Flight of the Conchords 2nd Season Premiere!

Season 2 Online Premiere - Flight of the Conchords (US Only) - watch more funny videos

My Dad has a Blog!

Holy crap the apocalypse is near, my dad has a blog now! My dad is a retired professional photographer who as of last year finally put his big Nikon away and got a digital camera. So I set him up a blog where he can post his digital photos. His website is www.davesdigitalphotos.blogspot.com

REVIEW: Flags of our Fathers and Letters From Iwo Jima

Wow and Wow are the first two things that come to mind in describing the greatness that Clint Eastwood's two films I watched on Blu-ray the other night. I guess the best way to review these are to review them together since in essence they are one story told from opposites sides of WWII. Flags details the US perspective of the Iwo Jima invasion. The battle scenes are intense, but in a very realistic and classic sense of filmmaking. There is nothing showy about Eastwood's directorial style. He composes his films like classical music. They have structure and layers that is such a lost and necessary art in Hollywoodland these days. Unlike Saving Private Ryan's brilliant flurry of high shutter speed violence, Flags and Iwo take there time so that you feel the impending doom of these characters. The one flaw I would lay on the Flags battle scenes is that at times its difficult to follow who is who on the battlefield, but that is a minor quip in an otherwise masterpiece of modern cinema.



Once Fathers gets going past Iwo Jima we follow the tale of three solders who survived the battle and were captured raising the flag in that famous photograph. But we soon learn a nasty lesson in US Government PR, that the three guys that raised the flag were actually raising the replacement flag because the original flag was taken down hours after it was raised so that a general could have it as a souvenir to hang in his living room after the war. Sad but true. The film follows the lives of those three men as they were rushed back to the states to go on tour to promote the war by selling war bonds. The US used these guys as heroes to promote the war as win able, yet the men themselves were living a lie day in and day out. The ending coda for some of these men are very sad as their lives post war were quite sad. I was really taken with Flags not so much as a war movie but on a psychological level it has a fascinating structure about how war is promoted to the public and how the casualties of that war linger forever.



Letters From Iwo Jima doesn't do much to lighten up the party, as this film now sees the invasion of Iwo jima from the Japanese perspective which was an idea producer Spielberg thought might be interesting to do during pre-production on Flags and Eastwood agreed and shot them both at the same time. This film follows the lives of a general and his men preparing for the landing of the US troops on the island. Unlike the US soldiers who were told they would be coming back from the war as heroes, the Japanese men were told that they were not coming back. So its interesting to see the different mindsets that poses on the battlefield. The General and the men know that they can't win, so they go into the battle purely just trying everything they can to survive one day after another and prolong death one day at a time. The film also details some of the US soldiers who see taken capture in Flags but we don't know what happened to them. We discover here that some of them were treated well and with honor.



The young Japanese soldiers see reflections of themselves in a particular prisoner and the general played by the genius of Ken Wantanbe speaks English and spent time in America is able to read some of the prisoners letters to his Mom to the troops. Some of the letters he is writing are exactly those thoughts and feelings that they have. All of the solder's write their families letters thinking that they are being sent home, when in fat they are all going a big bag. Towards the end of the film as the Americans are overtaking the caves and underground bunkers, a Japanese solider buries the letters in the cave. Later in a scene showing real explorers in the caves they are found. Both films detail the honor both sides had for their country and that in reality there was not a winning side with the thousands of men that lost their lives. They were all just young men 18 to 20 years old fighting alternate versions of themselves when every one of them wanted to be at home with their loved ones. These two films are both an amazing testament to the talent that Clint Eastwood is as a director. He is turning out films in his 70's that filmmakers in their prime will never match. Having said that where can I get a ticket to see Grand Torino right now? In all seriousness I know I am late to the party on these two films, but you must see them if you have not. They are modern day classics. Oh and an apology to Kevin F, because I told him we would watch these and I went off and did on my own. My bad. I will gladly watch them again!

Where Christmas Happens

Where Christmas Happens... from Atombomb.tv on Vimeo.

Amy and i did a little spoof of all those NBA Where Amazing Happens spots on TV, to use as our Christmas video for everyone. Hope you guys like it and Happy Holidays to everyone. Click HERE to see the original commercial we were spoofing. There are 50 of those things out there. Happy Holidays to everyone!

Zu the Cat Packaging Superstar!

We are proud of our little Zu Warrior being the face of Home 360 cat food! Go Zu!

Playing the Blog Catchup Game

I am sorry for not updating any sooner, but since I last posted things got crazy busy at work and at home. So I'll pick up about a month ago on my last post. I did attend the Lone Star Film Festival in Downtown Fort Worth on that Friday. I tried to make it back out for some of the shorts and another feature but could not. So here are my mini reviews of what I have seen either at home or at the movies:

Let the Right One In (2008)



I was a bit disappointed that the screening for this movie was from a DVD and not a film print. This was very frustrating considering its currently in distribution around the States. However that aside, the film itself is among my favorites of the year. It's about a young boy, Oscar who befriends a new neighbor girl, Eli who seems as lonely and odd as he is. One difference is the new neighbor is a vampire. Now, for me vampire movies have been done to death. If you are able to breath life into that dead genre you have done something special, and this film is special. It's very slow paced and that was a welcome change from the MTV cutting style of recent vampire trite. The look and feel of the film is cold, inside and out. You want to start a fire while watching it. It feels like a Ikea vampire movie the way the Sweedish film moves along in a very neat and comfy fashion. I thought the performance of Eli by Lina Leandersson was particulary spot on as she toes the gender line of boy/girl/vampire. I have heard that in the book the gender issue is more a topic than the film where its dealt with and disposed of quickly. This is a great little vampire film that I think stays with you both visually and emotionally. Director Tomas Alfredson visual style oozes over you like a great painting from shot to shot. And of course if its a good unique piece of work it is being remade for illiterate US audiences that can't read subtitles. See the original!

12 (2007)



This is a Russian film that is essentially a remake of sorts of Sidney Lumet's 12 Angry Men. 12 jurors must decide the fate of a Chechen teenager charged with murdering his stepfather. Directed by Nikita Mikhalkov with a very strong character oriented visual style, the film never gets boring despite its 2 and half hour running time. The story within the story is not as compelling as the ones in the jury room. And in fact I guess it may be a little more compelling if I knew a bit more of the history of the Chechen/Russian history. But for dramas sake it was all very fascinating. If you are a fan of courtroom drama and that sort of thing, then this is an excellent film. Starting off the film every one but one feel the boy is guilty of murder, then one by one each begin to change there mind as they reconstruct the case in the basketball gym where they are held up using props to imagine how the murder may have happened. It was all very well done and not disrespectful to Lumet's original masterwork.

So here is some rapid fire thoughts on stuff I watched on dvd/blu recently:

Reno 911: Season 1
Awesome! Can't wait for season 2

The Sopranos: Season 6 (final season)
Sad, that the epic is over, but wow what an accomplishment for David Chase. I would retire now and never make anything again.

Hellboy 2
The blu-ray rules! The 2plus-hour documentary about the making of the film is worth the price of the disc. Del Toro rules.

Zodiac
I really wanted to flip out over David Fincher's new film, but as much as I liked it, it left me wanting more, and not in a good way. Still very recomended for the performances and directing. Also on a tech note, this is Finchers first film to be totally digital HD.

Incredible Hulk
Another blu-ray that I love. This film has gotten better with each repeated viewing. Highly recommended.

Dark City: Director's Cut
This blu-ray of a new cut of Dark City is really fun if your a fan of this film. I thought the film holds up really well over time and I still had a blast watching it.

Indiana Jones and the Raping of my Generation
Ok, thats not the title to the film, but it might as well be. There is some fun stuff, but George Lucas managed to mess up a movie with monkeys in it. You know why? Cause they are digital! You BASTARD!



Planet of the Apes: Blu-ray box set
This is heaven. Pure heaven. Will review more extensiviely later.

The Universe: Season One (blu)
This is great if you're a space junkie like me. Its like taking a Astronomy class refresher course. Good stuff and Highly recommended.

Wall-E
Best Pixar movie yet, for me anyway. I really dug the hell out of this movie. Pixar is a magical place.

X-Files: I Want to Believe
I wanted to believe I was watching something else. Enjoyed the return of the characters, but the movie sucks.

Transiberian
I really liked this movie by Brad Anderson (Session 9) This is about a couple who find themselves in a middle of a gangster ordeal while on a train in a very cold place.

The Fall
Tarsem (The Cell) directs this fantasy film that is unbelievable to look at it. Every shot is elegantly composed, however a good movie it is not...

Bruce Lee Plays Ping Pong

I know I'm late to the party on this one, but if you have not seen this, enjoy....


Bruce Lee Plays Ping Pong with Nunchuks - The funniest videos are a click away

Lone Star International Film Festival Part Deux

Hey this came up so fast it almost passed me by! Come by the Lone Star Film festival in downtown Ft. Worth this weekend and see some great flicks. Here is a LINK to the website and you can see all the films. I'm going to see "12" and "Let the Right One In" tonight at the Palace.

Storm Chasers

I was going to write a post about how bad Heroes and Smallville are this year, but most of you probably already know this if you've seen them. So let's focus on some positive programming... And that is The Discovery Channel's show Storm Chasers now in its second season. This is a documentary show following around two groups of storm chasers looking to "intercept" a tornado for scientific research and for footage for an Imax film. the Imax camera truck is a tank that locks into the ground because the cameraman wants to drive the tankcam into the actual tornado to get footage of being inside the twister. Last season they came up short, and this year is not off to the best of starts. Yes these people are nuts.

Then there is a new group this year from Oklahoma that chase storms solely for the footage to sell to news stations and other outlets. There is a crazy competition between these two teams which is great to watch. If you like weather watching, this is a great show to get addicted to. Think of this as "Twister" the series but it's for real. Highly recommended.

An Article of Me

Mike Price is a guy whose movie reviews in the Fort Worth Star Telegram I grew up reading and respecting. As I got older I discovered his talent in the wide world of comic books starting with his Carnival of Souls adaptation. As a pimple faced loser I went to the Comic Shop get the comic autographed by him and fellow Telegram critic Todd Camp. I mentioned that I was a "screenwriter" and he graciously started accepting my really bad horror movie scripts. And I mean they were bad... To my shock he has actually kept them. He may be the only one with copies of them in existence! So I was quite honored that he chose me to write an article on for the Fort Worth Business Press. You can read all the action by clicking HERE.

REVIEW: Inland Empire

I love David Lynch. Not many filmmakers operate on his level. I put off seeing Inland Empire for quite some time now. I was trying to pick the right night, the right mood, etc. For his latest film, Inland Empire Lynch abandoned his elaborate 35mm past and embraced the technology of DV. Actually in this case he took many years with making it, so even in the time he made it, technology has improved to a point where this film looks dated tech wise. In fact if I'm not mistaken I think he used the tiny Sony PD150 DVCAM. Now if you are a big Lynch devotee as I am you are aware that Lynch is more than just a filmmaker he is a film artist and Inland takes this to a new extreme. Gone are the lush colorful wide shots of panavision and in their place are desaturated extreme close ups with handheld cameras operated most of the time by Lynch himself. Just thinking aloud for a moment maybe Lynch thought to himself that he had pushed the boundaries of his previous style that it was time to go the opposite direction. Style wise he has succeeded, content wise we are back in very Lynchian territory. And thank the Lord for that!



Inland focuses on an actress, Laura Dern who is cast in a film with a handsome leading man in a film they believe is an original screenplay. During the making of the film they learn that the film is in fact a remake of a Polish film that was never completed because the the two leads were murdered. The film was thought to have a gypsy curse attached to it. At a point Dern, enters a very familiar Lynchian dark void on the sound stage where they are filming and crosses over into a mirrored version of her reality. The film and what we believe was reality has merged. This falls into the same doppelganger style that dominated Twin Peaks, Lost Highway, and Mullholand Drive. Lost Highway is maybe my favorite Lynch film. For me it's his grim masterpiece. There are moments in Inland that really got to me. The flashlight sequence for one is quite unnerving in an erotic way that only Lynch can serve up. The music of course is always great for a Lynch film. This is without a doubt Dern's movie. Supporting cast includes Jeremy Irons, Harry Dean Stanton, and Grace Z. Lynch again does his own sound design, and the DVD gives you multiple mix options to enjoy.



Inland Empire is a way too long though. It's never boring mind you, but you feel like as with this new DV technology he's pushing he also pushed the boundaries of its running time. And that's too bad because he paints a very wonderful idea here. I was very excited being a fan of DV that Lynch was doing this. But during it there were shots made for film. Dark voids and whatnot don't look good on video. I was longing for some 35mm or better grade of DV in the form of HD. I think other filmmakers like Mike Figgis have transitioned to video a little better. Inland has its own style and mood, and you either accept it or don't. I enjoyed the ride and can't wait for what's next for Mr. David Lynch.

Wassup 2008

I thought this was a great idea...

Wassup 2008
by 60Frames

Watchmen poster!

CAN WE PLEASE GET A TIME MACHINE GOING SO I CAN SEE THIS MOVIE ALREADY!!!

Halloween Reviews....Diary of the Dead

Watched a few horror films the last week and a tad this weekend when time. One of those films, "George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead". I couldn't remember if I had reviewed here on the blog or not. But being that I am a mega-fan of director George A. Romero I thought I owed to him. Just kidding. I didn't get to see it on it's brief theatrical run here in the DFW area, so I had to settle for the DVD release back in April or May. I watched it and was very annoyed for the first half of it, then it took me in a new direction that I really liked. So I picked it up on Blu-ray for a second look. My first reaction was that I didn't care for it, at least the first half. So my reaction to the film upon second viewing is pretty close to my first reaction. But this time I liked that second half even more. Unlike most horror movies George's flicks are commentaries. This one like Night, Dawn, Day, and Land has a message and for me the message was that our dependence on media from the news, smart phones, and blogs is scary.

Fellow Ft. Worth Filmmaker J. Mitchel Johnson made his film, World Without Waves about a man who is allergic to electricity or technology if you will. And Mitchel should revisit that theme cause its much worse now. Everything coming at us these days is filtered. We don't know the truth anymore. Everyone has a blog and an opinion and a point of view. anyone can re-edit a video and make it work for their point of view. Spin is king. And this is only part of the message George is at work here. If the world was coming to an end would the government tell us what we needed to hear? Probably. Would the real media have any control? Maybe not. This movie tells the story of Zombies beginning to take over. The TV outlets say its a virus, but a filmmaking crew see otherwise. They continue filming and upload the footage through myspace, blogs, etc to try and convey to whoever is listening that the government/press is lying to us. Then others jump on the bandwagon and use whats left of the web to tell their stories of whats going on.



The ending of the film is very haunting and sad. Have you ever had one of those days where you just need to get rid of technology. The computer, the PDA, TV and whatnot. Well our heroes whats left of them end up locking themselves in a house with a safe room surrounded by security cameras displaying nothing but images of Zombies coming in to eat them. Very nice stuff. So the message gets there, but its not so smooth sailing. Using all unknowns actors, the acting is spotty at best. And the level of technology that is employed takes a big hunk of that ole' suspension of disbelief medicine. This is a harder pill to swallow if you are tech savvy. The image too is shot on HD camera, but its too clean looking. Needs to be dirtied up. SO all in all I would recommend Diary if you like George's other Dead films. But don't go in looking for it to be too much like the last 3. This is more in line with Night of the Living Dead. But not to worry George does deliver the red stuff. Although a lot of it is digital red. Not a fan of that personally. So this is my least favorite of the Dead series. Hopefully Island will be better, but this one does have some strong important messages to tell that places it high above the recent slate of Zombie films.

Hope to post a review of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre on blu-ray. I'm about halfway through it, and loving every second of it!!! TCM rulZ!

Watchmen footage from the Scream Awards

Last night I sat down for a minute and scanned through the Scream Awards for best Horror, Sci-Fi, and Comic stuff. Most Anticipated Movie was Watchmen, so director Zach Snider showed some new footage, and I have to say this thing looks big. It feels epic, and I can only hope the movie is as good as the comic. Based on the footage so far, I can't wait for March to get here. And in HD last night it looked mind blowing. They showed the teaser trailer for the new Friday the 13th remake too, but that was quickly washed out of my mind after I saw this... The quality is not very good, if a new version pops up I will re-post it because this really needs to be seen in HD. Check it:

Friday the 13th - Remix 09

As many of you know I love the big guy in the hockey mask. And on Friday Feb. 13th we get new Jason love with the remake or reboot of Friday the 13th. Last night the premiered the teaser trailer for the new flick directed by Marcus Nispel who did the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake which I enjoyed quite a bit on its own terms. Overall, not much to get anyone overly excited. The best part is at the very end when Jason is running at someone in the woods. I mean I hope this is a start to new Jason movies, but I hope they don't take it too seriously. I don't think it was ever intended to me more than a guy in mask who kills teenagers. And who hasn't wanted to do that before? Fingers crossed.


Friday the 13th: Exclusive First Look

RIP, the great Rudy Ray Moore aka Dolemite!

One of my favorite blacxploitation movie stars of all time is the awesome Rudy Ray Moore. He passed away today sadly. If you have never seen the film Dolemite or it's sequel, The Human Tornado, then you have not lived a real day of your life. I pay tribute to his greatness in almost all of my films. A little known fact is that in every movie I've ever made there is the line, "Bitch are you for real." Don't ask me why, you just have to see The Human Tornado trailer below to fully understand. It is with great regret that the genius of Rudy is no longer with us. Right now he is busting up motherfxxers games in heaven and enjoying it. Some of my favorite quotes from the master:

"From the first to the last I give them the blast so fast that their lives have passed before their ass has even hit the grass"

"See me uptown, downtown, crowned and renowned"

"if you crave satisfaction this is the place you will find that action"

"Bitch are you for real"

"He think he bad and got no class, I'm gonna ram this shotgun up his mother(bleeping)ass."

I loved this guy since high school. I still quote his lines to this day. Very sad to see him pass on to the next plain. Ain't it Cool has a nice tribute page up for him. Click HERE.

Let the Right One In

I have been hearing nothing but good things about this little horror movie, "Let the Right One In" that comes out on October 24th. Many people who have seen it including genius Guillermo Del Toro have said its not only the best horror movie in a long time, but its also a beautiful looking film. I've also heard that it is hands down the best horror movie of the year. Here is a LINK to the website for the film. I think that I have heard its already been remade at this very moment for us illiterate Americans who can't read subtitles. Go support the original on the 24th. Here is a creepy ass trailer:

Retrospectives: What's Next? Readers Choice...

Above is a still from the new Star Trek movie. I am very hyped, because I have not been into any Star Trek since the second season of Deep Space Nine and that was in the 90's I think. And the other day Star Trek III was on in HD and I got completely sucked into it.

I've done quite a few retrospectives on this blog about long running movie series. I love going back and watching a series of films that create a large universe. It's interesting to see how that filmic universe grows or shrinks with each respective entry in the series. So, here's the deal, I have several series that i want to do retrospectives on, but I can't decide which one to do next. I'll let you, my 4 readers decide. I also have another idea for an article that intrgues me that I will throw into this mix.

The other day while at Movie Trading Company, instead of looking through the bargain dvd's, I went through the VHS tapes instead looking for BASF gold. And I did indeed find some. I can't remember all of them, but one was Hell Comes to Frogtown and one I can't recall the title, but the cover had me rolling because it was about this guy who has to come home to Denton, TX to blow away some drug dealers that were making Denton a dirty town. (I have to go back and pick that up.) So my idea is to go in and pick out 5 bad VHS movies and I have to review them all here on the blog. My other retrospectives I want to do are:

Star Trek: The Movie series (original cast, no Next Generation)
Planet of the Apes
Highlander
The Exterminator (1 and 2) That will be fun!
or The Great VHS Hunt

I will try and put a poll somewhere on here that you can click what you would rather have me write...

A Special Message from Hayden Panettiere

See more Hayden Panettiere videos at Funny or Die

Joost 2.0

If you enjoy watching Movies, tv shows, short films etc on-line, Joost 2.0 launched a few days ago and its very cool. Much like Hulu if you use that site, you will like Joost. Joost has been in beta for about 3 years but it was always a software version you had to download and install. It was very clunky and hard to navigate through but they had some decent content. Well I guess they threw it all away and went to a browser interface. I'm testing it out this afternoon, and it works great. They have a lot of good content both old and new. Right now I'm checking Orson Wells The Stranger with Edward G. Robinson. And its running super smooth. I noticed they also have Twin Peaks and V. So go to Joost.com and enjoy some free content!

Zu's Modeling Career

Zu, our cat we found with a missing foot, has discovered a new career as a model. He was chosen to be a model for Food Lion cat food. We've had to get him an agent and he insists on his own trailer and stylist already. I picked out a few pics, some good and some wacky ones. He was really nervous at first but towards the end he actually calmed himself down and they got some great pics for the food label. He tried several new looks he had been working on, including Steel and Jade.

Zu will be signing autographs soon at the nearest Food Lion. Email us for bookings or engagements. Seriously when the labels are done I will post them here. Thanks to our peeps at Marketing Management for thinking of Zu. Maybe he can start a new career path! Amy and I are quite proud of him...

Indiana Jones and Temple of Lucas Doom

South Park is crazy man!

Bobby Hacker's Cars

Before you click play BEWARE, this short contains A LOT of F-Bombs. So if you're at work or with the kiddos, turn the volume down. That being said, this is a very funny short parody of local car commercials. It takes some bizarre twists into an odd demented world, and it feels wonderful! If you look around on youtube, there is a Part 2 and a trailer for part 3. Not for everyone, but I dare you to not going around saying the catch phrase right after you watch it.

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

The Rock-afire Explosion Movie Trailer

This is a sign of the Apocolypse. Is it not? Whatever, this is documentary gold, I hope!


The Rock-afire Explosion Movie Trailer from The Rock-afire Explosion on Vimeo.

Usher and the Showbiz Band

This is the most awesome idea ever. This week at least.

Punisher: War Zone trailer

Oh my this looks violent...

George A. Romero's Island of the Dead !!!

Holy shit this started shooting this week and no one knew about it! Go George...

From Variety:

Director George Romero is beginning production on an untitled thriller. Once again, the antagonists are flesh-eating zombies.Romero first mined zombies with "Night of the Living Dead" and has been cannibalizing the genre since, most recently with "Diary of the Dead." Romero wrote the new film and began shooting this week in Ontario.

Plot involves inhabitants of an isolated island off the North American coast who find their relatives rising from the dead to eat their kin. The leaders of the island feud over whether or not to kill their reanimated relatives or preserve them in hopes of finding a cure.

Cast includes Alan Van Sprang, Kenneth Welsh, Kathleen Munroe, Devon Bostick, Richard Fitzpatrick, Stefano Colacitti and Athena Karkanis.

Paula Devonshire is producing. Romero is exec producer along with Peter Grunwald, D.J. Carson and Artfire Films' Ara Katz, Art Spigel and Dan Fireman. Voltage Pictures is handling international sales, and Cinetic Media will sell domestic.

My Guide to Movie Collecting

Collecting movies has been an obsession of mine since I was about 14. My dad had this awesome 8mm film collection of movies that I inherited. Before the days of the VCR I would watch flicks in the kitchen projected on the wall. Those films included Frankenstein, Dracula, Laural and Hardy, and Buster Keaton movies. Then our friend the VCR came along and boom things got crazy! The laser disc followed and I've been broke ever since. But some people ask me where I get all these movies from. The strange, the obscure, and whatnot. I am going to layout how you can build your own unique movie library in a cheap cost effective way.

Tuesday is the day you should know if you are going to be a true movie collector. That is the day new release movies are released to stores and on-line retailers. Back in the days before the Internet, there was not a good way to be prepared before you walked into the store unless you worked in a store. There were in-store papers that may have told you the big releases coming out, but now you can get all sorts of info on-line and have a battle plan before entering the store and limit your spending by knowing the score ahead of time.

I'm going to break this down into 3 sections:

1. Knowledge
2. Shopping
3. Hunting



I. KNOWLEDGE

If you want to save money before you step into the store you need Knowledge. Here is how to get it...

DVD Empire

dvdempire.com is a great online store that pretty much catalogs EVERYTHING that is coming out. If you go to the main page and look over to the left under quick links and choose Future Releases. On that page under the bar you will see a bunch of dates. Those are weekly release dates. Click on each week to see what's coming out. There are usually about 60-100 dvd's released each week. It's nuts. Here you can sort through each upcoming week and see if there is anything interesting you might want. What I like to do is do this once a month, then each film i like I open up my Netflix queue and add each title I want. I don't always get them from Netflix but by adding them to your queue you can create a good list with dates so that you know when stuff YOU want is coming out. Then if you decide to buy it just take it off your queue after you buy it. Now if you don't use Netflix to rent movies, then just write em down or you can create a Wish List within DVD Empire to keep up with all the titles you are interested in.

High-Def Digest/Blu-ray.com

If you are into the newest collecting sensation of High Def DVD, you can head over to High-Def Digest and Blu-Ray.com. Both of these sites are excellent. And both update numerous times daily on new releases. Both sites have an upcoming release section, so you can see by date what HD releases are coming out that you want to pick up. you can also use their price guides as to what the retail is and what its going for on say amazon.com. They also provide links to amazon, if you just have to have it right there. Not recommended...

Aint It Cool News

Every Monday or Tuesday Harry Knowles of Austin's own movie site Aint it cool News writes his column of upcoming releases or things people have sent him that he may recommend. His column titled, Harry's DVD Picks and Peeks is usually the first story on the left side of the site where he writes his columns. I find it to be very helpful in finding new and things I didn't even know were coming out in the next few weeks.

The Sunday Paper

That's right spend a buck fity and grab a Sunday paper to get all the sales ads. Check out Best Buy, Frys, Circuit City, Target, and see what new releases on your list may have the best deal on them on Tuesday.

The Don and Murph Show

This is a fat dude, maybe in his 20's who watches more movies than anyone I know. Every week or so he goes through everyone he picked up whether online or in the store. It's hysterical and I am a steady viewer of this guy. I find little titles that may have been lost that he finds, that are great.




II. SHOPPING

Now that you are armed with knowledge, it's to time to get your game on. I'll tell you how I do it. First thing first is about saving money. You NEVER EVER pay retail for a DVD. If you do then you're not a good shopper, you're a sucker. Let's take a look at the damage you can do on foot:

1. Movie Trading Company

I always look at ways to refresh my current titles at home. A lot of times a new edition of a movie might come out of a movie I love. It could be a new transfer, a Blu-ray version or whatever. Now that I have my list of stuff coming out in the next few weeks or months, I can go through my existing collection and say well, I don't two copies of these or that. The new cut of this is coming out in a month so I don't need this 1998 dvd that's not even in widescreen. So what I do is pull everything I no longer need and put them in a bag and take them to MOVIE TRADING COMPANY. MTC as I like to call it, will give you cash for money, OR store credit. The prices on their new releases are not as cheap as Best Buy but if you opt for Store credit, you get more credit to use towards say a new release. For example, the other day Iron Man came out. Best Buy had the blu-ray for 26 or 27 bux. Movie trading was 30. I traded in about 5 VHS tapes, and 6 old dvds collecting dust on the shelf and wallah,I had it for 4 bux. Now you may say, well I don't have any movies to sell. Got any CD's? Any video games? They buy those too. And if you have no problem with buying used movies, this is the best place to do that.

Now there are times where i have nothing to spare on any given week, so I have to hit the stores.



2. Best Buy

This is pretty much the best place near where I live and normally have the cheapest deals on new release dvds. Keep in mind, after week one of a new release they go back to regular retail costs. So you have to keep up with what's new that you want or you will lose some cash in the long run. Again check your local paper for the sales fliers, or go online to see the same thing. Also if yo have spare time check and see what the on-line store price is compared to the store price. A few weeks back they had The Mist on blu in the store for 30 plus bucks, but online it was 22. I bought it online, then picked it up on the way home in store for no additional charge.

3. Walmart, Circuit City, and Target. The same principles above apply to these stores as well.



4. Frys

Frys is an odd place. There is no logical explanation for how they do stuff, you just roll with it. Usually the best way to check Frys is in the Friday paper. That's when they usually have their deals of the week that are decent. I check it online by using this dallas morning news LINK.
They have a bunch of good deals on regular and High-Def titles. Particularly if you are stuck with an HD-DVD player, you can get some of those titles in the front of the store now for about 3 to 10 bux.

5. On-Line

I get a lot of stuff on-line, and let me tell you this is dangerous. There is so much more greatness out there in cyber space than in the stores, that its mind boggling, and can get you broke real quick. Here are some ways to lessen the blow if you will...

Amazon.com

This is still the best place to get a huge discount on new stuff and even old stuff. The database of titles they stock is crazy. Just signup for the mail list there and they will tell you all the deals on a daily basis. You can also purchase from Amazon.uk and other countries if you are looking for some foreign titles. They usually have great deals on High Def titles weekly that Best Buy and others can't come close to matching.

DeepDiscount.com

I like this place a lot, and have ordered several things from them. They like amazon heavily discount dvd's. Shipping is usually a free deal, so thats something to consider.

HKFLIX.com

Let's say you want to go beyond the typical every day dvd buying crap and start collecting films from other places in the world. First you will need a region free DVD player. There are all sorts of places to get those, and if anyone needs that info just email me. I would recommend getting an Oppo player! Google it. I buy a ton of stuff from HKFlix.com HKFLIX is mostly for Asian films, but once you search their store you can find a ton of stuff from Europe, and other countries. They have out of print stuff and rareities. You can also create a wish list on the site too. I have a rather large one there, that sadly will never ever be fully fulfilled!

XPLOTED CINEMA

This is where you get the real crazy ass shit. I'm talking stuff you're parents warned yo not to look at. No, it's not porn, but it's the stuff in the back of the Fangoria magazine that you were like where in the hell did that come out? But its more than that, I have found quite a bit of rare things from over seas that I didn't know was even out. Movies on HD that are not out here for example, or in SD for that matter. Lots of good stuff here, things you may have seen as a kid but totally forgot about it. However the one down side to this site, is its very expensive. I don't know why, but I guess since the stuff is hard to get and keep in stock they make you pay for it. This site is for serious cinefiles only.



III. HUNTING

Borders

Borders is expensive as shit. Let's be honest here. I don't go here much because of that, but if you want to find a store that has obscure and arty farty movies that you can face to face look through this is a good place to maybe find something and go home and order it from some other place. There is a way to get a good deal here, that I discovered thanks to my wife. She is in the Borders card club thing, and every week they send her a 40 or 50 % off coupon. I have used these before on some blu-rays. After they throw the tax back on its maybe slightly cheaper than Best Buy prices.

Half Price Books

Yesterday, I was in the mood for some obscure shopping and stopped in to see what was up. I found a movie that I have been looking for for a long time called The Exterminator from 1980 on VHS for 3 bux. I also picked up Peter Jackson's King Kong on HD-DVD for 7 bux. Not bad. You can also sell your old stuff here as well. Although they don't pay as much anymore. So if you are looking for things that are out of print, Half Price is a cheap place to start before you go online and blow a wad at Xploitation Cinema. And I love digging around at these stores. The other day I found the original Star Wars soundtrack on LP with a mini poster still in it for 5 bux. Another great score for nothing.

One other thing I want to recommend before I post out of this bitch. And that is organizing your collection. Don't be sloppy. get a good bookshelf, and make your library shine. Also there is some awesome software out there to catalog your stuff. I'm a Mac guy and I use some software called DVDPedia. It logs in everything you get and even reads bar codes of the dvds you buy with the camera on my laptop. Its amazing. You can search any actor, title, or whatever with this thing. It's too good. It does cost 15 bux I think, but its very much worth it. It even creates a website for your titles so you can share it with your buds on-line. You can get it HERE.



So that pretty much sums up how I created my dvd collection. Hopefully someday in the near future, we can get rid of physical media all together and have a digital collection, but for now the quality and hard drive space just has not got there yet, but like music it will. And then I won't have to buy bookcases anymore!!!

If you use sites like BitTorrent to download movies, remember it's cool that you can rip off the system and all but watching a Divx encoded flick recorded with a handicam at the theater is no way to experience a movie. You're cheating yourself and the makers of the movie. Wait 3 months and get the damn thing on DVD!

REVIEW: Iron Man

The movie, Iron Man came out yesterday on DVD/Blu, and I finally got a chance to check it out after missing it this summer. Iron Man was one of those comics I never read at all. I think my introduction to Iron Man was probably cartoons. So going into it, I really have no attachments as to what was correct or incorrect in accordance with the comics. having said that I think that made me like film that much more.

In the first of many adventures, weapons and tech billionaire Tony Stark is the victim of his own weapons programs. He escapes his captives by building an iron suit then has a change of heart about where his weapons are going to and how they are being used. He begins work on a high tech suit that will fight against the world he helped to pollute. Iron man was always somewhat derivative of Batman to me, but here director Jon Favreau sets things in reality and makes the character of Tony Stark seem like a real person. Robert Downy Jr. does a great Tony Stark. He's arrogant and reckless. Even in his tests on the suit he is willing to almost kill himself to get that suit working right. The only thing in the movie that asks you to suspend your disbelieve is the level of tech he posses. But that's all fun and geeky.

Some faults I did have with the movie... I thought Tony should have had more tragedy as a result of his weapons than what happened. And I don't mean to innocent every day people but to himself. It just kind of seemed like he got captured, got a private cell, and got to make a robot, then busted out and was all mad cause they killed some dude he spent a few weeks with. But that's a minor quip. I thought Gweneth Paltrow was fine, but nothing great. I think they could have cast someone more feisty. She seems like a push over. Jeff Bridges and Terrence "pimp" Howard were equally good. Although was it just me or did the end remind you of Robocop 2? (Grassy Noll theory)



After watching it I thought "man, that was really fun", and reminded me of an 80's movie. The movie was not tricked up with fancy camera moves and editing, it was a good old fashioned and classically crafted tale. And I think you have to give that credit to director Jon Favreau. His direction is restrained and focused. For instance if someone like say Michael Bay did this, you would never know what was happening during a fight. Favreau probably grew up watching Donner's Superman and old Episodes of the Hulk. This movie could have come out in the 70's and 80's. This is the first fully financed film from Marvel Studios. And I love the film universe they are currently creating with intersecting characters just like the comics.

The Blu-ray disc has a ton of special features and an almost feature length documentary on the making of the film. You can tell everyone wanted to make a great film and were very dedicated in doing so. Oh and check out this great bonus feature from the dvd courtesy of The Onion... It's funny as hell.

The Great Schlep

This is a verry funny little political short from Sarah Silverman...

See more Sarah Silverman videos at Funny or Die

REVIEW: Slacker Uprising

The day physical media is dead will be a sad one, but a happy day for people like me who hate the space it takes up. I mean let's face it, the serious movie collector only has so much space before we start to look like obsessed maniacs. Film prints, VHS, Laser Discs, DVD's, Blu-Rays. It's all crazy space taking stuff. I love the DVR (aka Tivo) I have the one in my living room cram packed with my favorite movies in HD. Whenever i want something, its a click away. No getting up grabbing the disc waiting 10 minutes for my already ancient blu-ray player to load up. So I am a huge proponent of getting rid of physical media as soon as possible. In fact my brother in law has a nice PC media center. When HD catches up to downloads, it's over Johnny...



So with that in mind, I was excited that Michael Moore's new feature length documentary, "Slacker Uprising" would be released as a digital download and for free no less. Plus it was on Blip.tv which I used for one of my own films. Blip and Vimeo are really blowing YouTube away in terms of quality HD streaming video. Streaming digital distribution is catching up. Anyway I watched the film in HD streaming and had a few hickups but after a while it was pretty seamless. Unfortunatly the film itself is no so good. This is why it's free. The documentary is not like Moore's others. (i have not seen Sicko yet) Moore usually has some sort of point. It may be very left wingish but he tries to make a point and check the system. In Slacker, its pretty much just him going to colleges in 04 trying to lure huge stadiums of kids to vote for Kerry. Michael Moore has become very much about Michael Moore recetnly and that's sad. The man has a gift for documentary filmmaking, but this film is really boring and serves no purpose. Its filled out with performances by Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, REM, Eddie Veder, etc. all telling kids how they have to vote to get the evil Bush devil out of office. Now it would have been cool had that worked, but it didn't! So not only is the end a known thing from minute one, but it's even more depressing right now. And maybe that was the point, but I found this one to be very self serving to Moore. Moore is very predictable now, the edge is gone.



However I am excited that Moore decided to use this method to release his film, and I hope other filmmakers do the same. You can watch SLACKER UPRISING by clicking HERE.

Enter the Jeeja !!!!!!

The days of a movie really blowing my mind don't happen much anymore. It's rare. I was doing some research on a a new Kung-Fu top ten fights blog entry and I was looking into what the status of Tony Jaa's new film Ong Bak 2 was when I saw that director Prachya Pinkaew had a rift with Jaa and went out and made a new movie with a female martial artist Nicharee “Jeeja” Vismistananda called "Chocolate". (For the sake of my fingers typing we will refer to her as Jeeja... ) So I found a copy of it, and holy smokes, Jeeja is for real! SHE BLEW MY FRIGGIN MIND!

The fight scenes are nothing short of breathtaking. The stunts and fighting are things we can't do here in the States folks. People get hurt for real. When they get kicked in the head with a block of ice and fall off of a building they really get kicked in the head with a block of ice and fall off of a building. For real. The version I saw had no subs, so I ordered a new one from HKFLIX and it should be here in time for Kung-Fu Night next week in the Clappatorium. I can't say the rest of the movie is as good as the fighting, but it does not really matter. Check out this trailer for Chocolate. Jeeja is my new love...

Movie Review Madness!

I've logged a lot of films recently, and I've been having a blast. It's great to get caught up on some movies I have been missing. Sadly, no trips to the cinema. What has happened to me? Am I destined for home video hell? On with the madness....

THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM

Based on the legendary Chinese tale of the Monkey King, this movie reminded me of Ronnie Yu's attempt at U.S. kung-foolery called Warriors of Virtue. Like that movie this one is aimed more or less at kids, but its at least fun and stars two of the biggest kung-fu stars of all time, the great Jackie Chan and the great Jet Li. Anyone that knows me really well, knows I am (or used to be) a Hong Kong movie expert. At one time in my younger days I had a massive collection of Asian films. Well in 97, lots of things changed, I got a job and Hong Kong was handed from the Brits back over to the Commies. And pirating of movies became rampant. The former two things really took the local HK film biz into a tailspin. Quality suffered and most of the big stars like Jet, Jackie, and directors like Woo and Yu moved over here to make bad versions of their HK work.

Back in the 90's a Jackie vs. Jet movie was oft rumored to be happening, but behind the scenes it was known that the two did really care for each other. In fact Jet made a movie about a Jackie Chan type actor who was know for doing his own stunts but never actually did them. And the director of that film was Wong Jing who made City Hunter with Chan and didn't get along with JC. So suffice to say they were not exactly on good terms... Flash forward about 15 years later and we have a Monkey King movie directed by a round eye, Rob Minkoff.



Honestly, I enjoyed the film as light as it was. But in all honesty its for kids, and its not the crazy ass Jackie vs. Jet movie I dreamed about. The fight scenes between the two is really fun though, and it is very cool to see Jackie's Drunken boxing style vs. Jet's Wushu style. And unlike most US/HK crossovers, its a long fight. So its more than a tease, its a good long fight that will satisfy most people. And to be a reverse racist here, the worst element of the movie is the white kid, whose eyes the story is told. The story is basic, kid finds ancient monkey king staff and is transported back in time to become a kung-fu master in a few days while Jackie and jet fight/team up in the end to fight some bad guys.

Now the other big problem I had with this movie was this: DO NOT F WITH "The Bride With White Hair" EVER. One of the bad guys or chicks I should say is a total ripoff of the Bridget Lin from Bride with Hair movie. One of my favorite HK films of all time. Its a great character, but it does not fit here and comes off as a fanboy dream gone horribly wrong. We know The Bride is a cool movie don't disrespect it like that. Change the hair color at least!

I think this film is fun for two main reasons: Jackie and Jet. Both play dual roles int he movie. Jackie plays a 100 year old man that rents kung-fu movies, and Jet gets to play the Monkey King. I think Jet's Monkey King was pretty good. So it's worth the view if you like those guys, just don't think you're getting Fist of Legend or Drunken Master II or anything.




INTO THE WILD

A really great film, that I assume like the book (which my wife has read) makes you think about whats it all about. Life in society that is. Into the Wild is about a kid, Chris from a somewhat broken home that decides after college he will ditch all material things and just walk/hitchhike his way to Alaska. Played by Emile Hirsch, his goal is to live off the land as much as he can. He may take a small job here or there, but just enough to get him to the next point on his journey. It would seem that he is rebelling against his parents most of the time, but I would have liked the film to have touched more on his relationship with his parents. The idea of his journey that Chris has is understood. Everyone at some point in their life may want to just drop out of society and get as far away from the modern world as possible, but here the reasons are very vague and somewhat stereotypical. (in a movie world that is) Having said that this movie is about the journey and maybe director Sean Penn wanted us to fill in those holes ourselves as we ride along with him.



Along the way Chris meets Kathleen Keener who acts as a sort of a Mom away from home to him. He also gets a job on a farm working for Vince Vaughn and meets an older man, Hal Holbrook who lost his son and sees Chris as a temporary substitute. Based on a true story, I found a lot about Chris I saw in myself, and I think anyone watching it will, but Chris acted on it, and didn't look back. He's like a runaway that ran away after he finished college. I won't spoil the end of the movie, but its handled really well and what I liked about the movie more than anything it doesn't try to preach down to you. It presents things as they are, and its up to you to make those judgements about Chris. The Eddie Veder soundtrack can grate on you after a while, but other than that, highly recommended viewing.



SPEED RACER

I told Amy this, this morning about my review of this so called "film". Now technically speaking aside, If you took a shit on a shit, you would produce something greater than the live action Speed Racer movie film... Nothing more to say on that. However, technically speaking it looks awesome. So, to sum up its like looking in a toilet after you took a shit and saying wow, that's a nice looking piece of shit.



EXILED

I love Johnny To movies. He has made so many great ones over the years and is probably the best HK director working today. Maybe because he stayed put while everyone else moved to the US after 97. I dunno. But he continues to crank out great comedies and gangster movies year after year. I recently saw his Election dualigy, which was really good. Here a gang of 5 childhood friends who are all gangsters in rival gangs show up for a reunion of sorts. However one of the men has a hit on him by a big gang boss. Two of the guys are there to kill him, and the other two are there to protect him. After a crazy opening gun battle they all agree to work together to save their fellow brother who now has a wife and small baby depending on him. Anthony Wong is the main star while the greatness of Simon Yam shows up as the Big Boss wanting the job done. Fantastic drama mixed with ever greater choreographed gun battles. To is still on top of his game. His newer gangster films have found this rhythm of silence and sudden out bursts of violence that really get to you. It's a return to 90's Hong Kong gangster classics!

Documentary Reviews!

ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD


Werner Herzog is like heroin. Once you get into one of his films, you must have more. His narrative films are pretty similar to his documentary work. Experimental. I really dug his last narrative, Rescue Dawn with Christian bale, and I didn't think I would. Grizzly Man was a tour de force in my book as far as documentaries go. And King of Kong is on par with that one as well. I had the opportunity to watch his newest documentary, Encounters at the End of the World. This film looks at a place called Antarctica. Who lives there, and why. It was all shot and sound recorded by Herzog himself and one other crew member, cinematographer Peter Zeitlinger. They got a plane to Antarctica with no plan, other than they had 7 weeks to make a documentary about something.



What they find there is a group of people and animals mind you all drawn to a similar need. Through the course of the film, that need seems to be nature. What is it, and how does it adapt in these circumstances. A lot of the people there may be labeled extremists but most them are scientists trying to figure out the many mysteries of Earth. The underwater footage is breathtaking. In fact the footage there is what drew Herzog to go there in the first place. This is not the most focused documentary mind you, but is the bravest in quite some time. Any fan of Herzog knows he will do almost anything for his art. And as long as that spirit is alive, his films will continue to resonate with a passion that few other filmmakers dare to undertake.



BIGGER STRONGER FASTER



The next doc on the slater for me was Bigger Stronger Faster. This doc is from new filmmaker Chris Bell and details the wild world of steroid use in America starting around the later 70's until today. Bell uses his own family of brothers to anchor the story on a personal level. All three brothers were obsessed with Hulk Hogan, Arnold, Sly and the 80's tough American stereotype. So naturally they all went into wrestling and body building. And each has or still is using "the juice". Amongst his own story Bell carefully weaves all the other steroid drama from baseball to Wrestling and even does a great job analyzing all those 80's action flicks from Sly and Arnold and how those films really influenced my generation into thinking bigger was better. Regardless of the price you or your loved ones might pay because of that perception.



I thought the film did a great job from minute one in telling this mini-epic that stemmed from 80's action movies and wrestling and continues on today with no end in sight. The documentary gives a fair look at what steroids actually are thanks to the fact that the fimmakers own brothers are active users of the stuff. So in way I guess this film is very much in the style of Super Size Me, because the maker is really in the world he is examining. And it's quite fun to watch his journey. I may be slightly biased in my review because I am the same ages of the subjects here, and I completely understood where the idol worship came from. Who didn't want to work out and wear black shades and drive Brigette Nielson around after seeing the genius of Stallone's Cobra? These guys took it to the next level. Highly recommended.