What I am constantly astounded by, then, is the uncanny characteristic of New York Comic-Con, and every other Comic-Con, to transport me, wholly and completely, out of my ordinary life and worries. I walked in, got my badge, and proceeded to meander about the floor for the next three hours, without a care in the world. Anybody who is unhappy at a Comic-Con is doing it wrong – they are the most profound, unadulterated sources of joy in my life. This is my first time at NYCC (I’ve been a San Diego guy up until this point), so it took awhile to understand the layout of the place, but once I got it, I was right at home. It’s the little things that make every ‘Con just a little bit familiar: similar booth setups by all the major publishers, with their own particular carpet, the faint sounds of stray videogames mixing with the roar of the crowd, people standing at every intersection forcing glossy notecards with event and sale information on them. That’s not to say there aren’t things that make NYCC unique, though – especially in comparison to SDCC, it’s much more focused on actual comics and, at least on the first day, seems to be much more conducive to networking. If I was only peripherally excited in the days leading up to this ‘Con, I am now fully invested. It’s show time.

It’s said that Disneyland is the happiest place on earth, and that Christmas is the happiest time of year; well, for me, the happiest places and times are these extravaganzas of nerdery. I’m going to try to bring you guys as much interesting, exclusive content from this year’s NYCC as I possibly can. I’m in the process of setting up interviews, and there are a few panels that I think you guys will really find interesting. Here’s hoping the next three days are just as good and don’t actually succeed in killing me.

Original post: New York Comic-Con: First Impressions From Day 1

David Zuckerman:

Randall Einhorn:

Follow the links below to get to the following interviews:

Elijah Wood and Fiona Gubelmann: http://www.thecinemasource.com/blog/news/wilfred-at-comic-con/

Jason Gann and Dorian Brown: http://www.thecinemasource.com/blog/news/exclusive-interviews-jason-gann-and-dorian-brown-talk-wilfred-at-comic-con/

Original post: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS: David Zuckerman and Randall Einhorn talk Wilfred at Comic-Con!

Jason Gann:

Dorian Brown:

Original post: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS: Jason Gann and Dorian Brown Talk Wilfred at Comic-Con!

The first film in the final panel compilation of the day, Total Recall opened their panel with some very cool footage, got into some interesting discussion of the shooting process, and closed with some abysmal questions. Can’t win ‘em all, I guess.

Let’s start with the good: the footage from the film. We got to see about 5-7 minutes of footage from the film, presented as sort of an extended trailer. While I don’t like that style of clip presentation (if only because it reveals, in my opinion, too much about the film), there is no denying that Total Recall will, at the very least, be incredibly entertaining to watch. Not only does the thing just look gorgeous, but it definitely doesn’t take itself too seriously, and that works to its advantage. I mean, come on–it’s a remake of an admittedly rather campy 90′s sci-fi movie originally starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. If it took itself too seriously, it wouldn’t be good at all. Thankfully, we have Colin Farrell being scissored around the neck by Kate Beckinsale in an elaborate fight sequence before jumping out a window and crashing through several ceilings, all while remaining completely unharmed. It’s not going to win any awards, but it’ll be entertaining, based on the footage we saw today.

Next, the meh: the discussion with the stars and director. The thing is, Len Wiseman is incredibly intelligent and has a lot of vision, and his answers reflected that: he obviously really loves the original movie and wanted to do a remake that had a distinct tone and story, while still paying homage to the original in certain ways. There’s a few lines and shots (most of which are actually in the trailer, which I think was done as fan service but might come off as being too similar) that were intentionally as close to the original as possible, while main plot points, character decisions and relationships seem to be more intricate and layered than in the original film. The best thing about Wiseman is that he was able to describe all of this easily and expertly, because the project is his baby, and that’s very apparent. He was the best part.

Next was Colin Farrell. Great guy, love his cameo on Scrubs, as well as some of his smaller indie films, and maybe it was just the admittedly abysmal questions he was being asked, but he just didn’t seem very eloquent about this film. Maybe he was just tired of giving the annoying, studio-approved answers that he was given (which I can wholeheartedly understand). It could have been any number of things, but he just didn’t seem as affable as usual. That being said, of all the stars up there, including Kate Beckinsale, Bryan Cranston, and Jessica Biel, Farrell was still the most respectable and interesting to look at. The other ones spent most of their question time making sex jokes about themselves and Len Wiseman. It was sort of annoying.

All that being said, I’m still not sure why this is an issue in the first place. Just because someone is good at being a filmmaker, or reading lines off of a page, doesn’t make them necessarily good at answering painfully frustrating questions in an enormous room with thousands of judging eyes, and yet we still care so much. I don’t agree that someone has to be an excellent socialite to make good art, but we flock to those who can and penalize those who can’t. Does it really matter if you like who a person is, so long as they do their job well? Sorry, I don’t mean to make this an editorial–just some food for thought while you’re scrounging the internet for the latest Comic-Con news. I say this in full knowledge that I just criticized these people for not making good conversation. My point is that while that may be a criticism of them as people, that in no way lessens the impact or strength of their work in their professional lives.

With that in mind, Total Recall still looks like a movie that will be a great way to waste a few hours this summer. It hits theaters August 3rd.

Original post: Hall H: TOTAL RECALL Panel–FOOTAGE REVEALED at Comic-Con 2012!

Though I was highly anticipating all of the panels in Hall H today, easily the most potentially exciting one was the reveal of Elysium, the new movie from Neill Blomkamp, writer/director of 2009′s fantastic District 9. Information has been pretty scarce about this new sci-fi adventure, but today, all was revealed. Or, at least, everything necessary was revealed to make Elysium the new most-anticipated movie of 2013.

Starring Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, and Blomkamp‘s cinematic mainstay and good friend Sharlto Copley, Elysium tells the story of a futuristic Earth that has been allowed to fall into disrepair, disease, and decay by the wealthy of the world, who have escaped to the utopian space station orbiting Earth, Elysium. Damon plays an ex-criminal trying to clear his record who is exposed to a deadly dose of radiation, and the only place with the technology to cure him before he dies (in 5 days, apparently) is Elysium itself. The details of how Damon manages to get up to Elysium are still a little shady, even after seeing the footage that we did, although it appears to involve him going back into the criminal world he’s been trying to extricate himself from for years now. Regardless of vagueness, this was easily the most interesting story and panel of the day.

The panel started with a screening of nine minutes of the film in what amounted to a heavily-extended trailer. It was intense, and amazing, and lots of other adjectives that convey strong, positive emotions. Blomkamp‘s distinct visual style is in fine form, with the ravaged planet Earth seemingly lacking any vegetation whatsoever, engulfed as it is in a brownish-grey coating of misery. My only problem with it was that, honestly, I felt as though they showed too much. I understand that to any fans, this must seem like blasphemy, but honestly, I felt like I watched the entire movie in those nine minutes. It was…weird. Like, I want revealed footage to hype the movie, not tell me exactly what’s going to happen for the first two-thirds of it. I mean, am I glad I saw it? Of course. Does it seem like they could have shown us the entire flippin’ movie and it wouldn’t have been that much different? Also yes. It was awesome, but I mean, cmon. Be coy about it.

The most enjoyable thing about having Damon, Foster, Blomkamp, Copley, and producer Simon Kinberg on a panel together is that they handily proved that intelligent people are the most interesting, well-spoken, most professional people on Earth. Each of them not only knows their craft but is also able to talk extensively about it, as well as why they do it. Although the entire panel was interesting, some highlight moments included: Damon and Blomkamp describing the most disgusting and challenging stunt shot they had to do for the film, involving pigs, feces sandstorms, and urine; Damon and Foster‘s faces lighting up while talking about the script and how much they love doing what they do; and Sharlto Copley doing the voice and mannerisms for his classic character from District 9, Wikus Van De Merwe, asking Blomkamp and Executive Producer Peter Jackson to do a sequel, because he was having trouble getting a job.

At the end of the day, this was the perfect panel to close with because of the sheer passion everybody had for the project. It was obvious that this is something that they all love and believe in. It was a really great experience.

Elysium is slated for release sometime in 2013.

Original post: Hall H: ELYSIUM FOOTAGE REVEALED at Comic-Con!

The interviews, on the whole, went well. Roundtables are always strange for me–the uncertainty of who’s going to ask the next question always creates a sort of tension around the table that leaves one…on edge, to say the least. This, in turn, puts pressure on the talent to alleviate this tension, and it’s not enjoyable for anybody. That being said, this pretty much didn’t happen today, which I was quite pleased about. Maybe all the press were too exhausted to be snarky.

Everybody I talked to was bright, bubbly, and nigh effervescent. The interesting thing was that none of it seemed forced. Even the members of the creative team, such as director Russel Einhorn and writer David Zuckerman, offered truly fascinating takes on how difficult it is to make a show that doesn’t fit into one of television’s neat little categories. I highly recommend you watch their interviews, as the shooting process for the show was quite…problematic, for a number of reasons.

The absolute best, though, was Elijah Wood. He successfully navigated some of the more preposterous/annoying questions with grace and confidence, gave a really great take on what it’s like to play a character as screwed up in the head as Ryan is, and even threw in a little bit about what it was like to return to New Zealand after all these years. It’s a delight to watch.

Check these out and stay tuned for more cool and exclusive content straight from Comic-Con!

Elijah Wood:

Fiona Gubelmann:

Original post: Elijah Wood and Fiona Gubelmann Talk Wilfred At Comic-Con 2012: Exclusive Video!

Taking place at all Arclight locations, the marathon will start at 6:00pm on the 19th with Batman Begins, followed by The Dark Knight at 8:45pm, all leading up to the midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises at midnight. This follows in the same vein as the recent day-long marathons that AMC held at select locations in anticipation for the release of The Avengers.

I, for one, will be attending.

Here’s the link to the event:

https://www.arclightcinemas.com/news/promotion-dkr-marathon?promo=spotlightD

Original post: Arclight to Hold Batman Marathons Leading up to Dark Knight Rises

Starring Jamie Foxx and Christoph Waltz, Django (pronounced Jango–as the trailer teaches, the ‘D’ is silent) tells the story of a slave-turned-bounty-hunter (Foxx) searching for his wife with the help of his mentor (Waltz). As usual with the famed director, it looks to be absolutely preposterous and awesome. It’s set to come out Christmas day.

Needless to say, if the world ends on December 21st like the Mayan calendar predicts, I’m going to be *pissed*.

Django Unchained Trailer (via YouTube):

Original post: Django Unchained Teaser Revealed at E3

I feel as though the plot requires little to no explanation, but I’ll do it anyway. Abraham Lincoln’s (Benjamin Walker) mother is killed by a vampire, and he vows to have his vengeance. Fellow vampire hunter Henry Sturgess (Dominic Cooper) shares with Lincoln everything he knows about destroying the undead, and so their quest unfolds. Obviously, historical accuracy is thrown to the wind, but Seth Grahame-Smith did a pretty darn good job in both his novel and screenplay of working in the vampire hunting elements to Lincoln’s life. The accuracy goes about as deep as this: if you have to think about it, it probably didn’t happen.

So long as the audience is willing to suspend their disbelief, though, the story is a lot of fun, and very well-executed. There’s a very good mix of strong dialogue sequences and fight scenes, which does a good job of keeping you invested in the story while simultaneously not raising the expectations of the audience to a level the film could not meet. Unlike most films, AL:VH is very aware of its limitations, as a historical-fantasy-action-adventure-drama, and thankfully, it doesn’t try too hard, except where it’s funny. I’m honestly pretty surprised by the elegance with which director Timur Bekmambetov (of Wanted fame) was able to tell this story. It’s better than you might think.

That’s one thing that, for me, is so interesting about AL:VH: it’s a movie that could easily have been the absolute worst thing to come along in years, and yet defies those expectations, if you know what to look for. It’s a film that is uncannily reflective of the viewer’s expectations—if you want the film to be bad, you’ll probably see it that way, but if you have even a semblance of hope that it could be fun and ridiculous, but still a decent flick, then yeah, that’s probably what you’ll see. That’s what I saw, anyway.

The acting is pretty universally good, too, which undoubtedly is one of the major reasons the film works at all. Walker is a very relatable Lincoln and handles the titular role quite well, but where the film shines is in his supporting cast. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is absolutely great as Mary Todd, Cooper‘s moral shadiness is very well-handled, Rufus Sewell (as usual) plays a great villain, and the occasional cameo (such as Alan Tudyk, being hilarious as Stephen Douglas) really round out the cast beautifully. I can only imagine that this film was a riotous amount of fun to make. It certainly is fun to watch, provided that you don’t get a stiffy from historical accuracy.

All in all? I enjoyed AL:VH, for what it is. Although the term is drastically overused, it really is a quintessential “summer movie”. It’s not a phenomenal film, and there might be some who would mistake its hyper-seriousness for actual ego, but that’s not how it came across to me. I saw AL:VH as a film that pokes fun at itself, as well as the overly dramatic nature of the vampire genre in recent years. Definitely a fun little flick.

Original post: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Making a prequel is always a tricky thing, because it’s returning to a universe in a way that’s totally different from the approach of a sequel. Ridley Scott makes the excellent decision of telling a story that, while it informs Alien‘s, is not directly related to the conflict of those movies, and Prometheus is better for it. The story revolves around a scientific expedition to a faraway moon that is capable of sustaining life. A pair of young scientists—Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) have discovered what they think is an invitation from the ancient alien race that they believe created humans. Naturally, they fly half a billion miles to discover whether their theories are true. As it turns out, they’re right about everything, except for the “invitation” part. Insanity ensues.

The thing that makes the story of Prometheus so strong is that it doesn’t feel contrived. This is my main problem with horror films, mostly—I just never understand why the idiots think it would be a phenomenal idea to vacation near a murderer’s old house/split up to look for someone who’s gone missing, etc. The motivations behind the events all make sense, but there are enough things left unanswered that your mind is racing after the credits roll. It feels resolved, but still is certainly open-ended enough to allow for several really good sequels.

The thing the movie does really well is give some great actors a chance to showcase their flexibility. Rapace as heroine Shaw is incredibly powerful, creating her own style of strength and never even coming close to copying Sigourney Weaver‘s Ripley, which would have been easy, and annoying. Another favorite of mine was Idris Elba, who plays the ballsy captain Janek; the man has enough personality to carry a movie all by himself and does an excellent job of rounding out the already impressive cast. The true gem, however, is Michael Fassbender, playing the android David. There truly aren’t words to describe the versatility of this man, nor the extent to which he makes you believe he is not human. He is spellbinding, and it is worth seeing the film just for him.

The technical elements are pretty solid across the board, although the score seems a little out of place in parts—I wish Scott had relied more on the simple, visual brilliance that made Alien so amazing (I still get chills just imagining those chains with the water trickling down them, as well as the fog/smoke sequences towards the end), rather than using big, over the top, scary music to shock the audience. Overall, it’s top notch, though—the special effects are pretty fantastic, with the possible exception of Guy Pearce‘s makeup—and it was utterly enjoyable.

I also really enjoy Ridley Scott movies because I love having something I can dissect with my mind, finding new meanings and layers, and Prometheus doesn’t disappoint. There are some truly powerful religious symbols throughout, as well as some Oedipal references, if I’m not mistaken. Also, Scott milks the title for all it’s worth—I recommend reviewing the Prometheus myth before going to see the film. Say what you will, there’s definitely some depth to this film.

So, it’s not the best movie to come along. It’s probably not the best film this year. It works off of a formula, but it’s a very good formula, and it has enough originality to easily make it unlike anything you’ve seen. I just want a sequel.

Original post: Prometheus