July 30, 2009
'Rats of NIMH' Bringing Additional Talking Animals to Screens
If any Blockbusters are still not out of business, it's time for you guys to add a "Live-Action with Talking, CGI Rodents" section. THR is reporting the burgeoning, aggravating genre will be adding another title to its ranks, with The Illusionist writer/director Neil Burger adapting Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH for Paramount.
As you may recall, animator Don Bluth first attempted to bring the Newberry Medal-winning children's book to screens in the early '80s with The Secret of NIMH, shoehorning in some swords-and-sorcery elements that left children scratching their heads at the addition while also saying, "Rad--Swords! And Sorcery!" It's still unclear exactly what direction Burger's adaptation will take, but the involvement of a Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D producer and early (probably unfair) comparisons to Alvin and the Chipmunks are already worrisome
Hopefully this version will stick closer to the book and its more serious, allegorical themes. Or at least get Robin Williams to the voice of the crow, and have a part where he gets hit in the balls and it makes his voice really high. Either would be enjoyable.
Don Bluth's 1982 Secret of NIMH trailer:
What a Live-Action 'G.I. Joe' Movie Should Look Like
With the addition of a couple ninjas, a lady in a leather catsuit, and some bad guys with metal heads, this seven-minute battle would capture the spirit of G.I. Joe far better than anything I've seen in the trailers for the upcoming film. Just the kind of laser and missile-filled war I was envisioning as I positioned the rival forces of Joe and Cobra along opposite ends of the coffee table.
The clip is from the hard-to-find classic Megaforce, also notable for starring Barry Bostwick and having one of the greatest theme songs ever recorded:
If you want to watch the whole thing (you do), someone with a big heart and great taste has put the entire movie on YouTube.
The Book of Eli
There's a whole slew of post-apocalyptic films coming out in the next year, here's a new trailer for another one coming soon, all of them are trying to be as dirty, gritty, raw, barbaric, textured, stylish and Mad-Max-ish as possible, could be lots of fun. Watch it here.
Here's just some of the post-apocalyptic films that have come out in the past, there's at least two per year, some of them are fun and make out to be good classics most of the time they fall short. Storylines take place in the aftermath of a disaster - typically nuclear holocaust, war, plague - that justifies a civilization's turn towards dystopian like behaviors. Although not a requisite, most post-apocalyptic visions have a man-made cause.
- 12 Monkeys
- 2019, After the Fall of New York
- 28 Weeks Later
- A Boy and His Dog
- The Blood of Heroes
- Casshern
- Cherry 2000
- City of Ember
- Cyborg
- Def-Con 4
- Delicatessen
- Five
- Genesis II
- Hell Comes to Frogtown
- I Am Legend
- Le Dernier Combat
- La Jetée
- The Last Man on Earth
- Mad Max and its sequels The Road Warrior and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
- On The Beach (1959) and its remake On the Beach (2000)
- Origin: Spirits of the Past (Anime)
- Panic in Year Zero!
- Parasite
- Planet Earth
- The Postman
- The Quiet Earth
- Quintet
- Six-String Samurai
- Terminator: Salvation
- Tank Girl
- Time of the Wolf
- The Ultimate Warrior
- Ultraviolet
- Ultra Warrior
- WALL-E
- Waterworld
- Zardoz
- The Time Guardian
Such debates frequently surround literary and cinematic works that do not show the classic characteristics of dystopian fiction, such as a government like entity that seeks total control of individuals' lives.
July 28, 2009
Wild
Another reminder to stay non-bedridden until at least after October 16th: a new behind-the-scenes featurette for one of this fall's most anticipated releases, Where the Wild Things Are. In it, author Maurice Sendak voices his enthusiastic approval for Spike Jonze's adaptation, and draws parallels between himself and the director--plus, there's new, awe-inspiring footage. My expectations are reaching all time highs, I just can't wait to see this.
Watch in HD at the Apple.
Watch in HD at the Apple.
A Thousand Throwing Stars
The prayer we collectively made in 5th grade (to be allowed into the secret world of ninja assassins) has been answered:
Not high art--and certainly not a ninjamazing as For Hire, aka Lethal Ninja--but it did give me some ninja sensations I didn't know I could feel anymore.
Not high art--and certainly not a ninjamazing as For Hire, aka Lethal Ninja--but it did give me some ninja sensations I didn't know I could feel anymore.
'Back to the Futures' Finally Compared
In the years between Back to the Future and Back to the Future II, Michael J. Fox visibly aged and the actress playing his girlfriend was replaced by Elizabeth Shue. Thus, to show the closing scene from the first film as the opening of the second, it was necessary to completely reshoot it. Dig?
Anyway, as you can see above, someone has made a side-by-side comparison of the sequence so you can now needlessly critique how well Robert Zemeckis and crew recreated the scene. The audio is layered together as well, and for some reason hearing a duet of Docs saying, in unison, "Roads? Where we're going, we don't need... roads," is utterly hypnotizing:
Luckily, the rest of the film holds up to intense scrutiny, and this is the only slight flaw.
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