Oktober 2011

Senin, 31 Oktober 2011

Movie Review -- DC Showcase: Catwoman

Well, since there's a new DC Showcase short on the Batman: Year One DVD, I thought I would review it separetly as I've done in the past. So, let's take a look at....

DC Showcase: Catwoman

Directed by Lauren Montgomery

Starring the voices of Eliza Dushku, John DiMaggio, Tara Strong, Cree Summer, Kevin Michael Richardson, and Lillian Mumy.

Backstory: A prime way to illustrate my disappointment with the DC animated direct-to-DVD films is the DC Showcase line. This animated short films give focus on beloved B-list characters that could clearly carry their own film. The best example: Catwoman. Bruce Timm, the producer in charge of these films, has long said a Catwoman film is one he would love to do...but it looks like this short film is all we're going to get. Don't get me wrong, I love these shorts, but...they could be whole films!

Plot: On one moonlit Gotham City night, Catwoman saves a stray cat from being mercilessly gunned down by a couple of thugs. This piques the Cat's curiosity, so she begins to investigate, and she's soon doing battle with a notorious diamond smuggler known as Rough Cut. What is Rough Cut's nefarious plan, and can Catwoman get to the bottom of it?

What I Liked: Well, a good portion of the film takes place in a strip club, and they really push the limits of the PG-13 rating on this DVD. Like a lot of the DC Showcase shorts, it's kind of short for character development, so the main focus is on action, and there's some great action set pieces in this. The voice acting is really good, and the quality is very high level. And throw in a script from fan favourite Batman writer Paul Dini...it's all good.

What I Didn't Like: IT'S TOO DARN SHORT!!

Final Verdict: I really like this DC Showcase concept, and if this is all we're going to get for characters the level of Catwoman's popularity, then keep bringing them on.

3 Nibs

Monica Bellucci Movies - Photo Gallery

Monica Bellucci: actress and fashion model

Monica Bellucci - Bram Stoker Dracula

Bram Stoker Dracula Trailer

Monica Bellucci - Brotherhood of the Wolf

Brotherhood of the Wolf Trailer

Monica Bellucci as Cleopatra

Trailer

Monica Bellucci - Don't Look Back

Don't Look Back Trailer

Monica Bellucci - How Much Do You Love Me

Monica Bellucci - Malena

Malena Trailer

Monica Bellucci - Manual of Love

Manual of Love Trailer

Monica Bellucci - Remember Me, My Love

Remember Me, My Love Trailer

Monica Bellucci - She Hate Me

She Hate Me Trailer

Monica Bellucci - Shoot 'Em Up

Shoot 'Em Up Trailer

Monica Bellucci - Tears of the Sun

Tears of the Sun Trailer

Monica Bellucci - The Brothers Grimm

The Brothers Grimm Trailer

Monica Bellucci - The Man Who Loves

Monica Bellucci - The Matrix Reloaded

The Matrix Reloaded Trailer

Monica Bellucci - The Matrix Revolutions

The Matrix Revolutions Trailer

Monica Bellucci - The Passion of the Christ

The Passion of the Christ Trailer

Monica Bellucci - The Private Lives of Pippa Lee

The Private Lives of Pippa Lee Trailer

Monica Bellucci - The Sorcerer's Apprentice

The Sorcerer's Apprentice Trailer

Monica Bellucci - The Stone Council

The Stone Council Trailer

Monica Bellucci - The Whistleblower

The Whistleblower Trailer

Monica Bellucci Info

Jack and Jill Movie Poster

Jack and Jill

Release: November 11, 2011

Director: Dennis Dugan
Writer: Steve Koren, Steve Koren, Adam Sandler, Robert Smigel
Cast: Adam Sandler, Katie Holmes, Al Pacino, Dana Carvey

Synopsis: Jack and Jill is a comedy focusing on Jack Sadelstein (Adam Sandler), a successful advertising executive in Los Angeles with a beautiful wife and kids, who dreads one event each year: the Thanksgiving visit of his identical twin sister Jill (Adam Sandler). Jill's neediness and passive-aggressiveness is maddening to Jack, turning his normally tranquil life upside down.

Jack and Jill Trailer

Minggu, 30 Oktober 2011

Movie Review -- Batman: Year One

Hey! Another DC Comics direct-to-DVD animated film came out a couple of weeks ago. And I finally had a chance to sit down and watch it. So let's get to my review of....

Batman: Year One

Directed by Sam Liu and Lauren Montgomery

Starring the voices of Ben McKenzie, Bryan Cranston, Eliza Dushku, Katee Sackhoff, Alex Rocco, Jon Polito, Jeff Bennet, Steve Blum, and Grey DeLisle.

Backstory: I tend to repeat myself whenever one of these DC animated films comes along, and that is, I'm getting very disappointed in their choice to just focus on Superman and Batman. There's so many great "lower A-list" and "upper B-list" characters that could sustain a film, but apparently, Superman and Batman are the only ones with enough "mainstream appeal" to make this project profitable. And, my disappointment reached new heights when it was announced that they'd be doing Batman: Year One, Frank Miller's legendary retelling/updating of Batman's origin tale. Seriously, so much of Batman: Year One inspired Batman Begins that how could you do a Year One adaptation without it seeming like a Batman Begins rehash? Well, my copy arrived from Amazon.ca a few days ago, so let's pop it in and find out.

Plot: Lieutenant James Gordon, still recovering from a police scandal in Chicago, arrives in Gotham City for a new posting with the GCPD and a chance at starting over. Meanwhile, after 12 years of traveling the world, billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne finally returns to Gotham City. Wayne, himself, has been working on his own plan to help clean up the streets of Gotham, and he seems ready to enact it. Gordon soon finds himself quickly being the only honest cop in a police force that's corrupt to the core, and he's soon put to work on a special task force to bring in this vigilante that the press has dubbed "The Batman." Can Gordon remain the only honest cop in Gotham City? Will Bruce Wayne's plan succeed? Will these two be able to strike up a partnership and bring hope to this troubled city?

What I Liked: This is an incredibly faithful adaptation of the original graphic novel. I'm glad that the story's action centerpiece -- a tense standoff between Batman the Gotham SWAT team in a burnt-out apartment building -- survived unscathed. Probably the best voice acting in this film comes from Dushku as Selina Kyle/Catwoman and Sackhoff as Detective Sarah Essen, Gordon's partner. They really put emotion into their roles. And the animation, as always, is of very high quality.

What I Didn't Like: The voice acting of our two leads -- McKenzie as Batman and Cranston as Gordon -- is...not the best. They both sound really sleepy in their roles. This being a Frank Miller comic, when they do wake up, they seem to take their acting cues from Sin City. In fact, in most of his scenes, McKenzie seems to be playing Batman as though he's Dwight McCarthy, or at least Clive Owen's portrayal of him in Sin City.

Final Verdict: Meh. It's OK, but it could have been better. And, surprisingly, it didn't feel like a Batman Begins rehash.

2.5 Nibs

Bonus Features: There's an interview with the current creative team working on the Batman comics, a running commentary with film`s directors and producers, a featurette about returning Batman to his dark roots, a preview of the next direct-to-DVD film, Justice League: Doom, 2 bonus episodes of Batman: The Animated Series, and they resurrect the DC Showcase concept to bring us an all-new short film all about Catwoman.

Naomi Watts Movies - Photo Gallery

Naomi Watts

"Naomi Watts began her career in Australian television, where she appeared in series such as Hey Dad..! (1990), Brides of Christ (1991), and Home and Away (1991). Her film debut was the 1986 drama For Love Alone. Her following portrayals included roles in B-class movies, such as the 1996 horror film Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering, as well as roles in television and independent films. Watts gained critical acclaim following her work in David Lynch's 2001 psychological thriller Mulholland Drive, starring alongside Justin Theroux and Laura Harring. The next year, she received public recognition for her participation in the box office hit horror film The Ring. In 2004, she received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress as well as for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role for her portrayal of Cristina Peck in Alejandro Gonz�lez I��rritu's 2003 drama 21 Grams, alongside Sean Penn. Other film roles include the 2005 remake of King Kong, the 2006 remake of The Painted Veil, the 2007 thriller Eastern Promises, and the 2009 thriller The International."

Naomi Watts - 21 Grams

21 Grams Trailer

Naomi Watts - Dream House

Dream House Trailer

Naomi Watts - Eastern Promises

Eastern Promises Trailer

Naomi Watts - Ellie Parker

Ellie Parker Trailer

Naomi Watts - Fair Game

Fair Game Trailer

Naomi Watts - Funny Games

Funny Games Trailer

Naomi Watts - I Heart Huckabees

I Heart Huckabees Trailer

Naomi Watts - J.Edgar

J.Edgar Trailer

Naomi Watts - King Kong

King Kong Trailer

Naomi Watts - Le Divorce

Le Divorce Trailer

Naomi Watts - Mother and Child

Mother and Child Trailer

Naomi Watts - Mulholland Drive

Mulholland Drive Trailer

Naomi Watts - Ned Kelly

Ned Kelly Trailer

Naomi Watts - Stay

Stay Trailer

Naomi Watts - The International

The International Trailer

Naomi Watts - The Painted Veil

The Painted Veil Trailer

Naomi Watts - The Ring

The Ring Trailer

Naomi Watts - The Ring Two

The Ring Two Trailer

Naomi Watts - We Don't Live Here Anymore

We Don't Live Here Anymore Trailer

Naomi Watts - You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger

You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger Trailer

Naomi Watts Info

The Targ Returns!

Well, I think we've reached that time...it's time to bring back U62: The Targ for another season!

In Episode 5.01: What, This Again?, I take the time to explain where I've been and why it was time to bring it back, I recap the superhero movies of the summer, and I disclose my podcast's secret origins.

Give it a listen!

Click here to go download it!

Head here to subscribe in iTunes!

Be a fan in Facebook!

A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas Character Posters

A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas poster

A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas - Kumar Patel (Kal Penn)

A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas - Harold Lee (John Cho)

A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas - NPH

A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas

Release: November 4, 2011
Director: Todd Strauss-Schulson
Writer: Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg
Cast: John Cho, Kal Penn, Neil Patrick Harris, Paula Garces, Danneel Harris, Bobby Lee, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Tom Lennon, Danny Trejo, Amir Blumenfeld, David Burtka, Fred Melamed, Patton Oswalt, Richard Riehle

Synopsis: The new Harold & Kumar comedy picks up six years after the duo's last adventure. After years of growing apart, Harold Lee (John Cho) and Kumar Patel (Kal Penn) have replaced each other with new friends and are preparing for their respective Yuletide celebrations. But when a mysterious package mistakenly arrives at Kumar's door on Christmas Eve, his attempt to redirect it to Harold's house ends with the "high grade" contents�and Harold's father-in-law's prize Christmas tree� going up in smoke. With his in-laws out of the house for the day, Harold decides to cover his tracks, rather than come clean. Reluctantly embarking on another ill-advised journey with Kumar through New York City, their search for the perfect replacement tree almost blows Christmas Eve sky high.

A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas Trailer

Sabtu, 29 Oktober 2011

Kate Beckinsale Movies - Photo Gallery

Kate Beckinsale

"After some minor television roles, her first widely seen appearance was in Much Ado About Nothing (1993), filmed while she was a student at Oxford University. She then appeared in British costume dramas such as Prince of Jutland (1994), Cold Comfort Farm (1995), Emma (1996) and The Golden Bowl (2000), in addition to various stage and radio productions. She began to seek film work in the United States in the late 1990s and, after appearing in small-scale dramas The Last Days of Disco (1998) and Brokedown Palace (1999), she had a breakout year in 2001 with starring roles in war epic Pearl Harbor and romantic comedy Serendipity. She built on this success with appearances in The Aviator (2004) and Click (2006). She garnered a reputation as an action star following an appearance as a vampire in 2003's Underworld and has since starred in Van Helsing (2004), Underworld: Evolution (2006) and Whiteout (2009). She has also continued to work on smaller independent projects such as Snow Angels (2007), Winged Creatures (2008), Nothing But the Truth (for which she earned a Critic's Choice Award nomination in 2008) and Everybody's Fine (2009). She has three films set for release in 2012: the fourth installment of vampire franchise Underworld: Awakening, crime thriller Contraband and sci-fi remake Total Recall."