging it. More shows will be off to the Czech Republic and the Canadian economy will suffer.

If you need more money I guess you shouldn't have cut that one per cent from the GST. *Sigh*

Let's call an election now... I know which way I'm voting.

And skipping all the B.S. Here we go:


I should have waited and watched it this way.

Want more info? Check out the list of winers at Slashfilm.

Vanity Fair has done it again. Every once in a while they do something truly photographically impressive using Hollywood stars who happen to be the flavor of the moment.

This time they've recreated scenes from some of Alfred Hitchcock's more well known films. I'm especially impressed that Strangers on a Train, one of my faves, made the list. They've even done a rather creepy making of video and Jim Windolf does a behind the scenes report.

Here's a few notables:


Jodi Foster is very Tippi Hedren-esque as Melanie Daniels from the eerie 1963 classic, The Birds. You know there was poop involved in this shoot at some point.


Scarlett Johansson and Javier Bardem reprise the Grace Kelly and Jimmy Stewart roles in Rear Window. Thank goodness Bardem has a decent haircut after the horrendous 70's mop he wore in No Country for Old Men.


Renée Zellweger is seriously (I mean very) creepy as Kim Novak's Madeleine Elster / Judy Barton from Vertigo.


Vanouver's own Seth Rogen as Cary Grant's character Roger O. Thornhill from North by Northwest. Cary, you've put on weight and look a little dopey. Still fun though.


Emile Hirsch (left) and James McAvoy (right) as Guy Haines and Bruno Anthony from Strangers on a Train. I must watch this film again today...

To see the others and some high quality scans check out the livejournal ohnotheydidn't.

Thanks to the WGA strike we didn't get to see the usual TV broadcast for the Golden Globes this year. Hopefully we'll get to see an Oscar show. I do love it so even if I am often disappointed at the Academy's choices. This year has been a particularly excellent year for the kind of movies I enjoy; the more artsy and story driven 'independent' films.

Although I did enjoy Transformers this year, I'm not typically a fan of blockbusters. Although they're aesthetically pleasing and full of huge stars and even bigger effects they often leave one feeling unfulfilled.

This year things are looking a little different. Take the nominations for Best Picture for example:



As someone who loves a great story I need a little soul in my films. There's no Titanic in the lot this year. Thank goodness.

The only one here I have yet to see is Michael Clayton, but the others are definitely at the top of my own list. I can't wait to swear at the TV again on Oscar night! Yay!

Here's a video broadcast the nominations from January 22, 2008:



The rest of the nominations for the 80th Academy Awards are listed after the jump:

"The lines that people love most come not necessarily from the most revered films in the canon (though Casablanca and Citizen Kane are represented), but from down-to-earth comedies or action films (Ahem, "I'll be baaack!") that grabbed the audience on a visceral level. Whatever the genre of the film, these small bits of dialogue are important: they're cultural shorthand, part of the language everyone shares."

[entire list at ohnotheydidn't or the original version at Premiere's site]

Some particular favourites of mine from this list:

86. "Can I borrow your underpants for ten minutes?" — The Geek (Anthony Michael Hall) in Sixteen Candles (1984)

68. "Dogs and cats living together! Mass hysteria!" — Bill Murray as Dr. Venkman in Ghostbusters (1984)

41. "You're gonna need a bigger boat." — Brody (Roy Scheider) in Jaws (1975)

26. "Mein Fuhrer! I can walk!" — Dr. Strangelove (Peter Sellers) in Dr. Strangelove (1964)

Here's a send up of the show...

[source black20]

Bergman thought Hitler was "charismatic" when he saw him speak

Legendary Swedish director Ingmar Bergman has revealed that he was a great admirer of Adolf Hitler, only losing his enthusiasm for Nazism after the horrors of the concentration camps were uncovered.

"When the doors to the concentration camps were thrown open, at first I did not want to believe my eyes."

"When the truth came out it was a hideous shock for me. In a brutal and violent way I was suddenly ripped of my innocence."

[more at source BBC News]

Either I've completely lost my mind or Rob Zombie doesn't understand the word 'teaser'. I felt like falling asleep. All those who think this unnecessary remake is going to stink are probably right on the money. I'll stick with Carpenter's version even before this one comes out and the retarded 15 year olds say, "It rulez!@!!! Rob Zombie FTW!!!%^#@!"

My pre-response (in their own dumb lingo): G-HEY!

Based on the epic graphic novel by Frank Miller, 300 is a ferocious retelling of the ancient Battle of Thermopylae in which King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and 300 Spartans fought to the death against Xerxes and his massive Persian army. Facing insurmountable odds, their valor and sacrifice inspire all of Greece to unite.

Carol and I just arrived home from the Vancouver premiere of Zack Snyder (Dawn of the Dead 2004) and Frank Miller's (Sin City) much anticipated collaborative effort simply titled 300. Thanks to Mark of The Hollywood North Report for the tickets!

We were first in line for the event so we had our pick of seats. Security, who arrived right after us, was extremely tight. They frisked everyone with metal detectors and checked people's bags for recording devices taking away camera batteries, video phone batteries and miniDV cams, if found, to be returned later.

I guess Warner Brothers wasn't willing to have the film leak out via some shabby cam version made this evening by a dastardly pirate. I'm sure it will show up on a torrent site this weekend after those all important opening bucks get raked in by the studio. The security part of the evening was slightly uncomfortable and somewhat intrusive, but I forgot about that when the film started.

The cinematography was nothing short of spectacular. Every brilliant shot looked as though it were a masterpiece painted by some long forgotten master. I was expecting the heavy use of CG to take me out of the film, but that wasn't so at all. It looked like Miller's graphic novel come to life. To say it was gorgeously shot doesn't do this film justice. To watch it you would never know that it was shot entirely in a studio in Montreal, Quebec against green screen. No, they weren't outside. Wow!


The story was far tighter than I had expected and the over the top dialogue we saw in the trailer actually earned it's way onto the screen. I found myself immersed in this telling of the ancient tale of King Leonidas, masterfully played by The Phantom of the Opera's Gerard Butler, and his 300 Spartan warriors' fight against the invasion of Greece by the Persian empire's hordes of creepy assassins lead by the evil God/King Xerxes. The good guys were easy to care about and the bad guys even easier to hate.

Tyler Bates soundtrack topped it all off. I could listen to it over and over. Bates described the score as having "beautiful themes on the top and large choir", but "tempered with some extreme heaviness". You can listen to a bit of it at the 300 soundtrack site.

Just a bit of a caveat, if you are put off by nudity, sexuality and violence 300 is absolutely not the film for you. It pulled few punches in those departments. I think this be one of the most graphically violent films I have ever seen. I've seen many violent movies, but 300 went that much further. It is, after all, a film about war in barbaric times. Though cartoon like at times, I still cringed in many spots and let me tell you, if a movie can make me cringe it is cringe worthy.

It's okay for a hetero man to like a movie with amazingly fit and half naked men in it right? There were a few times I flashed on that scene from Airplane with the kid in the cockpit:

Captain Oveur: Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?

I'm sure I came away unscathed without too much of 'the gay' on me. A vast array of naked boobage and an orgy scene full of Persian whores cleansed the pallet washing away all the fruitiness.

I want to see 300 again... and again. I'll pass on the theatre for now. Too much talking and seat kicking for spoiled old HDTV owning me. We eagerly await 300's release on DVD.

You however should go see it in the theatre. Don't miss this on the big screen. This movie is what Troy and Alexander wish they were. It's not often you hear a crowd applaud at certain parts of a film any more but they did for 300 in a few parts.

Watch the trailer just in case you're not convinced yet.

[read Carol's funny review]

There are 40 million sheep in New Zealand and they're pissed off:

On a vast New Zealand sheep station, a reckless genetic engineering experiment goes horribly wrong, turning sheep into bloodthirsty killers.

Baa! Looks like fun. This movie is going to do for sheep what Jaws did for sharks.Black Sheep is getting a nationwide release in New Zealand on March 29, 2007, but we here in North America have to wait until a limited release on August 8, 2007. Perhaps it's a wait until DVD situation for most folks. I for one am looking forward to the movie.