And so The Green Lanternhas no shoes. Seen from these studio images of CG-suit on actor Ryan Reynolds, the folks perhaps decided that while the energy construct forms the outer-suit, it also decided to leave out "shoes". I know the Oan Gaurdians float in mid-air, but do they not know the concept of foot-wear? (Or were there no sneaker-sponsors?) *Those-Alien-Savages*
Animated prologues are in! Taking a promo leaf off of the Sucker Punch animated series by Ben Hibon, the Korean-manga "Priest" gets adapted into a CG-fueled movie by Russian animation director Genndy Tartakovsky (creator of Sym-Bionic Titan). Maggie Q does a video-intro and I'm already sold!
We previously blogged about PREIST on TOYSREVIL in 2010 circa SDCC. Here is the post, along with a little history of the story:
From Manhwa To Movie: Priest in 3-D:
Making it's "public" debut at San Diego Comic Con 2010 [tagged] was Screen Gems' PRIEST ~ a 3-D feature film adaptation of Korean manhwa / comic book created by Min-Woo Hyung. Starring Paul Bettany as "Ivan Isaacs" (Priest) and Maggie Q (as "Priestess" ~hur), and directed by Scott Stewart, "Priest" is scheduled for a May 13, 2011 release. Truth be told, it was the motorbike on show at SDCC which got my attention first LOL
ABOUT-THE-MOVIE: Priest is an upcoming futuristic superhero vampire-western horror film loosely based on the manhwa, the Korean name for comics and print cartoons, of the same name. The film is directed by Scott Stewart and stars Paul Bettany, Cam Gigandet and Maggie Q. [Wiki].
ABOUT-THE-COMIC: Priest (Hangul: 프리스트) was a manhwa (Korean comic) series created by Hyung Min-woo. It fuses the Western genre with supernatural horror, Gun fu, and dark fantasy themes and is notable for its unusual, angular art style. An interview with Hyung in Priest: Volume 3 states that the comic was inspired by the computer game Blood, which featured a similar horror-Western aesthetic and undead protagonist. Priest was published in English by TOKYOPOP. [Wiki]
DIFFERENCE-BETWEEN FILM-AND-COMIC: Fans of the manhwa have voiced their heavy criticism against the movie regarding changes related to central storylines and core characters. Primarily how the protagonist and antagonists in the film have been altered. In the books, Ivan Isaacs was portrayed as a priest that turned into a demon possessed undead creature. In the film he's a human that's a priest and a vampire hunter. The books had him face a multitude of enemies, mainly demons, zombies, and angels with zero encounters with vampires. The main antagonist in the books was an angel called Temozarela. The film's antagonists are only vampires with a leader called Black Hat. [Wiki]
Actress Maggie Q is in it, so I'm absolutely fine with whatever differences to be had, IMHO.
Finally caught David Fincher's THE SOCIAL NETWORK on DVD (I was in Stroke when the movie premiered in cinemas, so gimme a break here lol) and as much as I did enjoy it, it was somewhat pedestrian and inevitably forgettable. I wish I could lord over it more - as everyone seemed to have had, along with a slew of film awards - but alas my attention is left wanting, when the film credits roll.
I have always been a staunch fan of Fincher's work, with Se7en and Fight Club et al firmly etched in my psyche (enjoyed Panic Room too but have still to watch Benjamin Buttons tho...), and am more amazed by this excessively "talky" film being captured and portrayed as such, as well the behind-the-scenes featurettes - which actually made me miss the days of filmmaking ... or rather, the "beautiful notion" of filmmaking anyways.
But perhaps my viewing of "making-of" diluted what I had felt for the film itself (the CG-element of the twins were such a surprise tho), as well the expectations heaped upon it by many a viewers, left me expecting more than what I saw, much more.
Or perhaps the "effortless" result of everyone's acting, put me off guard, and I could find nothing else on the screen to focus on, as immaculately banal and "regular" as the designs looked (the effort of which is only seen in the behind-the-scenes segment of the DVD). For sure Fincher crafts his scenes and shots, but perhaps this is the level of mature and exact filmmaking I have found myself currently less endeared to. Perhaps it spoke to YOU mores than it did me.
In the end, the film provided a slice of "reality" so close to the real world, the reel world product becomes a documentary about what we may or may not know of, or care about - even if we indulge in Facebook everyday, IMHO.
As remarkable, was that Social Network was shot digitally. Read more on Wiki.
I was actually looking forward to watching this flick, first time I caught chunks of it while shopping for other DVD movies (in my then wheelchair, no less lol), as well featuring a trailer of which, on my TOYSREVIL blog.
I find myself fascinated with a concept of a comicbook mini-series story getting adapted into a full-length feature film. In the initial three-issue comic also titled "RED" (published in 2003/04 by Homage Comics - an imprint of Wildstorm), we had minimal dialogue from Warren Ellis, and always-sweet artwork from Cully Hammer, and featured the (mis)adventures of one retired agent "Paul Moses" (played in the film by Bruce Wilis). The comic never did go beyond the recruitment of other agents, like the movie did.
(BTW - both gents were credited in the movies' opening credit sequence too).
As much as I appreciated the spot-on- casting of Bruce as "Moses" (who else looked as good "bald"?), his constant whispering and calm+quiet demeanor was actually off-putting. His co-stars however, we great! Helen Mirren shined like the queen she was, as did the paranoid John Malkovich. Morgan Freeman had too short a cursory appearance, and Karl Urban was, well the ever-intense-faced "Karl Urban" from whatever film he has acted in.
The pedestrian romance between Moses and Sarah, Victoria's and Ivan, were distractions to the whambam-plot, but fair enough it provided excuses for scenes and plot-movements (what, they HAD to expand the 3-issue comicbook, didn't they? LOL)
Directed predictably by German film-director Robert Schwentke, I would dare claim this is highly enjoyable - mostly due to the senseless bullet casings expanded, and the efforts of the actors, Helen Mirren rocking them the most (as well Jon Malkovich) but ultimately forgettable, in a Hollywood slam-bang-sorta way. Decent watching tho, and don't forget your popcorn!
"On a dark and stormy night, as the rain threatens to pelt mother earth with it's devious droplets, i shiver underneath a torn umbrella alongside the curbed urban belly of…"no wait! … "it was a sunny afternoon, clouds dancing against the blue skies, and birds chirping away a melody echoing at the back of my mindscape…"no, wait! …. "As I sat alone in my grotto of conundrums, I clicked away furiously on my laptop, memories of yesteryears still lingering…"no, WAIT! … aaaahh I just like to yak on about movies, is all :)
Talk about a movie-PR-overload! The makers of the love-action GREEN LANTERN showcased a 4-minute teaser during WonderCon the weekend just, which was subsequently released to the public online via Apple.com. And not a day goes by when folks can breathe in the epic-nicity of the space-drama to come? We are bludgeoned with TWO TV Spots! And yeh, not to mention that new quad poster (first seen on the Apple.com page actually) … man, they are trying to turn the world "green" color aren't they?
This series of videos serve no other purpose than to see the ladies of Sucker Punch sans their on-screen reel costumes (no it does not mean they are nude) but dressed in real-world finaries, and yakking on about behind-the-scenes of the making of Sucker Punch. Seems the audio-synch might be off a tad, but hey, this is a series of gratuitous visual recordings of five attractive ladies, so chill and enjoy the eye-candy.
So have you folks seen SUCKER PUNCH yet? Regardless, here are a selection of video-featurettes showcasing each individual character from the movie, which you can essentially piece together IF you have seen the movie. If not? No worries, these are "story-free" moving visuals which you can fawn over and not need to cramp your brains worrying about the story. Yes, consider this a SPOILER WARNING of scenes to come.
Four numbers of THOR TV Spots released the day after WonderCon weekend in San Francisco (movies be taking over conventions more than SDCC it seems, and we be lapping them all up!) - each featuring edited scenes we have been seen before, and a coupla "surprises" (but none too drastic), and all featuring similar scenes from circumstances we have seen before. If it sounds like I am being a "whiney-wet-rag", then yeah, perhaps I am! I just want to see HAWKEYE in his costume, as seen in his cameo scene dammit ~ and I am not even a fan of the character! (Am such a sucker for hype, I disgust even myself... LOL).
But seeing one older spot on television (besides my smallassed laptop monitor) send me sum kinda goosepimples up and down my spine (moreso than the online variations), so perhaps that is a good thing? FORSOOTH!
I remember INCEPTION to be an absolute brain-screw, as I sat in the darkened cinema hall, and walking out with my skull bashed in with multiple pins. I remember missing the first 10 minutes of the film (which I am convinced that the beginning provides the answer to the end). And I remember the film provided an abundant amount of discussions between myself and my sister (who watched it with me), while we were having dinner afters (I no longer remember what we ate). The movie had made me think hard about what was real and what was make believe. And yes, predictably, the ending scene with the spinning top, provided loads of argument.
I remember all that and nothing else. Except for an intense Leonardo DiCaprio (who was more intense in Blood Diamond) and perhaps was more impressed by the stoic-nicity of Joseph Gordon-Levitt than anyone ever gave him credit for (I was a new fan after this flick). Other existed because they were scripted for (yes, even Ellen Page), and frankly that was all I had remembered, from Inception.
Inception screws with your brains and makes you question your reasoning abilities, but leaves not a mark, beyond a memory that i was a swell movie. And that's about it really. Will there be another movie like Inception? Perhaps. Perhaps there will be pretenders to the thrown. Will Inception be the celluloid legend that many claim to be? That is a question you know my answer for. What about YOU?
A while back, at the height of Inception's release and furor, much was made about it's story parallel to Satoshi Kon's earlier released animation PAPRIKA (for which I one the DVD of, an excellent film btw). And while I stand neither for or against whomever wrote what first, the mere fact that this concept is not original in the first place, stays with me regardless of the longevity of wither films. Brain-screws have been around since the days of Twilight Zone, and multiple-universed comicbook stories with faintly veiled excuses to crossover each comicbook companies. Satoshi had it assessable via animation (somewhat), while Nolan kept it obscure enough to fcuk with your thought-spaces.
For me, I remember Paprika moreso than Inception. But perhaps tis because I have watched Paprika twice (both on DVD) and do not own Inception on DVD, and do not plan to. Frankly, there are other more films that linger still in my memory-scape, and sadly Inception - as excellent as it seemed to be then - ironically was not that memorable enough for me.
A teaser trailer was showcased at WonderCon this weekend (alongside the panel posted above) and this is the excerpt from SlashFilm's report: "The trailer shows us beautiful women, including Freida Pinto as Phaedra. Shots of a huge showdown on a battlefield with thousands of soldiers, mythological weapons like fire whips and a bow and arrow which shoots laser-like arrows in machine gun-like rapid fire. A gigantic mountain collapses, a huge total wave coming towards land. There is a shot of the men fighting from an angle which appears to either be below the ground or if the men are suspended in air above the camera with the clouds upwards in the background. It’s beautiful, but I’m not sure whats going on. There is a lot of slow motion and tons of shots with computer generated backgrounds."
Expect the trailer to be released at a later date from Relativity Media. We've posted character posters here. Now here are some earlier released stills from the movie (via /Film).
This is a much longer Film Synopsis than the previously posted [via Latino Review]
“The brutal and bloodthirsty King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) and his murderous Heraklion army are rampaging across Greece in search of the long lost Bow of Epirus. With the invincible Bow, the king will be able to overthrow the Gods of Olympus and become the undisputed master of his world. With ruthless efficiency, Hyperion and his legions destroy everything in their wake, and it seems nothing will stop the evil king’s mission. “As village after village is obliterated, a stonemason named Theseus (Henry Cavill) vows to avenge the death of his mother in one of Hyperion’s raids. When Theseus meets the Sybelline Oracle, Phaedra (Freida Pinto), her disturbing visions of the young man’s future convince her that he is the key to stopping the destruction. With her help, Theseus assembles a small band of followers and embraces his destiny in a final desperate battle for the future of humanity.”
We've shown you the toys and panel interviews for the live-action Green Lanternmovie at WonderCon 2011 just yesterday, now Warner Bros releases the footage shown at the event, on Apple.com. And by the Oan-gods it is exhilarating! Mark Strong makes an awesome Sinestro, doesn't he?
The release of the footage above ("legit", btw) came a day after Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively appeared at a panel "live" in WonderCon (along with snaps of toys on display). Here are videos of the panel footage! (FYI: Audio goes dead at one point in Part 2, just so you know).
First 5 and a half minutes of Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch, featuring the Eurythmics song "Sweet Dreams" ~ as sung by Emily Browning aka "Baby Doll" in the movie. Essentially this is a montage of sequences that is the ONLY aspect of Sucker Punch that is filmed in it's "normality", sans the special juice fueling the madcap happenings of the much touted film. Theese series of screengrabs no doubt tells you want you need to know about what's going to happen next… or maybe not ... View the video to find out :)
I am also personally thankful for this video snippet, as I had neglected to really listen to the voice-over narrative when I watched it in the cinemas! LOL ! ..>Then the next question you might ask yourself is, whose voice is it exactly you are listening to?…
I would like to say this sets the pace of what to expect from "Baby Doll", but I have my theories that this may actually be the imaginations of Sweet Pea …. Full Movie Spoilers (and theories) HERE! But of course you can read the Non-Spoiler ReviewHERE instead :)
A coupla days after my earlier-posted glowing review of Sucker Punch, I'm feeling a tad curious about what other folks may think of the film (although I still DO stand by my own review, thanks), and find a huge divide between the cinematic purists up in arms, against the selection of folks who enjoyed the ride for what it was, with not many folks actually straddling the fence. The "downfall of filmmaking" is most times a reoccurring threat, while most folks are in awe of the dragon, samurais and the girls in sexy wear, and that's about it really.
Interesting.
I've listed a selection (aka "not everyone is listed as I do not follow everyone on twitter") of review-links below, as well produced a small selection of "negative" points I have had about the movie itself, previous unmentioned in my earlier review (because I can no longer hold it in muahahahaha), now FULLY POSTED HERE AS SPOILERS! So please STOP READING AT THIS POINT if you do not want your view affected! Folks who have indeed watched the flick, please feel free to weigh in and geek-along with me :p
DO NOTE that all that is stated are of my own assumptions and impressions, without much research into the actual "behind-the-scenes" making-of the film, simply because I want to geekout and write some fun, and not compose a film-thesis. THis ain't that kinda blog, cheers :)
And no, none of the following might be in sequence, as frankly, there's no easy way to describe the movie ~ well, there IS the easy way, which everyone already has ~ but there is another level which geeks might see, but not necessarily the intention of the filmmakers.
FINAL WARNING TO STOP READING IF YOU HAVE NOT VIEWED SUCKER PUNCH!
(Okay, you have been warned!)
TIMELINING-IT: As a movie based on the 50-60s, you might wonder why anime-themed exo-suits and futuristic cities are imagined and manifested here? Don't think the director worried too much about that, and frankly, I do not think he ever needed to. There's a flying jet-pack looking like it's right out of Metropolis (the classic movie, mind) for gosh sakes LOL
The magic within the madness is what some folks see and embrace. Others ask "why", and hence cannot accept the notion, IMHO. But, if you've seen a few Stephen Chow comedies/movies from his early days, the timeline and constant conflicting conceptual conundrums here, are a cinch to embrace LOL
DANCE FOR ME: You will wonder where the cabaret dance sequences went to - if the teaser images had you leering for peeps, showcasing the girls and their lush … costumes … = No worries, you WILL get to see them, BUT until the very end of the movie! While after the key-credits roll, a montage of images show Carla and Oscar belting out the out-of-place campy-kitschy "Love Is The Drug" amidst a rah-rah musical performance that rivals that of GLEE. Hoping that sequence will eventually make it to the viewing public (somebody youtube that ,stat!).
But indeed if there ever WERE dance-sequences to be seen (especially Baby Doll's supposedly mesmerizing moves), then tis either a clever ruse to snip the takes, or just plain irritating, as that's what folks were looking forward to (do not lie, c'mon), but was necessary to attain a kid-friendly film-rating.
The costume design is divine. (Sorry, just an excuse to post the above pic). Blondie needs to be slapped hard for what she did tho … "street smart" my lardy-white-butt!
ACTINGLY: Frankly, the only three persons with actual character archs in the whole movie. They each get to flex their acting-chops (rather than just their "action moves") in a select variety of emotive states. Others somewhat breeze by with a grimace, a smirk, a determined look that does nothing to show their abilities.
YOU THINK YOU KNOW: You will realize that all that had gone on before in the entire show, was not exactly only Baby Doll's dream (she even said it outright at the carpark!) but was instead Sweet Pea's imagination piecing in the puzzle of what Baby Doll had achieve at the Asylum. Hence Bady Doll's sister's name and even the faithful event was never truly mentioned, and was perhaps conceived by Sweet Pea. Remember, there is also a point in the movie when ROcket asked Baby Doll if she ever had "family", but she did not answer? Might be the "dark haired" sister was either non-existent, or chosen to remain as a memory... but I digress...
COME AGAIN: What happened at the Asylum, probably did happen, but without the burlesque stage and costumes. The neck-stab wound was swell though. The lobotomy is quick cop-out which was the happy ending (one of it anyways) somewhat.
THE MEN KNOW IT: The bus-driver held the key to the movie. Everything else before then was partially an imagination from Sweet Pea's mind - so imagine the movie going backwards, with the few male characters being represented in the "dream sequences" (The bus driver as the Wise Man, the cook, the janitor as the Mayor, Blue in chic-suits).
Remember, Sweet Pea may well be screwed in the head (aka "drugged"), as we first saw her on the stage, in the "theatre" at near the beginning of the Asylum interiors. I reckon when Baby Doll and Sweet Pea exchanged stares/glances, their roles henceforth were immediately switched.
OLDER: And isn't it obvious Baby Doll is NOT "twenty years old" as scribbled by her step-father, simply because he wants to get jiggy with her after her scheduled lobotomy? I might be wholly wrong here, but what the step-dad wrote were never true in the first instance, is it?
Am still trying to figure out the "Oh, and one more thing" tagline came from, in context to the girls. (Can't remember now if the bus-driver said it tho...). Remember most times Sweet Pea and Rocket are "guarding" Baby Doll, so perhaps that was all Sweet Pea's own perception?
WHERE'S DA SEX?: You may wonder why an intense film like this actually has a PG-13 rating (in the U.S.) because none of the characters swear as filthily, and there were no sex even tho the girls looked sexy. There wasn't even much "pawing" of the ladies by the males (except for in the office). Where was the "Mayor's" hand craddling "Amber" booty? None! He had his hands oon her waist instead, for pete's sake!
Curiously, "Baby Doll" actually had a "nearly" sexy-scene with Jon Hamm's "High Roller" character in the movie. but was left on the dittoing floor, as the film needed to get a PG-13 rating. What a film THAT would have become! And frankly not something I might be interested in seeing (gosh do I sound like a prude now LOL). Read about it here.
iWONDER: You may wonder why this kind of film could ever get released, much less be made in Hollywood, amidst obvious luminaries like The Social Network, Inception et al ~ because NOW is the time to do it. NOW is the time folks will lap it up. Zack might be smart to do an octane-fueled film like this, but the studios are smarter to bankroll and back a film like this.
The posted teaser-videos in this post tout this flick as "Kill BIll Meets Inception" (can't see the quote credit source tho), but tis a claim I highly disagree with. Nowhere is this on the level of Inception cerebrally, and nowhere is this as bloody as Kill Bill. This stands on it's own no matter how folks slice and dice it, IMHO. Best description any film would need, is in the end of the day when the DVD is released, and it is placed under the "Action" tags on display shelves, innit? LOL
IN THE BEGINNING: Will this be the end? No, unfortunately this may yet be the beginning of the "end", if the box-office rings in the success, copies and likewise-maniacal parallels will spring forth to grab at the crown, and THEN, it would really mean the end of cinema. Just imagine 'B' to 'C'-grade flicks with names like "Sucked & Punched", "The Sucker and The Puncher" et al. Porn will have a field day with this property tho, and "Cosplay" will next switch into high-gear sensually. Can't wait to see what happens at SDCC this year tho, for when the DVD is ready! Read that somewhere, will link it when I remember when I read it laters).
Automatic gun-fire, slicing of enemies with katanas and generally killing everyone at the whim and word of a "Wise Man". This is their way of making a better life for themselves in the film, what more above-ground "morals" did you expect from this flick, in the first place? LOL
With all the excitement of the Friday premiere of the movie Sucker Punch (and of publishing my review), the fourth animated short by Ben Hibon for the movie promo might have missed a few eyeballs … but fret not! For I am here with screengrabs! And as well a link to Apple.com for the original video source! Having already watched the movie, the stories in the shorts (particularly the one above) are somewhat more gratifying, and as well appreciated for, for not just stringing together restrung-scenes from just the movie! Enjoy :)
But perhaps my viewing of "making-of" diluted what I had felt for the film itself (the CG-element of the twins were such a surprise tho), as well the expectations heaped upon it by many a viewers, left me expecting more than what I saw, much more.
"On a dark and stormy night, as the rain threatens to pelt mother earth with it's devious droplets, i shiver underneath a torn umbrella alongside the curbed urban belly of…" no wait! … "it was a sunny afternoon, clouds dancing against the blue skies, and birds chirping away a melody echoing at the back of my mindscape…" no, wait! …. "As I sat alone in my grotto of conundrums, I clicked away furiously on my laptop, memories of yesteryears still lingering…" no, WAIT! … aaaahh I just like to yak on about movies, is all :)
I remember INCEPTION to be an absolute brain-screw, as I sat in the darkened cinema hall, and walking out with my skull bashed in with multiple pins. I remember missing the first 10 minutes of the film (which I am convinced that the beginning provides the answer to the end). And I remember the film provided an abundant amount of discussions between myself and my sister (who watched it with me), while we were having dinner afters (I no longer remember what we ate). The movie had made me think hard about what was real and what was make believe. And yes, predictably, the ending scene with the spinning top, provided loads of argument.
