Category: Video

Kickass Review of Total Recall from Ellipsis Media!

Here is a recent media posting by a friend and colleague of mine, named David Lim. His website, Ellipsis Media, is dedicated to the latest in entertainment and once in a while, I like to hear his opinions on the latest releases. They help me to decide whether or not I’m going to shell out the exorbitant amount of money that it takes to see a movie live these days. Earlier today, he helped me make up my mind on a somewhat contentious issue: whether or not to see the reboot to Total Recall.

Naturally, I had little desire to see this movie since it seemed to me that there was nothing wrong with the first one. And second, there didn’t appear to be much to this one beyond some A-listers who were cast solely for their looks. Third, they did away with the Mars angle which, though they differed drastically from the original PKD story, was still intrinsic to the first adaptation. But to hear that there was absolutely nothing original about it on top of all that, that pretty much clinched it for me.

In short, Total Recall looks like a good candidate for download!

Check out the review below, and if you’re suitably impressed, check out the site and like him on Facebook. It’s free….

How the Dark Knight Should Have Ended

My thanks to Rami for reminded me this site existed! It must have been a year ago that I saw the clip of how the original Superman should have ended, with Superman making down the missiles and not going on a scavenger hunt for the kyrponite. The Prometheus ending was even more apt, pointing out how the Engineer was supposed to die in his chair, not on the floor of an escape pod. But this one was even better!

The Game of Thrones 8-bit RPG

Last summer, a bunch of drunken frat boys with lots of technical skills and way too much time on their hands put out a hilariously satirical Game of Thrones RPG. As if that wasn’t enough, they’re back it and have produced a follow-up for Season 2! Made in the spirit of all those Nintendo games we all grew up with, the kinds that had cheap graphics and even cheaper sound, this new game is really only for display purposes.

Still, it’s bang on when it comes to capturing the logical absurdities of the plot and the more hilarious aspects of the show. Yeah, the boys over at College Humor (I assume they’re boys because… well, you know!) are pretty clever when they put down their bongs and Zima long enough to actually make something. Check it out!

Via: College Humor

Nazis on the Moon?

Well, that seems to be the premise of this new dark sci-fi comedy. Based on the idea that the Nazis have been hiding on the Dark Side of the Moon since shortly before losing the war, the movie opens with their long-awaited offensive to retake Earth. The movie is called Iron Sky, and premiered in Europe back in April. Since then, the movies been making the round, going to cities and theaters wherever fans have requested it be shown.

And judging from the promos and teaser trailer, this movie is a seriously bad film! And I mean the kind of film that’s so bad, it’s awesome! It puts me in mind of more respectable science fiction, such as the alternate history classics of The Man In The High Castle and Fatherland, except those wre actually realistic portrayals of what thw world would be like had the Nazis won. Still, this premise seems much more fun!

Stop-Motion Dark Knight Video

Check this out! It turns out a group of filmmakers – named Derek Kowk and Henri Wong – have created a stop-motion animated short of the Dark Knight and the Joker’s crew doing battle. They’ve named it Batman: Dark Knightfall. The production involved several Batman collector’s toys from the new movies and must have taken days or even weeks to compile. And the production value was pretty awesome, check it out!

Via: Cartoon Brew

Best Music Video Ever!

This may seem completely unrelated to my usual posts – and it is! – but I saw this again recently and felt the need to share it. Yes, its an enduringly popular and relatable song, but its the video that I love best. Years and years after its release, it remains the funniest music video I’ve ever seen, or at least the first three minutes of it. Mark Metcalf, the actor playing the father, has to be the best damn actor I’ve ever seen in the role of a psychotic former Marine-turned father. I assume he was a Marine in this role at any rate, they don’t yell that in the army or navy 😉

The rest of the video kind of drags admittedly, but what can you do? It was the eighties and music videos were still in their infancy. But it is worth watching just to see the opening scene where Metcalf berates the kid playing his son, and then gets his ass kicked by the sheer musical power of the song’s message of pure, rock and roll defiance! Seriously, who wrote this script? It’s gold, baby!

“You’re worthless and weak! You do nothing, you are nothing!You sit in here all day and play that sick, repulsive electric twanger! I carried an M16 and you, YOU carry that, that, that, guitar!”  Hell, I’ve known Drill Sergeants that were nicer than this guy!

Check it out if you haven’t already. It’s definitely one for the musical hall of fame!

New Doctor Who Trailer

Doctor Who already has the reputation of being the longest-running science fiction show in the history of television. The original series ran from 1963 to 1989, embracing 26 seasons, seven different actors, 694 episodes (plus 106 that never made it to air), and a changeover from black and white to color. So it’s really no surprise that now, years later when retro is so damn popular, that the BBC would be trying to relaunch the series.

And in anticipation for the 50th anniversary of the show, BBC has released this new teaser trailer that previews all that is to come with the new season. And I think you’ll agree, it’s an exercise in awesomeness. At first, I wasn’t even sure I was watching a television promo. With some of the special effects used, it looked more like a movie preview. I mean, would it really be so farfetched to assume that they would be making a movie at this point?

In addition to providing some hints and teasers of what’s to come, it also features one of the best scenes involving the fictional protagonists known as the Daleks. If I remember my notes from the previous post on AI’s, these would be the alien cybernetic organisms that were created for a war, but have since gone on to become a force of unstoppable malevolence who simply want to destroy anyone in their path.

Check it out, and if you’re a fan, hope you enjoy the new season. I myself have only seen a few episodes and found it to be the perfect example of classic sci-fi. But damn it if the story isn’t just impossible to get into at this point! There’s such a weighty legacy behind it, any time I’ve seen it I’ve been left with the feeling that I need to do my homework. And with something like Doctor. Who, who has that kind of time? 😉

Via: IO9

The Hobbit will be a Trilogy

Some recent news has come in over the wire concerning the upcoming Tolkien adaptation. After much anticipation and a few snippets released from the studio as teaser trailers, Peter Jackson has announced that the upcoming Hobbit movie will in fact be a trilogy. Hints to that effect were dropped at the recent San Diego Comic Con, and now Peter Jackson has gone ahead and confirmed it.

Previously, he had indicated that two films would be needed to adapt this classic story to the big screen, but now it appears that the big time movie director/producer is going to need one more to make it all happen. Citing plot necessity and fan response, Jackson claimed that much of the added footage has to do with origin stories, background and character development for various characters in the story.

After meditating on the decision to go with a third movie or stick to the original plan for two, Jackson contended that, were they not to add in a third film, much about Bilbo, Gandalf, the Dwarves of Erebor, the Necromancer, and the climactic Battle of Dol Guldur would go untold. this corresponds to rumors that Jackson has been adding in a great deal of material to the story, relying on the LOTR appendices and background info which comes from that book.

Personally, I’m not sure what to make of this. Granted, it does kind of sound like an attempt to prolong the project and make more money, and Jackson is no stranger to padding movies with unnecessary flashbacks and cheesy cutaways to scenes with Arwen crying. But if Jackson has proven anything at this point, its just how dedicated he is to Tolkien’s creation and how much he wants to bring it all to life. So frankly, I see no reason to doubt him when he says he wants to tell the story and needs more screen time in order to do it.

In the meantime, check out the trailer of the upcoming movie!

2001: A Space Odyssey Trailer Relaunch

The fun folks over at Film School Rejects have just released a clever video which deals with the classic movie 2001: A Space Odyssey and how the trailers would look if the movie were relaunched today. As a big fan of 2001, I couldn’t help but enjoy the presentation and think that it was bang on with its not-so-subtle commentary on how things have changed over the years.

I can remember watching this movie when I was a child. Being too young to appreciate its nuances and complex plot, the only thing I remember was that many scenes had no sound. It was explained to me that this is because there is no sound in space. Suddenly Star Wars didn’t make any sense to me! But being too big a fan of that space opera, I chose to compartmentalize this knowledge and strategically ignore it whenever fun space simulators and sci-fi movies came out that broke this rule.

Years later, I would see the movie again as a young adult, when I was old enough to appreciate it. I did so in the hopes that I would understand it and why the movie has remained such an enduring classic. Of course I could see why, but I also didn’t fail to notice the many extended, and I mean really extended, scenes where space ships and space stations danced around in carefully choreographed display set to classical music. Beautiful, inspiring, but they sure could test your patience.

My mother noticed this too and wondered if anyone could get away with such things in today’s world. As a child of the sixties, she had seen this movie when it first came out and witnessed the stark changes that had taken place in cinema ever since. I recall observing that unlike today’s movies 2001 was shot in a time when “people still had attention spans”. She thought that was funny and reminds me of this from time to time, you know how parents are 😉 In any case, that’s what came to mind when I saw this trailer the other day.

Editing to ensure maximum effect in a minimum amount of time, and taking advantage of all the latest flashy editing techniques, FSR reminds us that at one time, people were willing to hear a presentation out. That is to say, they were willing to wait longer for a point to be made and didn’t demand explosions, cut scenes and loud music every few seconds just to stay interested. Take that Michael Bay!

Classic Matrix Reloaded Parody!

The MTV Movie Awards are notorious for doing parodies of the top-grossing film every year. Just about all of them are funny, but this was one that I still think of from time to time. Years later, it still gives me a chuckle, especially the scenes where Wanda Sykes plays the Oracle and Will Ferrell does his take on the Architect.

“Watch the sass, Captain sassy pants.” Classic! Check it out!