by AJ Focht
The film industry has finally decided to put both feet in on the 3-D bandwagon and as a result cinemas have been overrun by glasses-required films in 2010. According to The Illustrated 3D Movie List over 40 movie titles have will be released in 3-D this year. While animated films have primarily dominated the 3-D market over the past decade, live action movies make up almost half of the 3-D films released this past year.
For most of these movies 3-D filming seems to be a gimmick to get more people in seats. Unfortunately many of the movies using 3-D effect don’t really need them. Resident Evil 3D, Saw 3D, and Jackass 3D are all examples of movies that had no good use for 3-D in their execution. I am confident that you won’t miss any gory moments or idiotic stunts if you see the movie in 2-D. Killing zombies is always good but Resident Evil has beaten its franchise to death and not even 3-D can save it.
These movies are only utilizing 3-D imaging as a sales gimmick; and we may soon see many more live action films that are shot in 3-D primarily to sell tickets rather than being motivated by more legitimate artistic reasons. Large film companies are starting to make a wholesale changeover to 3-D. Warner Bros will be releasing most of their movies in 3-D from now on; All future DC superhero movies produced by Warner Bros will be in 3-D, as will all of their tent pole movies.
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by Fred Topel
Pat Tillman was a safety for the Arizona Cardinals. In 2002, instead of renewing his NFL contract, he decided to enlist in the Army. As a Ranger, he served tours in Afghanistan, where he was killed in 2004. Early reports said he died taking enemy fire, but further investigation showed that it was actually a friendly fire incident. This would simply be a tragedy if the facts came out. But the military tried to spin a different story which resulted in a now exposed cover-up.
The Tillman Story is a documentary that shows what we were told about Pat Tillman, what actually happened to Pat Tillman, and why the government lied. Director Amir Bar-Lev follows Danni Tillman, Pat’s mom, and Kevin Tillman, his brother who also enlisted, as they piece together the truth and bring it to light.
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by Fred Topel
We Americans are kind of soft. When we say “machete” it kind of sounds like “ma-shed-ee.” When Machete himself says it, it sounds as sharp as the blade itself: “Ma-chay-tay.” Danny Trejo really emphasizes the correct Mexican pronunciation of his latest character.
If there were Suicide Men, Danny Trejo might be their leader. Although, he wouldn’t have to worry about committing social suicide, because nobody’s going to mess with him. His rugged face, chest of tattoos, handlebar moustache and long man hair have gotten him cast as bad guys in movies for the past 25 years.
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by Fred Topel
“I love the Suicide Girls. I like Radeo.”
– Jason Schwartzman, actor
Jason Schwartzman loves the SuicideGirls. He called out his favorite by name and even mentioned another one by her signature tattoo. It makes sense that he’d be so cultured, coming from the Coppola family. They have high class tastes in film, music and even fine wine (try the Coppola shiraz. It’s delightful.)
Alternative beauty is especially relevant to Schwartzman’s latest movie. In Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, Scott (Michael Cera) has to fight his new girlfriend’s seven evil exes. Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) expresses a lot of SuicideGirls qualities, the way she dresses and her different hair colors (three hair changes in the film), though no visible tattoos. We’ll assume they’re in the director’s cut.
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by Andrew E. Konietzky
This week I had a great round-table discussion with friends concerning the state of new media and the changing world around us. Being a writer and podcaster, I have long been a supporter of CC. Whoops! I may have to give a bit of a refresher course first: Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that works to increase the amount of creativity (cultural, educational and scientific content) in “the commons” – the body of work that is available to the public for free and legal sharing, uses, re-purposing and remixing. So I sat down to do a bit of research for my benefit and to show I am not created just out of cheesy films, zombies and strange culture. Well, actually I am, but I do have a stake in this changing world of media.
The world is now a hyper-expanding WikiNation, with information flowing back and forth faster than ever before. Plug in your cranial jack and download the info-burst on this documentary from the global networks. Rip: A Remix Manifesto, in which web activist and filmmaker Brett Gaylor explores issues of copyright in the information age, mashing up the media landscape of the 20th century and shattering the wall between users and producers. He is also the web producer of HomelessNation.org, a web project dedicated to bridging the digital divide and allowing everyone to participate in online culture. Brett is one of Canada’s first video bloggers and has been working with youth and media for over 10 years, and is a founding instructor of the Gulf Islands Film and Television School.
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by Ryan Stewart
Your last glimpse of Michelle Rodriguez was probably in the third act of Avatar, when, as heroic marine pilot Trudy Chacon, she turned on her colonial military bosses and went down with her ship, fighting for the rights of the native Na’vi cat people. It was a typically badass finish for an actress who has garnered a reputation for both kicking much on-screen ass and almost always biting it in the end.
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by Andrew E. Konietzky
Superhero films, books, and games will exist until the end of time. With that thought you should settle down, and watch the 2007 documentary called “Confessions of a Superhero”. This film chronicles the lives of three mortal men and one mortal woman who make their living working as superhero characters on Hollywood Boulevard.
Superman (Chris Dennis) is a Los Angeles orphan, but claims to be the son of Oscar/Tony-winning actress Sandy Dennis, though the family denies that she had any children. Wonder Woman (Jennifer Wenger) was a Midwestern homecoming queen, who actually is the most successful of the actors. The Hulk (Joe McQueen) sold his Super Nintendo for a bus ticket to Los Angeles during the Rodney King riots and was homeless for four years before becoming the Hulk, and achieves some success, winning a small role in Justin Lin’s “Finishing the Game.” Batman (Maxwell Allen) claims to be a former mobster with a murderous past, though his wife casts doubts on his stories in the film. This deeply personal view into their daily routines reveals their hardships and triumphs as they pursue and achieve their own kind of fame.
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