May 09, 2008

Go Speed Racer, Go!

I love this ad that VW did in 1996 for the Fourth Generation GTI. My first VW was the Fifth Generation Passat, and when I bought a Golf it was also a Fifth Generation, but this ad is almost perfect, especially the retro-ending with Speed.

The Speed Racer movie opens today, and much like the Thunderbirds movie, I really don't care about the plot -- I just want to see the machines (in this case, the car)!

I'll take Leo out to see it tonight come hell or high water.

PS. Isn't the opening of Speed Racer the first time most of us saw the effect that they would later use in The Matrix? (The scene freezes and the camera's viewpoint rotates.)


The original Japanese opening credits!

Posted by Steven at 12:05 AM | Comments (0)

September 24, 2007

Paul Claerhout animated shorts

Check out two of Paul "Doctor C" Claerhout's early cel animations:

Fe Fi Fo Fooey

Scaredy Cat

Posted by Steven at 10:41 PM | Comments (0)

January 02, 2007

"Real Genius" Sequel in the Works

I found an article claiming that Val Kilmer is involved in a sequel to Real Genius!

According to Virgin.net, Val Kilmer is returning to one of his early comedic roles for a sequel to 1985's Real Genius.

In the original Kilmer starred as Chris Knight, one of several young prodigies who discover their class project in lasers is actually a weapon to be used by the government. If you grew up in the '80s and had HBO, odds are that you've seen it -- several times.

According to the story, no shooting schedule has been announced. Nor is there a mention of the sequel's storyline.

Joe Bob sez check it out.

Posted by Steven at 10:40 PM | Comments (0)

April 21, 2006

Hollywood Has Brought Shame to My Name

The new film American Dreamz opens today, starring Dennis Quaid as an obvious parody of Presdent Bush. His character's name is ... I'm not making this up ... Staton.

That's right. Staton.

Oi! Forever more, the parody of Bush will be "Staton".

Hollywood! My wrath upon thee!

God I hope they make Bush look like a freaking idiot (the Mainstream Press doesn't seem to have the balls to do this).

(Update) Googling "President Staton" now has 300K entries. Oi oi oi!

Posted by Steven at 07:25 PM | Comments (0)

February 03, 2006

Top Ten SciFi Films ... That Never Happened

This is an interesting web page about some SciFi movies that were never made.

My favorite:

3. Snow Crash Directed by someone like Terry Gilliam

"Until a man is twenty-five, he still thinks, every so often, that under the right circumstances he could be the baddest motherfucker in the world. If I moved to a martial arts monastery in China and studied real hard for ten years. If my family was wiped out by Colombian drug dealers and I swore myself to revenge. If I got a fatal disease, had one year to live,devoted it to wiping out street crime. If I just dropped out and devoted my life to being bad."

That's the sort of thing Neal Stephenson writes in his hacker novel Snow Crash, a fascinating, horrifically violent semi-satire where the hero/protagonist of the story is named Hiro Protagonist.

But the all-time #1 movie on my list remains: Ringworld.

Posted by Steven at 03:38 PM | Comments (0)

June 13, 2005

Feelin' Ghibli

The SF Gate has an article comparing and contrasting Pixar, Studio Ghibli and Disney, making note of the weird triangle they've formed and how each has gained and lost in the realm of animation cinema.

Given that Ghibli largely abjures computer graphics and blockbuster licensing tie-ins ("Howl's Moving Castle" is an adaptation of a somewhat obscure British children's book by Diane Wynne Jones), what is it that allows its films to compete so effectively with Hollywood's juggernauts?

On one level, it comes down to the studio's sheer mastery of the animated medium. "[Their] stories are exciting and well told," says Michael S.B. Johnson, owner and founder of Nausicaa.net, the Web's most extensive Ghibli resource. "The characters are a perfect fit for each film's setting, yet they're believable human beings without unrealistic innocence or pure malice. The music -- and the silence -- is crafted very carefully to fit the mood, instead of just being spliced in from today's pop-idol album [fodder] and tomorrow's trash. And the locations are all painstakingly detailed and well researched not for the sake of photorealism, but, rather, with a touch of impressionism that crafts the mood of each scene skillfully and in concert with the music, dialogue and action."

On another level, it's because the two men behind Ghibli, Takahata and Miyazaki, are possessed of rare, original and complementary voices: Takahata is unmatched in depicting earthy, even commonplace tales with a kind of transcendent emotional sincerity, while Miyazaki is a world builder without compare whose creations are set in elaborate, immersive realities of his own invention.

Joe Bob sez, "Check it out."

Posted by Steven at 10:52 AM | Comments (0)

March 11, 2005

Stop Press! Star Wars: Episode III Is PG-13

Lucas has said that the last Star Wars movie will be the 'darkest yet' and will receive a more stringent PG-13 rating.

Apparently, the violence in this chapter of the Star Wars universe is deemed more violent and terrifying than:

Let's not forget Jaba the Hut's brutual murder at the hands of the Skywalkers, or Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru's BBQ featuring Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru. The original five films are stuffed with violence on a scale that staggers the mind, yet the personal falling of Anakin Skywalker is considered the breaking point for the PG vs. PG-13 rating.

Is this because Amydala shows a nipple?

Posted by Steven at 02:57 PM | Comments (0)

March 08, 2005

A New Hope?

Check out this cheeky alternative teaser for Star Wars: Episode III. It's silly, rude and very well done.

Joe Bob sez check it out.

Posted by Steven at 03:04 PM | Comments (0)

March 01, 2005

Babylon 5 Movie Cancelled

JMS (the creator of Babylon 5 has announced that the project The Memory of Shadows, a full length motion picture based on the B5 universe, is cancelled. He has not ruled out a future effort to make the film (noting that it will eventually happen, but not until he's satisfied with the outcome), so fans should not despair.

Posted by Steven at 06:53 AM | Comments (0)

February 24, 2005

Porco Rosso

Alanna and I watched Porco Rosso tonite for the first time in English. I was quite taken with Susan Egan's voice acting, and was surprised to see that David Ogden Stiers did the voice of the granpa Piccolo. The story was fully fleshed now that I didn't have to read the lousy subtitles (we have the Chinese bootleg), and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

We're scheming to get Anne to play Gina, and Leo the boy Marco "Porco" Rosso at A-Kon this summer.

Posted by Steven at 11:47 PM | Comments (0)

February 17, 2005

New Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Trailer on Amazon

See it here.

Posted by Steven at 12:15 AM | Comments (0)

December 10, 2004

Depp Does Wonka

Ladies, Johnny Depp is soon to star as Willy Wonka in the remake of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Check out the trailer ...

Posted by Steven at 11:45 PM | Comments (3)