5/28/2009 - Snakes on a Plane - The TV Edit - The famous line

It's weird to me how stuff on TV gets more and more violent (or they show more blood and guts in the medical shows), and more and more racy, and yet when it comes to language, profanity is still a no-no. Kiefer Sutherland himself says that when Jack Bauer says "Dammit", he's really saying it place of an expletive. So what happens when a movie's most famous quote has to pass the television censors? Well, here's the original quote in question, from the movie Snake's on a Plane:



Samuel L. Jackson even said that they didn't fight the R rating mainly to keep that quote in. Now that's standing for artistic principle! I just wonder what he thinks of how the TV edit butchered the line:

1/15/2009 - Thundercats Movie trailer (fanmade)

The biggest cartoons for boys when I was growing up were the Transformers and G.I. Joe, and it's a wonder they took so long in coming to the big screen. We'll see the Transformers sequel this year, as well as the G.I. Joe movie. Even though the first Transformers movie was not entirely accurate to its source material, it was a fun summer movie with great special effects that didn't take itself too seriously. I hope that they use the same kind of approach to G.I. Joe, because looking back on the cartoon, it's clear that it was more of a vehicle to sell action figures.

Another movie that I would like to see made is one for the Thundercats. Even though it ripped off Star Wars in a lot of ways, it was a very cool cartoon for the tweens and it was a little more mature than G.I. Joe and Tranformers. I still remember being scared by Mum-Ra, being sad at the death of Jaga (in the very first episode!), and the excitement of the trials of Lion-O. This next video would indicate that I'm not the only fan of the series who wants to see it as a movie. It is a fan-made movie trailer that uses footage of various movies that have been Photoshopped FRAME-BY-FRAME!



While it is quite impressive, I have to disagree with the casting of Brad Pitt as Lion-O. My pick would be Tom Welling of Smallville.

12/28/2008 - 100 Movie Spoilers in 5 Minutes

I always tell myself not to look at the spoilers on the internet for shows or movies that I am watching or going to watch, but I just can't help myself. I can't say whether or not it really takes away from the overall enjoyment I have while watching a movie that I already know a lot about, but certain things are meant to be surprises and I guess it's better not knowing them beforehand. For example, I read about "deaths" in X-Men 3, but as I was reading them, they seemed incredulous and I sort of brushed them off. But sure enough, the spoilers were true and nothing in the film gave me any surprise... just the opposite, actually. But then you have a movie like the original Planet of the Apes where I knew of the famous ending long before I watched the whole movie, and it still felt powerful to me. That's the difference between a good movie and a mediocre movie, regardless of surprising plot developments.

So if you're a spoiler-hound like me, you may appreciate this video:

11/16/2008 - Stan Lee Cameos (updated)

Two more Marvel movies in the summer, two more Stan Lee cameos! I'm talking about the ones in Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk, of course. Stan's cameos are getting better every time and I hope he continues to do them for the sequels and for the upcoming Captain America, Thor, and Avengers movies!

11/11/2008 - The Incredible Hulk: Alternate Opening (With Captain America)

Being the Incredible Hulk fan that I am, it's no surprise that I got the Blu-Ray on the release day, and I was not disappointed. Over 40 minutes of deleted scenes? That's like a whole new movie right there. There were rumors of the many cuts Marvel made to the movie to make it more fast-paced, and that these cut scenes were largely the creative contribution made by star Edward Norton. All I can say is I can see why Norton was reportedly displeased with the editing decisions made because most of these cut scenes were gold. I especially liked the stuff with Doc Samson... those scenes could have come from Peter David himself (my favorite Incredible Hulk comic writer).

If you had paid attention to all the trailers, you see that there was supposed to be a scene in the arctic. However, in the theatrical release, no such scene was shown. Everybody who read the novelization of the movie can attest that this was supposed to be the opening of the movie, where Bruce Banner goes to the desolate arctic to kill himself, only to be stopped by the Hulk. Now, I can understand why studio execs would be nervous by a scene where the main character tries to commit suicide, and looking at the movie as a whole, I find it would have been difficult to fit it in. As it stands, the theatrical opening works better.

However, with all the production that went into it, such a scene would not be lost forever and they included it on the DVD and Blu-Ray. What else is fascinating about this alternate opening is that there was a rumor of a cameo of Captain America, another Marvel superhero who would be the leader of the Avengers. For those who don't know the story about Captain America, you just need to know that he was a soldier in World War II who was given superhuman ability with a "Super Soldier" serum and was thought to have perished at the end of the war. In reality, he was frozen in the icy waters but still alive in a state of suspended animation.

The Incredible Hulk already had the cameo of Iron Man's Tony Stark in the movie, a reference to Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D., and the Super Soldier serum that created Captain America. In this alternate opening, though, you'll actually see the frozen body of Captain America himself... if you look carefully. It's a "blink and you miss it" moment, but it really brings everything together in preparation for that Avengers movie.

7/7/2008 - Hi, I'm a Marvel...and I'm a DC: Hulk and Batman

I can't believe I initially liked Batman and Robin. Yes, it's the movie now known as the worst modern superhero movie of all time. I don't know what I was thinking. I mean, I know I was a lot younger and more impressionable to pop culture, but damn... I thought I would have at least some taste. Looking back at it now... holy crap. I know what the director Joel Schumacher was thinking. Batman Forever made a bundle at it was campier than the Tim Burton ones... why not make the next movie even campier? The problem with that thinking is the success of Batman Forever was misplaced. It was more a Jim Carrey movie than anything else. And after the mega-hits of Ace Ventura and The Mask back-to-back, his turn as the Riddler was the big draw of Batman Forever.

The thing is, not even Jim Carrey could save Batman and Robin. I have to say it again... holy crap. You know those YouTube videos of people reacting to watching gross videos on the internet? Just record comic book fans watching Batman and Robin and you'll get the exact same reactions. It's just pure torture. Every other line in the movie has some lame pun. I'm not kidding on that. Watch it and see. There are so many idiot choices they made for the movie, it's hard to enumerate them all. Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze? Bane as a mindless brute who doesn't even fight Batman? Commissioner Gordon acting like a doofus? Alfred's niece as Batgirl? Bat-nipples? I want to down a beer every time I think about it... and I don't even drink!

You know what the one redeeming thing about Batman and Robin is? That there will never be another superhero movie as bad as it. The fans won't allow it. The internet has made it such that script leaks and fan reactions will steer a movie to the right direction most of the time. That's not to say there will not be bad superhero movies (i.e. Ghost Rider). There just won't be any AS BAD AS Batman and Robin. For a humorous take on all of this, once again we have "ItsJustSomeRandomGuy" with his usual brilliant action figure skits:

7/6/2008 - Stan Lee Cameos

There's a reason why Stan Lee's nickname is "The Man"... and that's because he is. In 1962, with the collaboration of great artists like Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, Stan created the Marvel Universe that included the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, Spider-Man, Daredevil, Iron Man, the Avengers, and the X-Men. He did this in only a span of about 2 years! Think about it... any comic book artist or writer would be lucky to come up with one hit superhero in their lifetime. Stan literally created an army of them... not just their names or their powers, but their entire origins and years of storylines as well!

I dare say that he has just as much imagination as J. K. Rowling, or even Shakespeare himself. Sure, comic books may be a less mature medium, but the mythologies Stan Lee helped shape are no less compelling. And think of it this way... it did not have to take 40 years for Hollywood and digital effects to catch up to Shakespeare or Rowling like it did for Stan. We are witnessing a Renaissance in movies that parallel the Renaissance in comic books that Stan initiated nearly 5 decades ago. Big name actors like Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellan, Halle Berry, Tobey McGuire, Alfred Molian, Robert Downey Jr., Gweneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard, Edward Norton, Tim Roth, and William Hurt are starring in superhero movies not just to make a quick dollar... they have a genuine respect for the source material that really presents a modern mythology that is on par with those of the Greeks.

And there must be no higher honor for Stan than to have cameos in these Marvel movies. Besides X-Men 2, Stan has had cameos in all the movies that feature one of his creations. And that's not because he lobbies himself to be in the movie... it's because the filmmakers have such respect for the man that they want to pay tribute to him by making him a part of what he created. Plus, it's something cool for the fans as well, who have come to expect Stan in more fun and prominent cameos of the Marvel movies. So here, with the exception of Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk, are all of Stan's cameos:

7/5/2008 - Spider-Man 3 How It Should Have Ended

I don't know at what point Spider-Man 3 got all of the hate that its getting now. It seems to be pretty popular to hate Spider-Man 3, even though there are a lot of other movies that deserve more. I thought it was fine even though it clearly is the least enjoyable of the three Spider-Man movies. My major criticism of it is that because director Sam Raimi wanted to wrap everything up as a trilogy, he threw too many things into it for one movie to handle.

I thought the origin of Venom was pretty spot on, but his inclusion as a last-minute villain left much to be desired. I would have really preferred Eddie Brock getting possessed by the black suit and then fade to credits as a major cliffhanger for the next movie. I mean it would have been pretty epic to have Spider-Man and Venom battling it out during the course of an entire film.

And they should have saved the Gwen Stacy storyline for that movie instead of shoehorning it into this one. I mean if Gwen Stacy were to serve just one purpose in a Spider-Man movie, that would be for Peter to fall in love with her and then be killed off by a major villain so that Peter could be the victim of even more angst. At the very least, Gwen should have been the "damsel in distress" at the end of Spider-Man 3. If you think about it, the last girl Eddie saw Peter with was Gwen. So why kidnap Mary Jane?

I guess the reason for Raimi's decisions was that he wanted the Sandman to be a sympathetic villain and he wanted Harry Osborn to eventually to forgive Peter. With that in mind, I guess I can overlook some of the plot contrivances (the alien suit just happening to land near Peter, for example), and the usual Sam Raimi weirdness (the Peter song and dance routine). A lot of people are less forgiving, however. The folks at "How It Should Have Ended" eschewed their regular format of critiquing a movie's ending and went on to provide a parody of the entire movie for Spider-Man 3:

7/3/2008 - First TV Hulk Transformation

If you want my review of the new Incredible Hulk movie, here it is: it's great. Just like the Iron Man film, it's a movie that I wanted to see again right away in the theaters. Given today's movie prices and that I have a decent home entertainment system, that's a rare thing for me to say. It's just about the best Hulk movie you can make without the budget of Superman Returns. Every movie reviewer out there is comparing it to the first Hulk movie made 5 years ago by Ang Lee, and all I'll say is that it's much better this time around. Don't get me wrong, I actually liked the 2003 movie, but I can see why it turned so many people off. The writer and director of that movie were just being too ambitious in trying to explain how a creature of rage manifested himself out of a scientist. They did so with some respect towards the comics backstory, but most of the audience just weren't interested in that.

They wanted to see Hulk smash, and that's exactly what happens in this new movie. I kind of wish I didn't spoil the movie for myself by watching all the previews, trailers, and commercials, but a lot of what wasn't shown was still a joy to see on screen. The CGI for the Hulk left me initially unconvinced, but I soon appreciated it for its higher action dynamic. I thought that the Hulk's proportions seemed a bit on the skinny, but I did like the Sal Buscema-style hair. The Abomination's design deviated greatly from the one in the comics, but it does work in the movie. Watching the two of them fight is definitely not like watching Godzilla and Mothra going a it.

The best thing about the Incredible Hulk movie for me would have to be Edward Norton as Bruce Banner. I can't see anyone else in the role now, and this is coming from someone who wanted to cast a Hulk movie for years. Norton gave such a sympathetic performance that you couldn't help but root for him. It is much derived from the Bill Bixby's Banner from the old Hulk TV series of which much of this new movie is based. Why would they want this movie to be a throwback to a thirty year-old TV show? Well, it was actually pretty good for its time. Treating the Hulk story as a realistic sci-fi drama instead of a superhero fantasy movie was the smartest decision they made for the TV show. That's not to say there weren't superhuman elements or special effects. Just take the first transformation, for example. Even without computer graphics or morphing, it's pretty convincing:



And yes, I'm glad they included the "white eyes" in the movie.

4/22/2008 - 300 - PG Version

So this is my 300th post and it's actually just about a year ago that I started this blog. Back then I thought it would be easy to find great videos out there to blog about everyday, and there are a lot of really good videos to find and talk about. I could pick any of the "Featured" videos on the front page of YouTube and probably appreciate it in some way. However, I'm really looking for the gems and those videos that appeal to me in some personal way. If you can't tell already, most of my longer blog entries have focused on videogame videos because, frankly, that's what is dominating my free time right now. Hey, I have to immerse myself in that world, otherwise I'll be out of touch with the crowd at the Iron Man of Gaming competition this June!

Anyway, I thought the perfect way to celebrate this 300th post is to feature some video on the movie 300. I watched that movie recently on my PS3 in Blu-Ray form, and it's probably the best demonstration of what the high-definition player has to offer. You can see each and every one of the arrows in that final scene! I gotta say that it's a true MANLY movie... more so than probably another other movie in recent times. Thank goodness, because I've had it up to here with all these metrosexual leading men! 300 may be kind of extreme, though, especially with its stylized violence. It's definitely a rated-R movie, which is a shame because it could have been edited for a wider audience. Here's a hilarious example of how that would have been done:

1/27/2008 - Star Trek Movie Mistakes Part 1

Feature films that were adapted from a TV series using the same cast have largely been successful. There's a built-in audience and fanbase for the TV shows who have watched them for free for many years. They are usually eager to see either the continuation of the storyline or just want that big-screen experience. The most recent example of this was The Simpsons Movie which did extremely well in the box-office.

One of the longest-running franchises that has had TV to movie crossovers is Star Trek. Originally intended to be a five-year or more series, the original Star Trek television show only lasted two years, but got such a huge following that it led to the production of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. While it only did respectably at the box-office, its follow-up, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was a huge hit, and brought many new fans to the series because it was such a great movie (one of my personal favorites). In fact, its success led the producers to develop a new Star Trek series on TV, Star Trek: The Next Generation. Its run on the air would be in parallel to the continuation of the stories of the old generation on the big-screen.

The writers of these stories of the big-screen and small really do make an attempt not to contradict each other in terms of continuity, but with so many storylines and throwaway technical jargon, it would have been impossible to be consistent. After all, nobody can claim to know every line of dialog to every Star Trek story or would have the time to research them while writing the plot. They would also use different writers for the feature films than the television show(s). Of course, the hardcore fans of the series would pick up on little inconsistencies between the TV shows and the movies. And in the case of Star Trek, these hardcore fans are nerds (I use that term lovingly). So what mistakes have they come up with? Well, watch and see...

11/29/2007 - AFI 100 greatest movie quotes

As one of the American Film Institute's compilations, their top 100 movie quotes is probably the most fun. These are the most repeated quotes from the past century of movies and most with good reason. Some of the ones I really like, though, must be viewed in the context of the movie. Most notably, the quote from Planet of the Apes ("Take your stinking paws off me, you damn dirty ape!") certainly sounds exclamatory and unique. But if you watched the movie up to the point where Charlton Heston says those words, you'll know that it was all set up to climax at that point, making it a real hurrah moment for the audience. I could easily imagine the movie theater erupting in applause at that time. It's the same thing for when Arnold says "I'll be back" in the first Terminator... it's a great sound bite for sure, given his evil Terminator monotone voice and all. However, if saw what he does next after he says it, you'll know it was a totally badass line (if you haven't watched it, I'm not going to ruin it for you).



I'm glad that a lot of the badass movie quotes made it into this list, especially those by Clint Eastwood. But I'm disappointed that they didn't have the "Yipee Ki-Yay, Motherf***er" line from all the Die Hard movies. I guess they had the censors in mind, which is too bad. It's also the reason why I didn't watch the fourth Die Hard in the theaters. By making it PG-13, they had to cut off John McClane's famous line and toned down the violence, which is pretty much sacrilege in the tradition of the Die Hard movies. I'm happy they at least put it back in for the unrated DVD, though.

9/20/2007 - Superman Reborn

WARNING: Spoilers for "Superman Returns" below:

I'm probably one of the few people out there that really liked Superman Returns. It definitely has its flaws in it, but I could see what Bryan Singer was trying to do with the movie. I mean, the concept alone of it being a sequel to the first two Superman movies was brilliant. It got us past another origin retelling and it put is back in a universe we were familiar with. As a bonus, the great John Williams score did not seem out of place as it would have been if it had been a complete reboot of the series.

There were some things I would have changed, though. Probably the most glaring disappointment was that Supes didn't fight a super-powered enemy. In fact, he didn't even throw a punch. Second, the pacing was a bit off. I would have preferred a slower opening like the original Superman. We didn't need to see him go back to Metropolis right away. I wanted to see a little more of Smallville and more interaction with Ma Kent. While the beginning was too fast, the end was definitely too slow. I mean, right after Superman threw the Kryponite island into space, the movie slowed to a crawl. I was checking my watch at that point. Really, movies DON'T need to be over two and a half hours. I mean, I appreciate getting my money's worth, I guess... but if it's too long, it becomes tedious.

I do think they might have painted themselves into a corner with potential sequels by having Superman have a son, though. What can they do next with that? I did like the metaphor of Jason having an adoptive father in Richard though. Even though Jason is biologically Superman's son, Richard will raise Jason just as Jonathan Kent raised young Clark Kent. This would not be the case, of course, if Richard wasn't a good man, but the movie made it clear that he was.

While I think Brandon Routh did well as Clark Kent/Superman (he looks so much like Cristopher Reeve), he was just a bit too young for me. I mean, I think if they were going for a younger Superman, they might have just went with Smallville's Clark Kent, Tom Welling. I'm sure eventually we'll see him in the red and blue tights, but probably not until the series ends. He does a pretty good job on the TV show, but we don't really see him in the Clark Kent "disguise". Here's a fan trailer for what a Superman movie would be like with Tom Welling in the title role. It's probably the best Photoshop job I've seen that's put into motion. The even painted the Hulk to look like Darkseid and Doomsday. Nice!

8/12/2007 - 5 Guys in a Limo

Is it just me, or has the amount of trailers before the movies grown more these days? I mean, you can literally show up 15 minutes late to the theater and still see the beginning of the movie because there are so many trailers. Normally, I wouldn't mind... I like watching previews of upcoming movies. But you would think that with all the advertising involved, they could at least lower the price of the movie ticket. Instead, it goes up and up... while you're forced to sit there and wait for your movie to begin.

So if you're a regular moviegoer, you'll recognize the guys in this video... or specifically their voices. Yes, they're all of the announcers you hear in the trailers of movies. These guys probably get paid lots of money just to read a few lines, but they deserve their earnings... just their voices alone lend some credibility to the movie they're peddling. They sound so alike (except for the Disney guy), you'd swear they were all one person. Just play the video and close your eyes and you'll see what I mean.

7/8/2007 - Back to the Future Vice City Mod Trailer

As far as movie trilogies go, my favorite has to be the Back to the Future trilogy. The Lord of the Rings movies are great films, and The Return of the King ranks as one of my all time favorites. However, they're so long and I just can't watch all three movies multiple times, especially The Two Towers. I was never a huge Star Wars fan (there goes my geek credentials); X3: The Last Stand sucks compared to X2: X-Men United and X-Men; the Spider-Man series takes too many liberties with the comic storyline; Rambo and Die Hard are getting their fourth movies this year; and I don't like pirate movies.

When I first watched Back to the Future, I was a young boy who was very much interested in science. So much so that I wanted to become some kind of scientist when I grew up (can I have my geek credentials back?). The subject of time travel in the movie really tickled my imaginations and Dr. Emmett L. Brown became my hero. Yeah, there's plenty of bad science in the movies, but the creativity of the writing and film making more than made up for it. Some people don't like the dark nature of Part II, but really enjoyed the part where Marty has to go back to the same time period where he was in Part I. I could just imagine the fun they had in recreating those scenes they did years earlier but from different angles.

And how cool was the DeLorean? With the popularity of the movies, I don't know why that car wasn't more mass-produced. While it would be pretty hard to procure a DeLorean, you can download a mod of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City which contains the Back to the Future DeLoreans as in-game vehicles. In this movie, you can see all three models: the first one that required plutonium to power the flux capacitor, the second one that had Mr. Fusion and could fly, and the third one with the microchip that got replaced with 1955 counterparts. Everything is masterfully recreated, from the fire trails to the 88 mph activation of the time circuits!