David's Blog

I saw "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" last night. I loved it...very raunchy and funny.

The soundtrack is great...I preordered it from Amazon. My favorite song: Fett's Vette...

Technorati Tags: Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Fett's Vette, MC Chris, Star Wars

Posted on November 7, 2008 10:26 PM | Permalink| Comments (0)

I saw "Burn After Reading" today. It is a new movie by the Coen brothers and it is amazing!

I loved it.

*This* is why I love to see movies. I knew nothing about this movie except the Coen brothers were involved and I usually like what they do. I had no idea where this movie was going and I loved all the surprises along the way. I had a smile on my face for most of the movie.

This is the best movie I've seen in almost a year. Check it out!

Technorati Tags: Burn After Reading, Coen Brothers, Movie Review

Posted on September 14, 2008 9:49 PM | Permalink| Comments (0)

Disney unveiled a teaser for TR2N, the sequel to TRON, at Comic-Con

on Thursday.

Above is a poor quality bootleg video...but it gets the idea across.

For a play-by-play description of what we are seeing, check this out.

I *really* want to see this.

Technorati Tags: TR2N

Posted on July 26, 2008 8:57 AM | Permalink| Comments (2)

I saw "King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters" tonight.

This is one of the best documentaries I've seen! Two thumbs *way* up!

The premise will scare most people away: it follows two men fighting for the Guinness word record high score on Donkey Kong.

What an amazing film! I won't spoil it...but I will say it is hard to not get emotionally involved.

Highly recommended...even if you don't like video games.

The screening tonight had the director, Seth Gordon, and one of the contestants, Steve Wiebe on hand to do a Q&A session afterwards.

Even the Q&A session was amazing! Somebody in the audience was obviously a Billy Mitchell (the other contestant) supporter and tried to take over the Q&A session with pro-Billy propaganda! The director had to stop the man from asking questions and move on to other people that didn't have an agenda! It was tense!

Afterwards, I met Steve Wiebe and took a picture with him. He's hard not to like after watching this film.

Seth Gordon announced he is working on a new film with Vince Vaughn (Steve Wiebe also has a role) called Four Christmases coming out November 26, 2008.

King of Kong is available on DVD. It can be rented at Blockbuster or Netflix. Check it out!

Technorati Tags: The King of Kong

Posted on July 21, 2008 11:37 PM | Permalink| Comments (0)

Tonight I watched a screening of the documentary Cinematographer Style hosted by director/cinematographer Jon Fauer.

The film covers 110 cinematographers talking about their craft.

After watching this film, I have a better understanding of the role of  cinematographers and the issues they face.

Anybody interested in how films are made will appreciate this.

Should be available on DVD soon.

Technorati Tags: Cinematographer Style, Jon Fauer

Posted on July 9, 2008 11:16 PM | Permalink| Comments (0)

I saw WALL-E last night.

I really liked it...and I am not alone. It currently has a 96% tomatometer score, which is really good. For comparison, Iron Man (my favorite of the summer), has a score of 93%.

This movie has a different feel than previous Pixar films. The main characters don't talk, so communication via expression is the focus...and it works.

Ben Burtt (responsible for R2-D2's chirps, light saber sounds, Darth Vader's breathing, among others) did the sounds of the robots in WALL-E. The sound is one of the reasons I really liked the film.

Sigourney Weaver gets a chance to see other side...she is the voice of the ship's computer and gets to do the "this ship will self destruct in 5 minutes" line.

The movie opens with an animated short called "Presto". It was fun...one of the better shorts. It reminded me of PDI's Gabola The Great from 1997.

So where does this fit in with Pixar's other 8 films? I put it in the top half along with The Incredibles, Monster's Inc. and Toy Story...which means it is a *very* good film.

Technorati Tags: WALL-E, Pixar, Review

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Posted on June 28, 2008 11:58 AM | Permalink| Comments (2)

I saw The Happening tonight.

I went in with low expectations based on what I read on rottentomatoes.

I also already knew the plot and had seen most of the special effects (ILM did several).

I still wanted to see it.

When the movie was over, I actually heard several people booing.

However...I actually liked the movie (I think I was the only one).

It is *very* creepy, which is what I liked most about it.

The movie reminds me of Night of the Living Dead.

The acting is bad, but it fits in with a B-grade horror movie. It's debatable whether the bad acting is by design or it is just bad acting. I want to believe it's the former.

The *previews* were really good. I saw previews for several movies that look interesting that I didn't know about:

• Eagle Eye
• X Files: I Want To Believe
• Blindness

Technorati Tags: The Happening

Posted on June 14, 2008 12:25 AM | Permalink| Comments (0)

I made the plunge yesterday and picked up a PS3 to use as a Blu-ray player. From what I've read, it is the best player out there and it is relatively cheap ($400).

There are some things I really about the PS3 when compared to an Xbox 360:

• Quiet operation! I don't notice the PS3 at all...and that is my #1 issue with the 360.
• Web browser...I can watch glorious 320x240 youtube videos stretched out on my HDTV
• Slot loading drive...no tray
• Solid unit...360 feels cheap in comparison
• No power brick like the 360 has...just a cable to the wall outlet

I picked up the remote for the PS3 and figured I would use it to program my universal remote.

But you can't do that.

The PS3 does not have an IR port...it does its communications via bluetooth!

The cool thing about bluetooth is you don't have to do line-of-sight like you do with IR...which is nice.

The *bad* thing about bluetooth is...no other universal remote can send out those signals! So now I'm stuck with two remotes....grrrrr!

Help is on the way, though. There is a product called IR2BT that will take IR codes from your universal remote and convert them into bluetooth signals that the PS3 can understand! The product is out of stock, but I'm getting one as soon as they are available.

Now that the format war is over, I am switching to Blu-ray as my primary format. I picked up several discs this weekend including:

• Digital Video Essentials
• The Shining
• Terminator 2
• Memento
• Blade Runner
• Reservoir Dogs
• 2001
• Close Encounters
• Full Metal Jacket

I am going to continue to use my 360 for gaming. The PS3 doesn't have anything that I'm really interested in with their current line-up.

In October, Little Big Planet comes out for the PS3 exclusively...and I *will* get that. It looks amazing...

Technorati Tags: Playstation 3, Little Big Planet, Blu-ray

Posted on June 2, 2008 10:44 PM | Permalink| Comments (5)

Gotta love The Onion!

Wildly Popular 'Iron Man' Trailer To Be Adapted Into Full-Length Film

Technorati Tags: Iron Man, The Onion

Posted on May 23, 2008 10:58 PM | Permalink| Comments (0)

Ironman is awesome!

One of the best comic book movies ever made...up there with the original Superman and Spiderman movies.

Some of my favorite parts were the dialog between Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow. Robert has a great screen presence and is the reason this movie works. I think the focus on the characters will attract a broader audience than most comic book movies.

The end credits had a really cool effect...definitely worth checking out.

...and the special effects weren't shabby, either. :)

Look for a cameo appearance by Ironman/Robert Downey Jr. in The Incredible Hulk June 13th.

Technorati Tags: Ironman, reviews

Posted on May 3, 2008 10:57 AM | Permalink| Comments (3)

It came out today...the first trailer for "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."

You really need to see it on the big screen for the full effect...but here it is in case you haven't seen it yet.

I was already excited about it...but you get goose bumps when you hear the classic Indy music and see the Fedora hat. Can't wait for May 22!

Technorati Tags: Indiana Jones, Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, Trailer

Posted on February 15, 2008 1:39 AM | Permalink| Comments (0)

Wow! Some interesting news dropped today.

Lucasfilm Animation's first project, The Clone Wars, is going to be released as a movie August 15th followed by a TV series on The Cartoon Network and TNT. More details here.

The trailer is here.

Technorati Tags: Star Wars, The Clone Wars, Lucasfilm Animation

Posted on February 13, 2008 12:04 AM | Permalink| Comments (0)

Wow! The last three movies I've seen have been great (Ok, I'm not counting this one).

I saw Juno last night and loved it. For those counting at home, the other two are this one and this one.

This is a funny movie...and the dialog is fast and furious. Juno is what I imagine Sarah Silverman (I love her) would be like if she got knocked up in high school.

This movie is about high school kids and teen pregnancy. It doesn't seem like a movie that I would like...but I loved it.

Go see this movie!

The Oscar nominated screenplay was written by former stripper and phone sex operator Diablo Cody. You can tell Juno gets a lot of her character from Diablo.

Check her out on a recent Letterman appearance concerning Juno:

Here is an earlier Diablo Cody Letterman appearance where she talks about being a stripper:

Technorati Tags: Juno, Diablo Cody, Movie Review

Posted on January 27, 2008 9:22 PM | Permalink| Comments (2)

Nominations for the Academy Awards were announced today. Ceremonies are Sunday, February 24.

In the Best Achievement in Visual Effects category, ILM has two of the three nominees: Transformers and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.

The other nominee is The Golden Compass.

ILM has won 15 previous Oscars for visual effects, including last year's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men's Chest.

I will be *shocked* if Transformers doesn't win. The effects amazed me, and that doesn't happen very often anymore.

Good luck Scott!

Technorati Tags: Oscars, Academy Awards, Visual Effects

Posted on January 22, 2008 9:04 AM | Permalink| Comments (3)

Stop reading this and go see Cloverfield now.

I'm not kidding.

This is a fun monster movie...and the less you know, the better it is. It may be the perfect monster movie. I *really* liked it.

I got to see a special screening of this film earlier this week. The movie is like a cross between Godzilla and The Blair Witch Project...except much better than either one.

Since the movie is filmed from a video camera held by one of the characters (like Blair Witch)....expect a bumpy ride. There is a lot of running and spinning. A security guard said 16 people ran to the lobby to vomit during the movie. A friend of mine had to get up and leave because he was nauseated. All the people came back to finish watching, though. It is recommended you sit further back in the theater to lessen the impact (or closer if you want the ultimate experience!). I didn't have any problems with it, and I sat about 6 rows from the front.

Oh! And make sure you see this in a theater with good sound...it makes a huge difference! The sound is really well done (props to Skywalker Sound!) and will make you feel like you are there if you go to a good theater.

Here is the teaser (which is essentially the first 5 minutes of the movie):

Technorati Tags: Cloverfield, Movie Review

Posted on January 18, 2008 6:04 AM | Permalink| Comments (4)

I went to a screening of No Country For Old Men a couple of days ago.

This is the best movie I've seen in the past year.

It's a Coen Brothers film, so it is quirky and original. I liken it to Fargo in Texas.

I grew up in West Texas, so I enjoyed this movie on another level. The accents, people and locations were very familiar to me.

The main hitman in the film may bump  Hannibal Lecter off the top spot for creepiest villain.

This is a great film...a must-see.

Technorati Tags: No Country For Old Men, Movie Review

Posted on January 12, 2008 10:59 AM | Permalink| Comments (2)

Here is a video clip of the X-Wing taking off...

No surprise that conspiracy theories abound for what went wrong. This one is probably the closest to the truth...

Technorati Tags: Star Wars, X-Wing, Rocket

Posted on January 5, 2008 1:48 PM | Permalink| Comments (0)

Here is the first movie poster for the new Indiana Jones movie, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull.

You can get t-shirts here (I already have mine!).

How does Harrison (who is 65) look? Pretty good (from indianajones.com)...

The movie comes out May 22, 2008.

Technorati Tags: Indiana Jones, Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull

Posted on December 11, 2007 8:41 AM | Permalink| Comments (4)

I found the new THX trailer called "Amazing Life" online here. This was shown before Blade Runner: The Final Cut that I saw earlier this week. Some more information about Amazing Life's creation is here.

Crank it up!

Technorati Tags: THX, Trailer, Amazing Life

Posted on December 5, 2007 11:26 PM | Permalink| Comments (0)

I went to a special screening of "Blade Runner: The Final Cut" yesterday. This version commemorates the 25th anniversary of Blade Runner.

The previous "director's cut" actually did not involve the director Ridley Scott...but this one does.

This is the best revised movie I've ever seen. The differences are subtle, but make the movie better. The differences I noticed were more violent/intense scenes and additional/fixed dialog. Here is a complete list of the changes.

The presentation is spot on. The color pops. The music (by Vangelis) sounds amazing.

It didn't hurt that I saw the all digital version in a THX theater.

The movie started with a new THX trailer. It features an odd mixture of mechanical plants that emit different tones that eventually becomes "deep note." It got applause like the early days of THX trailers.

Blade Runner: The Final Cut is coming to DVD, HD-DVD, and Blu-ray Dec. 18th.

Technorati Tags: Blade Runner, THX, The Final Cut, Reviews

Posted on December 4, 2007 8:48 AM | Permalink| Comments (0)

I saw "The Pixar Story" today. It is a documentary following the creation of Pixar and the people behind it.

The director, Leslie Iwerks, did a Q&A session after the screening. Leslie's grandfather, Ub Iwerks, is the creator of Mickey Mouse.

I loved this film because I could relate to so much of it. Many of the movie events chronicled in this film made me want a career in computer graphics.

This is a great film...go see it if you get the chance or rent it when it comes to DVD.

Technorati Tags: The Pixar Story, Pixar, Leslie Iwerks, Movie Review

Posted on November 7, 2007 9:39 PM | Permalink| Comments (1)

During the final fight between Optimus Prime and Megatron, the two fall to the Earth after using buildings to help brace their fall. When Megatron starts to get up, he flicks a human into a car and says "Disgusting." The human flies across the screen, hits a car and yells in pain.

According to the director's commentary on the HD-DVD version of Transformers, that "disgusting" human is the director Michael Bay (time 2:07:30).

Technorati Tags: Transformers, Megatron, Michael Bay, Director's Commentary

Posted on October 30, 2007 5:50 AM | Permalink| Comments (0)

Turkish Star Wars is just the beginning! Other Turkish classics include...

Turkish Rambo

Turkish E.T.

Turkish Star Trek

Turkish Superman

Technorati Tags: Turkish Star Wars, Turkish Star Trek, Turkish E.T., Turkish Superman, Turkish Rambo

Posted on October 11, 2007 9:33 PM | Permalink| Comments (1)

For your viewing pleasure, I present the final scene from "Turkish Star Wars."

Star Wars

Turkish Star Wars

Posted on October 9, 2007 10:09 PM | Permalink| Comments (1)

I'm going to spend quite a bit of time on an airplane soon, so I wanted to find something to keep me entertained.

I initially thought about getting a Dell XPS M1330 laptop. I was actually one click away from buying it today when I realized the ship date was after the bulk of much of my traveling.

I'm actually glad I didn't get the laptop. I don't travel very often, so the laptop would probably sit unused most of the time.

So the next best thing...an iPod. What I like about the iPod over the laptop...

• Much cheaper ($350 vs. $2,500)
• Much better battery life (7 hours vs 3 hours for watching movies)
• Much smaller (can fit in my jacket pocket)
• Much lighter
• Fast charging (about 2 hours for 80% capacity)
• Less concern about theft
• Should arrive next week

I figure I will load it up with...

• Season 5 and 6 of 24 (from iTunes)
• Several seasons of South Park (from iTunes)
• A few movies I haven't seen (from iTunes)
• Some audio books (from iTunes)
• The 3 video games iTunes has (Ms. Pacman, Tetris, and Sudoko)
• My music collection

Putting everything on the iPod means I don't have to worry about bringing a bunch of DVD's with me.

I decided on the 160GB over the 80GB because of battery life...the 160GB can do 7 hours of video watching on a charge verses only 5 hours on the 80GB.

There are two color choices, black or white. I went with black.

Any suggestions for good audio books, TV, or movies available on iTunes are welcome!

Technorati Tags: iPod, classic, 160 GB, iTunes

Posted on September 26, 2007 9:32 AM | Permalink| Comments (10)

I'm a big fan of the DVD board game Scene It?. I found out that Scene It? is coming to Xbox 360.

But what is more interesting are the 4 wireless controllers that come with it...The Big Button Pads.

The 4 colors make it obvious which player you are. The big button makes buzzing in simple.

A controller with a big button doesn't seem very useful beyond trivia games...but there's more going on here.

The big button is actually a 4 way direction pad. Since this controller is wireless, you can rotate it so that you have the A, B, X, Y buttons on your left or right...an ambidextrous game pad.

I bet this controller will be used for the simpler games available on Xbox Live Arcade that don't use the shoulder buttons, triggers, or 2 joysticks. It should make the 360 more approachable for the less hardcore gaming crowd.

Technorati Tags: Xbox 360, Scene It?, Big Button Pad

Posted on September 24, 2007 11:12 PM | Permalink| Comments (0)

Check out the October 2007 (Issue 111) of Cinefex (a magazine about movie special effects).

On page 72, I got my first credit!

Technorati Tags: Cinefex, ILM

Posted on September 18, 2007 9:52 PM | Permalink| Comments (8)

This preview is not safe for work (R-rated)...

I saw Superbad today. Very funny and crude...but highly recommended!

Technorati Tags: Superbad

Posted on August 19, 2007 11:34 PM | Permalink| Comments (2)

I saw the new Pixar movie Ratatouille tonight.

Visually, the movie is stunning. The animation is just fun to watch.

The villain (a food critic) in the film is so well done (Peter O'Toole does the voice).

This is a great film. I certainly liked it better than Cars...but not as much as The Incredibles.

The movie opens with a very funny short called Lifted about an alien taking his "abduction" exam.

Ratatouille and Transformers are the movies to see this summer.

Technorati Tags: Ratatouille, Pixar, Lifted, Movie, Review

Posted on June 30, 2007 11:07 PM | Permalink| Comments (0)

I went to my first Star Wars convention this weekend...Star Wars Celebration IV.

This convention celebrates the 30th anniversary of the original release of Star Wars on May 25th, 1977.

As a Lucasfilm employee, I got a 40% discount on our tickets...with single day tickets costing $45 without the discount.

Here is the schedule for Saturday.

It was held in the Los Angeles Convention Center over 5 days. I brought my cousins Anne and Michael with me and forced them to wear Star Wars shirts.

I used to think *I* was a big nerd...but not anymore! I seem quite normal in comparison to the people at the convention. 

I took a bunch of pictures...check 'em out here.

Posted on May 28, 2007 11:22 PM | Permalink| Comments (10)

This is...interesting. It is the Chinese DVD version of Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, with the English subtitles on. Call me crazy...but I actually prefer this version.

Posted on May 16, 2007 8:47 PM | Permalink| Comments (1)

The new trailer is out for Ratatouille...a new Pixar movie by Brad Bird (Incredibles, Iron Giant, Amazing Stories: Family Dog). The previews look great. Even with everybody firmly entrenched on the 3D animation bandwagon, somehow Pixar is able to stand out. Their stuff is just beautiful to watch.

This is the summer movie I am most anxious to see. It comes out June 29.

Posted on May 10, 2007 11:42 PM | Permalink| Comments (2)

I saw the new movie "Grindhouse" yesterday.

The film has an unusual layout. It is actually two completely different movies with fake previews before each feature. Total running time is 3 hours, 10 minutes.

"Planet Terror" is a zombie movie and "Death Proof" is a psycho-on-a-killing-rampage movie.

I *loved* this movie. This is Tarantino's best work since Pulp Fiction. Of the two features, I preferred Tarantino's "Death Proof" over Rodriguez's "Planet Terror."

Definitely not a film for everybody. It is the goriest movie I've ever seen...which is one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much. Watching with a crowd is a must...listening to the audience react to the over-the-top moments (there are several) is what makes this movie such a fun ride.

Part of the "charm" of this movie are the references to other shows. The characters talk about "tasty beverages" and "Big Kahuna Burgers" a la Pulp Fiction. There are some car chase scenes that are right out of the "Dukes of Hazard." The music at times was reminiscent of a John Carpenter horror flick.

The look of "Planet Terror" is intentionally very low-budget, however the special effects (by ILM neighbor, The Orphanage) were top-notch and gruesome.

The music was great...I ordered both CD's (1 for each movie) today.

Posted on April 8, 2007 10:35 AM | Permalink| Comments (3)

I was watching Lost tonight and I saw an ad for "Premonition" with Sandra Bullock. The ad had a quote from a critic: "Four Stars!" I paused my HD TiVo to see what critic gave this movie 4 stars. Thanks to HDTV, I could easily make out the fine print. The quote was attributed to Earl Dittman from Wireless Magazine.

A quick google of Earl Dittman lead me to several articles about Earl the "quote whore." He is used to give bad movies good quotes. I also did a search for Wireless Magazine, and I don't think it even exists!

Consider yourself warned! If you ever see a movie that gets a good review from Earl Dittman... stay away! I love Sandra Bullock...but Earl Dittman apparently loves "Premonition", so it has to suck!

Posted on March 14, 2007 11:40 PM | Permalink| Comments (1)

I just finished watching Idiocracy. This is a *great* movie by the guy that did Office Space, Mike Judge.

Idiocracy was never promoted in theaters and only played in 7 cities. In Dallas, it was gone in less than 2 weeks, so I missed it. But it came out on DVD this week, and I grabbed it as quick as I could.

After seeing the film, I can understand why 20th Century Fox tried to bury this movie. It makes a lot of jokes at the expense of corporations (Fuddruckers, Starbucks, Carl's Jr. to name a few)...and those corporations buy a lot of advertising.

It is original, funny, and smart, in a dumb kind of way. It is one of the best movies I've seen in a while. Two thumbs way up!

Posted on January 11, 2007 12:18 AM | Permalink| Comments (1)