G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra

I finally decided to let myself endure the horror that is the new wave of 80s cartoon show-movies. I cried to myself in a corner after watching both Transformers movies. (The viewing of the sequel wasn't really out of my own free will). I really expected to do the same with this new rendition of my childhood shows. And while I actually thought it wasn't that bad, (Bad=Transformers, Good=The Mummy...and that's my range, I'm not saying The Mummy was a work of art), I was actually more interested in playing "Spot the actors from Sommer's previous films" throughout this movie. No really, I half expected to see Rachel Weisz make an appearance somewhere.

Let's take a look at the reoccuring actors I was able to spot off the bat:
Actor: Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Character: Heavy Duty
Previously in: The Mummy Returns (Lock-Nah)

Actor: Arnold Vosloo
Character: Zartan
Previously in: The Mummy and The Mummy Returns (Imhotep)

Actor: Kevin J. O'Conner
Character: Dr. Mindbender
Previously in: Van Helsing (Igor), The Mummy (Beni), Deep Rising (Joey)

Actor: Brendan Fraser
Character: Sgt. Stone
Previously in: The Mummy trilogy (Rick O'Connell)

Those are the ones I caught, were there any others?

But really though, I half expected this film to be complete trash and it surprised me. Now I'll have to preorder my tickets for the other 80s-cartoon transformations I expect to see in the near future. This includes: Rainbow Bright, Thundercats and Jem.

Iron Man 2

Trailer's out and you can watch it here. If it wasn't so first thing in the morning for me right now, I'd be able to articulate my utmost excitement for this movie. Instead I shall summarize it all and say, "Yippie!"

What the hell is this all about?

So the film industry must really be running out of ideas. We all know that they have no shame when it comes to remaking foreign films or tv shows, especially from the British genre. Re: Coupling, The Office, Kath and Kim, State of Play, Life on Mars...I really could go on, but then I'd forget my point.

Now they've really pissed me off taking a hilarious British film like "Death at a Funeral" and Americanized it.

First watch the trailer for the British version:



btw, if you haven't seen this film, please go rent it today. You'll laugh your socks off.

Here's the new version coming out in Spring 2010.



My soul is crying. How could they do this? My opinions of this film are already low. I'm already expecting great butchering to occur. Will I watch the remake? Most likely not. And if I do, it'd only be because of James Marsden.

Two fandoms colliding

What happens when one awesome fandom collides with another? Explosion of the mind!

Looks like Joss Whedon of the awesome Buffy series, Angel series, Dollhouse series and most totally awesome Dr. Horrible webisodes will be directing an episode of Glee. Hilarious director taking another crack at musicals. Lovely! I honestly cannot wait!!

The Aussiello Files has the scoop.

If I hadn’t been warming to Glee already, this for sure would’ve begun defrosting me: Dollhouse-keeper Joss Whedon has agreed to direct one of the back nine episodes that Fox just ordered.

Turns out, the genius who gave us not only the “Once More, With Feeling” musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer but also Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog is a big fan of Ryan Murphy’s new phenom. So when Twentieth (the studio behind Glee) approached him about the gig, pretty much his only reservation was scheduling.

“Joss directed one of the great musical episodes in the history of television on Buffy,” gushes Murphy, “so this is a great, if unexpected, fit. I’m thrilled he’ll be loaning us his fantastic groundbreaking talent.”

And there’s no reason to panic, Dollhouse fans: I’m told the auteur’s moonlighting in no way, shape or form suggests that that show is a goner. He’d most likely tackle the side job after Eliza Dushku and Co. have wrapped their 13-episode order.

Confirmation from Joss himself comes from here.

I'm bouncing and clapping all at the same time.

Volunteering as an extra

I rarely get the opportunity to do anything pertaining to filming, so whenever I can, I make the most of it. I had an oportunity this past Saturday to be an extra in a tv pilot called Young Adult that's being shot here in Washington DC. Here's my scoop from the day.

I woke up at 5:45am yesterday, drove out to the set at 6:30am (got lost on the way there because the directions from googlemaps weren't right), but thankfully I was only 15 minutes late and they were still setting up. I was able to get my makeup touched up by the make-up artist, which was pretty cool. She had an air brush for the foundation and that gizmo was pretty tight. I had never seen one in person before. (The last film I did there wasn't any time for the extras to get touched up).

The story is about 5 guys in their 20s hanging out and learning about the real world. The guys have a meeting place where they get together at a bar for the trivia night. So yesterday was shooting the couple of scenes at the bar and I was an extra in those scenes, pretending to be another group at trivia night. I had to bring two sets of clothes because they were shooting the scenes that would encompass 2 days. (I learned that wearing red on camera is bad because the color bleeds on the film. Thankfully that red shirt was option number 3 that I brought just in case).

I only had to do a little bit of waiting around before we started shooting. (The last time, half of the day was waiting until I was needed on set). We started up with rehersals at around 8:30-9:00. The director wanted to run through the scene a few times with just the actors, and then they rehersed some more, but added the sound and lighting guys. It started out rough because this scene required a lot of movement and the cameraman was running into a lot of shadowing problems. So as an extra I did a lot of sitting on the set. There were four other people with me and we all were quietly chatting when we could. When they finally got around to shooting, they did about 14 takes of the guys walking into the bar and talking to the hostess. In between those takes they would go back and review the footage to see if any were doable. (But since there were 14 takes, I think it took them a while to get what they wanted). There'd normally be a "take 10" break and people would be getting leftover breakfast food that was provided by the production. Today's was bagels, donuts and coffee from Dunkin' Donuts. We finally broke for lunch at around 12 and got pizza ordered in.

The afternoon was a bit more rushed as they had to get a more scenes in a smaller amount of time. The extras got to change as along with playing people on different days, they wanted to make the bar look busier, so we also got to pretend we were different people in different parts of the bar. I don't know how well that'll be pulled off, but I guess we'll see. We got to chat a lot with the artistic staff. The props guy and the makeup artist chatted with us extras a lot and I was able to chat a bit with the sound guys whenever they weren't busy. I sketched a couple of pics of one of the sound guys during the down time.

I didn't get too far with the left image, basically it was the girl holding the boom mic for the scene and the second one was the same girl waiting in between takes. When the actors weren't needed we made small talk with a couple of them. One of the lead actors was the one who had been emailing the extras, so I got to chat with him for a bit.

We ran into a little dilemma in the afternoon with the managers at the bar, who double booked us with a party that was coming in to set up at 3:30. (They had told the production that we could be in the room until 4). So for the last hour, we were rushed to get everything done. We didn't have the luxury of doing many rehersals and they did only 3 or 4 takes at most before moving to a different shot.

I was out and heading home by 3:45. Exhausted! I get to go to the wrap party in November and my name will be in the credits. If I wanted, I can add this to my resume. The director commented that if the show gets picked up, in future episodes the five guys compete against a rival trivia group and suggested to us that it be the five of us extras since we're already here. So if things end up looking good for the show, I might be in it again.

Even though there was a lot of waiting to shoot the scenes, I still had a fantastic time. I loved being part of it.

New Moon trailer 3

So the latest trailer for New Moon is going to air on MTV tonight during the VMAs, but somehow the trailer got leaked online. Perez Hilton had it, but it was soon taken down. A quick youtube search was all it took to find it.



Personally I'm just hoping that the film ends up better than the first one. Though with how sequels normally go, that might be tricky. But I'm hoping with this new director, there's a possibility. (Their wigs still crack me up though).

XMO: Wolverine

Twentieth Century Fox released info on the upcoming dvd for the Wolverine movie coming out Sept 15th, (which btw, what? really? didn't this movie come out, like, yesterday?)

I've gotta say, of course I'm going for the 2-disk, but I kinda wish there were a bit more, say, like commentary with the actors or idk, gag reel. But I guess that was bound to not happen. I am interested in seeing what the deleted scenes are all about. Hopefully not anything lame.

Here's the list of special stuff to expect for the dvd:

Two-Disc Special Edition Specs:

The X-Men Origins: Wolverine 2-Disc Special Edition DVD is presented in widescreen (FOX TO PROVIDE ASPECT RATIO) with English 5.1 Dolby Surround and French / Spanish Dolby Surround along with English / French / Spanish subtitles. Special features include:

· Disc One

o Commentary by Director Gavin Hood

o Commentary by Producers Lauren Shuler Donner and Ralph Winter

o The Roots of Wolverine: A Conversation with X-Men creators Stan Lee and Len Wein

o “Wolverine Unleashed: The Complete Origins” featurette

o Deleted and Alternate Scenes

o Alternate Tag Scene: Japan

o Anti-Smoking PSA: Bubbles

· Disc Two

o Digital Copy

Single-Disc Specs:

The X-Men Origins: Wolverine Single-Disc DVD is presented in widescreen (FOX TO PROVIDE ASPECT RATIO) with English 5.1 Dolby Surround and French / Spanish Dolby Surround along with English / French / Spanish subtitles. Special features include:

o “Wolverine Unleashed: The Complete Origins” featurette

o Anti-Smoking PSA: Bubbles


Seriously, this movie JUST came out. I don't see Star Trek geering towards a dvd release just yet.

Torchwood: Children of Earth

Okay, so I try to give this show the benefit of a doubt because I loved Captain Jack Harkness in Doctor Who. Unforunately this show continues to fail me, this mini-series not being an exception. I will give it that it was interesting learning more about the friends and family of the characters, but that's about it. What bugged me

a) When the children were running around with Gwen and the other adults, they get caught at the same time that Jack's grandson saves the day. Suddenly, all is a-okay with the soldiers. The soldiers have no idea what's going on, the kids are screaming again, but this time, it's a good scream? So when they stop they can all hug and be merry? No, I don't buy it.

b) What is up with Russell T. Davis and his blatent dislike for the British Prime Minister? Has there ever been a good PM on this show or on Doctor Who? At least he gave the US some credit and didn't play Americans as pure dumb-heads like what happened in Sound of Drums in DW season 3.

c) How the hell is Martha still on vacation after all of this madness was going down? Yeah, I get it that she was on her honeymoon, but there's no why that her character would stay away while something so huge was happening. I guess Freema was a bit preoccupied with something totally more important.

d) What the hell was the point of bringing up the Doctor? We already saw in the finale of season 4 of DW that Gwen met the Doctor and she seemed all happy then, suddenly the Doctor feels shame for the planet and is staying away? bah, I don't buy it. And speaking of DW, when the hell does this take place in the Who-verse?

You know, by now I'd be quite happy if this were the end of the series. I've seen enough.

Avatar: The Last Airbender

okay, yeah, that's it. I'm hooked. I've been watching the first season (or book 1, I guess it's known as?) on Netflix online and am actually a bit surprised to find how incredible the story actually is, or how interesting the characters are written, or how funny some of those lines actually are. Because of all of said high points and more, I've had to move the two other seasons close up to the top in my queue. Seriously, I'm now incredibly intrigued to see how this movie plays out next summer. I can't wait to see how the characters are portrayed by the actors. Specifically, seeing Jackson Rathbone in a big picture that doesn't involve vampires.

I'm surprised man. I didn't think I'd be caught up in a cartoon like this. Sure, I love Hayao Miyazaki, but a cartoon series? Incredible. I'm half tempted to get these on dvd.

Away We Go

Away We Go isn't your typical funny movie. One might initially think this would be another closet comedy film with its eclectic cast and notably funny comedic actors, but Sam Mendes makes sure that this film has its share of serious moments to balance it all out. This film is deceiving. The first half of the film is filled with light-hearted moments that at times makes you cry from laughing so much. But then right when you've had a full share and are anticipating the next round, the film takes on a more serious note and it's at this point I realize, this film isn't meant to solely be a comedy, but actually something a bit more deep. There's layers to this film, though by the end of it, it doesn't feel like they were thoroughly explored.

The premise of this film is the couple Burt and Verona are looking for their perfect place to raise their unborn child. After Burt's selfish parents decide they'd rather travel overseas for two years starting a month before the baby's due, the protagonists go traveling around, visiting friends and family to find an ideal spot to call a home. Each place they travel to, the come across a unique family dynamic. In the southwest US, Alison Janney is hilarious as the crazy mother with two teenage kids who she ridicules to no end, convinced that they don't even hear half the stuff she says. The couple travels up to the midwest to visit a pretentious family friend, played by Maggie Gyllenhaal who lives a very unique lifestyle with her husband and two little boys involving seahorses and anti-strollers. The film takes a serious turn when traveling up to Montreal to visit some college friends who love their adopted children, live a stable life, but cannot have children of their own. The couple then make their way down south to Miami after an emergency call from Burt's brother. Burt and Verona experience a relationship that has fallen apart and are crushed to think what may become of Burt's niece.

The two main characters are obviously completely in love with one another, though are not married. Verona, through reasons that are only touched upon, refuses to marry Burt, but knows that he's the one for her. Burt is completely smitten by Verona and is incredibly excited for the child they are about to have. Maya Rudolph does a brilliant job as Verona and plays the character very mellow, a complete change (and a pleasant change) from her eccentric characters from SNL. John Krazinski does a great job as Burt, though I found a couple traces of "Jim" from The Office, though this character shows so much more never ending devotion towards his girlfriend. This character is the guy who's so excited to have a kid, he practically knows more about the process than the one who's actually pregnancy. These two characters are there for each other throughout the entire film and even make fun at the fact that they don't really fight, (and this ends up being a nice running gag throughout the film).

In the end this is a film about finding a place to call home and what is the definition of a home. This mellow film does a great job touching upon the eccentricities found in life. It shares that life doesn't have to be cookie-cutter, picture perfect in order for there to be love and happiness and instead focuses on making sure to surround yourself with what will make you content in life. Catch this light film if you can. Just don't expect a pure comedy film, this film has a bit more depth than that.

The Invention of Lying

I don't know why, but Ricky Gervais, despite his assuming arrogance, poses some mysterious attraction for me. Not in the "omg he's so cute" type of attraction, but in the "omg, why is he so funny to me". Sure he has his moments of complete annoyance re: roughly the last season of his podcast, but right when I think I've had enough of his ego, he actually finds a way to crack me up.

His last movie, Ghost Town, obviously wasn't that big of a hit, but I just caught the trailer(s) of his upcoming film The Invention of Lying and I think he might have hit something good. (I hope I don't regret these premature words).

There seems to be a bigger hollywood cast this time around with the likes of Jennifer Gardner, Rob Lowe and Tina Fey. I'm kind of hoping for the best here. It seems even Ricky has a similar dream, noting in his blog:
As I've said before, some will love the movie and some will hate it. Some will hate it so much that they will also hate the fact that some people love it. Most that love it won't care that some people hate it. Some that love it will also love the fact that some people hate it. I am one of those people, but I also love the fact that some people will love it. You get the point.

You can get the trailer for free on itunes through his podcast or see a wee version on Ricky's website. Judge for yourself. Which kind of person will you be?

Here's the US version of the trailer:


Though I think I like the UK version a bit better.




btw, as a side note I swear I walked passed him one time when I was in Heathrow right around when he finished making The Office. The guy was surrounded by a dozen or so people and we gave a mutual smile as I made my way to baggage claim.

Transformers 2

My brain is crying now from the utter stupidity of this movie. I am so glad I did not pay to see this movie. Did Michael Bay rely on a 5 year old to fabricate with this story? Wait, scratch that. A 5 year old actually has an imagination and you can follow his train of imaginary thought. That cannot be said about this film. The movie would actually make more sense if it were mute, at least it would have saved your ears from the inane dialogue. Srsly. Who in their right mind actually thought, "hey this film's gonna be great!" and then released it to the public, hmmm? I need to get my shotgun and make a little visit. That's all I'm saying.

Harry Potter: The Musical

I'm slowly going through this right now, but it's definitely quite an amusing musical. Sure it's no Broadway production, (very college-esque), but they've got quite a few decent punchlines. Plus it's not half-assed.

The entire musical

A sample:

hehe, the sorting hat and scarf of sexual preference...love it!

Leave it to Burton to create something insane

New pics from Alice in Wonderland came out and goodness, it's like a psychedelic explosion. I can't take my eyes off of the Mad Hatter one. There's just so much color going on there, I can't help but stare. Oh, and I want that hat.








Source

Buffy and Twilight remixed

So this mix of Buffy meeting Edward is rather amusing. Love how some of the sarcastic dialogue from the show Buffy really accentuates the cheese from Twilight.

I tried embedding it, but the format's too big for this blog. Makes all implody-like.

Gambit origins??

So this could be possibly be complete BS, but here it is:

Gambit Script Making the Rounds

A first draft script for an upcoming Gambit origin movie is finished and being passed around. My uncle works for Marvel.

I know at least that Michael Madsen and Kevin Corrigan are being considered for Mr. Sinister and Christina Aguilera, Shannyn Sossamon and Linda Cardellini for Dazzler. Jared Padalecki of "Gilmore Girls" fame and Ian Somerhalder are considered for Gambit, cause Taylor Kitsch is busy shooting other films. My uncle and I are huge gambit fans... please don't say my name, even though he is married to my aunt, but still =)

keep up the good work!

-Anonymous

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hmmmm...I think there are too many variable still up in the air for me to fully believe this. But it brings me a beacon of light at the idea of them making a Gambit film. Plus I could be content with Mr. Sinister and Dazzler in the mix, (most definitely Mr. Sinister). I guess we'll see how things unfold, eh? (But *ahem* I now can't picture Gambit being played by anyone else but Taylor).

Taylor Kitsch's new role

Well damn, it looks like I'm going to have to catch myself up on this John Carter of Mars series as Taylor gotten the lead role in the Disney film.

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=56253

Word is apparently all over the net on any and all movie news site.

Fan-freakin'-tastic!!!!!!

Ponyo

I can't help but love the films created by Hayao Miyazaki. Princess Mononoke and Howl's Moving Castle captivate me every time I watch them. I love the themes he presents in his films, women empowerment, anti-war, a child's strength... And he handles these themes so gracefully in his films. The artwork as well is absolutely stunning.

So while I was at the gym one day, I read in the summer movie issue of EW a blurb about his newest film, Ponyo. It said that the film going to be a bit more presentable/commercial to the American public. To which I'm ecstatic about. More people should be made aware of these films. The plot seems to be about a 5 year old boy and his goldfish princess, wishing to be human. I'm intrigued to see how it'll stack up against some of his other films.

Apparently it'll show at the LA Film Festival at the end of this month and then come out in limited release August 14th. I'm sure it'll come to the artsy theaters in my area. It's definitely on my "must see" list.

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans

So let’s face it, Underworld is not meant to be a brilliant film. Same can be said about its sequel, Underworld: Evolution, and most definitely can be said about its prequel, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. I cringe at some of the acting, the dialogue leaves something to be desired and the fluidity of the film is like driving over a worn-away road. I hate lowering my expectations in order to enjoy a film, but I found it necessary with these films, especially Underworld, ROTL. Individually, these films are rough, but what intrigued me throughout the first two films was the story they were telling, hinting at a slew of other tales and back stories. It really didn’t hit me to not look at these films individually, but as a collective. I’ve got to admit, I really like the world they’ve created and the stories they’ve told throughout the three films, despite the bad attributes. I was a bit leery to watch ROTL because I enjoyed the story of Selene and Michael; I couldn’t imagine a tale without them and I didn’t care too much for the other characters that we only saw a bit of. But this film pulled it off. Sure it was mighty predictable, but it was actually quite interesting seeing the introduction of some of the characters we’ve already met. It made a whole lot more sense as to what Lucien’s motivations were in the first film and why Tanis was placed into exile in the second film. It was also interesting finding out how the Lycans came about, though I’m still wondering why their race only consists of men. Hmmm? Where are the women? Perhaps that’s something to see in a fourth film? This is one big story with a fascinating mythology that only really works well when looking at the big picture.

Welcome

Alright! I'm trying out this blogging thing. I'm probably way behind the times, but better late than never, no?

I want to quickly explain the name choice, being a big geek that I am, I've decided to create a different kind of chic, a geek-chic, which represents all of the awesomeness that comes along with loving science fiction, fantasy, and the like. All melanged with a touch of sass and sarcasm. And adding the french "tres" (sorry, can't do an accent grave), just makes it sound a bit classier...or so I'd like to believe. (That and "geek-chic" was already taken).

So hopefully I'll be updating this blog with my thoughts of films, tv shows, actors, actresses, science fiction, and goodness, the list could go on and on...

Enjoy!