If you're like me and love movies but don't relish the thought of going out to the theater all that much, then you most likely have some sort of home theater setup. And if you're also like me, you probably have a High Def TV so you can maximize your viewing experience by watching as many of your favorite movies and TV programs in High Def as possible.
At the moment, as you probably already know, there are two competing types of High Def DVDs -- HD-DVD and Blu-ray. For me, HD-DVD is the way to go so far because every Blu-ray to HD-DVD comparison I've seen has shown me HD-DVD is, in many ways, superior. So, I use HD-DVD at home in my personal home theater setup. If you don't have some sort of HD-DVD or Blu-ray player, you can also download content from sources such as Microsoft's XBox Live Service. But how can you maximize the High Def viewing experience and make sure you're getting the best possible picture quality?
Well, an article over at Jake Ludington's site is a great place to start. In the article, the author enlists expert advice from video professionals and compares HD-DVD programming downloaded from the XBox Live service to HD-DVDs rented from places like Netflix. The article goes into great depth and the conclusions are well thought-out and very interesting -- especially if you're considering the purchase of an XBox 360 with attached HD-DVD player or other HD-DVD purchases this holiday season. So, check it out -- you might learn something ...
All the King's Men -- An all-star cast delivers an all-night snoozer. Sean Penn's spittle-intensive tirades aside, there's just not a whole lot to enjoy here. Extras include five featurettes, some deleted scenes and a really terrible front cover.
American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile -- It's official: "American Pie" is officially the new "National Lampoon." I mean, how creative do you have to be to make an entire movie out of ONE Van Wilder joke? Extra wackiness includes frat-style featurettes, deleted scenes and oh-so-uproarious outtakes. Fearless and Invincible -- One's a Jet Li kick-fest period piece, the other's a Marky Wahlberg Philly-based football flick. I just like the way the titles sound together.
Lady in the Water -- I really love that he shoots in Philly, but this Shyamalan dude is getting pretty silly. (Six-part behind-the-scenes documentary, featurette, deleted scenes, audition footage, gag reel, trailer.)
Little Miss Sunshine -- One of the year's best indies is slowly turning into a dark-horse Oscar pick. (I'm betting on Best Screenplay and Best Arkin.) Extras include a filmmaker commentary, four alternate endings, music video and trailers.
My Super Ex-Girlfriend -- Underrated rom-com that's sure to find a home on DVD. Uma's dreamy, Luke Wilson is actually funny, and there's some goofy FX stuff too. Extras include a music video and some deleted scenes.
National Lampoon's Pledge This! -- Good god! An American Pie AND a National Lampoon on the same day? And this one stars Paris Hilton? Are we being punished for something?? A Scanner Darkly -- Linklater's finely freaky rendition of P.K. Dick's short story will earn love and scorn in equal measure ... but I'm pretty much split right down the middle. Perhaps the multi-participant commentary track will decipher some of the mysteries, plus there's a pair of featurettes and some trailers.
Step Up -- Wait, is this the one about gymnastics? Volleyball? Girl surfers? No, wait. It's dancing! Yeah, teenagers who step up and dance! Yeah, go dancers. Anyway, extras include a filmmaker commentary, some deleted scenes, bloopers, featurettes and MySpace tie-ins.
The Wicker Man -- Neil La Bute went temporarily crazy and decided to remake one of the all-time cult-classic creepers. Why he did it is still sort of a mystery to me, even if I was one of the very few film critics who actually enjoyed (part of) this remake. Extras include a filmmaker commentary, some trailers and an all-new ending that wasn't seen in theaters ... as if the theatrical-version epilogue wasn't silly enough.
Piracy is nothing new, especially since the explosion of Napster back when it was a pirated mp3 heaven. Now, half the time we hit the theaters or buy/rent a DVD, we have to sit through a whole spiel on movie piracy. Beyond questioning the actual validity of MPAA and movie company claims, there is a consumer backlash of people fed up with being treated like a pirate with no cause. The current rant on The Movie Blog might be a bit exaggerated, but it's true. The steps taken to curb piracy haven't stopped the myriad of illegal downloads available, but have made it difficult for consumers to back up their purchase or view it on other devices.
A new study performed by ABI research has ripped another hole in the already-weak rampant claims of unstoppable movie piracy and the struggling film business. According to the study, which polled 1,725 North American online consumers 18+, only 5% watched legal digital movie downloads, and even less watch illegal downloads, making it "the least watched genre of online video on the Internet." The majority of respondents say they watch short-form content like news, sports and viral media. Why are they ignoring digitally-acquired films and illegal downloads? Because "they were satisfied with their current providers and the rental market."
Obviously this is more of the same. But maybe, just maybe, if we get enough of these studies together that prove most of us are not movie swashbucklers, they'll create an invisible shield from the incessant claims.
While surfing online this afternoon, I stumbled upon three pretty funny videos and wondered, "Gee, some of the readers over at Cinematical might enjoy these." Okay, I lied -- first I wondered whether or not I had any food in the fridge, and then came the videos. Check it out:
Lots and lots of buzz is surrounding a few of the performances in Todd Field's Little Children, but did you ever wonder what the little children are saying about Little Children? Granted, the film itself is in no way targeted towards little children, but there is this comical teaser trailer over on YouTube called Little Sam's Promo for Little Children. Basically, it's just some kid telling us what the critics had to say about the film, but for some reason it made me laugh ... in that, "am I laughing because it's funny or because I'm really really bored" kind of way. [via MCN]
We already brought you one fake Apocalypto trailer, in which its creator merged the Mel Gibson film with that Zach Braff film, The Last Kiss. Well, Saturday Night Live (God bless their little hearts for still trying to be funny after all these years) came up with their own fake trailer. And, although they're extremely late to the game with the anti-Jew jokes, it's still better than 94% of the crap that show shovels out each week. [via Hollywood Wiretap]
It's not just audiences who are pissed about spending money on the recent horror flick Turistas, the people of Brazil (where the film was shot) are all up in arms over the nature of the pic and are afraid it will prevent people from visiting. Of course there's your standard boycott from one group, and Paris Filmes (the indie distributor releasing Turistas in Brazil) has already said they will show a text before each screening that claims Paris "is against anything that harms the image of Brazil." To further the protest, some folks got together to create this animated cartoon called Turistas 2, which reverses the roles and shows what happens when two Brazilian tourists visit America. As you can imagine, hilarity (and President Bush) ensues. (Note: Foul language included within) [via MCN]
I am one of the world's worst gift wrappers. People look at the presents I give them, and ask if I let my niece or nephew wrap the gift for me. I admit I can't be bothered to spend a lot of time getting the ribbons to curl just so, and to make sure that the wrapping paper fits the present size before I start cutting it out. Over the years, I've learned to rely a lot on gift bags, which are reusable (good for the environment) and look very smart with some tissue paper and perhaps a little raffia used to attach the gift tag. The gift bags were also good for quick last-minute wrapping during the years when I used to take the plane to my parents' house for the holidays, because wrapped gifts aren't allowed on flights.
A big reason why my gift wrapping isn't fabulous, however, is that I don't pay much attention. I'm very fond of putting on a movie in the background while I'm wrapping presents. The idea is that the movie should be something I've seen before, so I am not tempted to put down the scissors and ribbons and watch closely. It's also nice to watch a movie with a holiday theme, to get me in the right spirit for all that gift wrapping.
Therefore, I've put together a list of seven movies that are my favorites for background watching while wrapping presents during the holiday season. Many of them are on TV during the holiday season, so if you're stuck in the back bedroom of someone else's house on Christmas Eve, frantically wrapping before anyone comes in to see what you're giving them, you might be able to find one of these movies on cable (Turner Classic Movies especially).
Not long ago, we told you about a neat little contest that Delta Airlines was hosting as part of a collaboration with Gen Art. The concept: Gen Art would invite filmmakers to submit their short films and, along with Delta, the two would choose five finalists -- all of which would be available to watch on select Delta flights, as well as online. Whichever short collects the highest rating (both in the air and on the computer) will receive a sweeet prize package that includes $10,000 in cash, a trip for two to the Sundance Film Festival (where they'll be invited to attend a celebratory party and watch as their short film is screened at said party), a pair of two round-trip international tickets for any Delta flight and a $2500 Gen Art membership. (I'm not sure what in the world you get for $2500 over at Gen Art, but I'd expect a ton of invites to some really cool parties, on top of a slew of free liquor and lots of ass-kissing.)
Personally, I love the idea that short films will have a chance to find a new audience (one that's not so tapped in to the festival scene) at 35,000 feet. Sure, folks who read this site probably watch shorts regularly, but people like my parents (who fly Delta all the time because my sister-in-law is a flight attendant with them) don't go to festivals and they don't do a ton of surfing online, save for the occasional shopping spree and stupid email forwards. (I told you mom, I don't open those stupid things -- they're a waste of my time. Stop sending them to me.) Needless to say, this will be a fabulous way for a filmmaker to get their short film in front of a mass audience, the kind that looks to Entertainment Tonight and Access Hollywood when trying to decide which movie to watch over the weekend. That's not necessarily a bad thing but ... let's carry on, shall we?
Barnyard: The Original Party Animals -- Only worth renting if your kids have already seen The Ant Bully, Flushed Away, Happy Feet, Ice Age 2, Open Season, Over the Hedge and The Wild. (At least three times apiece.) Plot: A bunch of cows do silly things in a barnyard. Extras include filmmaker commentary, four featurettes, seven deleted scenes, two music videos, etc.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe -- You know how New Line released those really nifty "extended edition" DVDs for The Lord of the Rings? Yeah, well Disney liked that idea so here comes the mega-huge Narnia release, complete with seven additional minutes of in-movie footage, three lengthy audio commentaries, and two full discs over-stuffed with lions and witches and wardrobes, oh my.
The Devil Wears Prada -- The chick-flick version of Hostel. Anne Hathaway plays a "fat girl" who allows herself to be abused by the evil boss Meryl Streep just long enough to earn an oh-so-important life lesson. Extras include a filmmaker commentary, four featurettes, a bunch of deleted scenes and other random trinkets.
Material Girls -- One of the worst studio releases of the past 15 years. Stunningly bad. Highly recommended, however, if you happen to be a member of the Duff family. Anyone who can make it more than 15 minutes into Martha Coolidge's audio commentary has the fortitude of an Egyptian pyramid-builder. Featurettes and music videos are also included. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby -- Will Ferrell brings his patented brand of stream-of-consciousness goofiness to the easy-target world of NASCAR, and the result is a movie just as funny as we expected it to be. OK, so it's not Anchorman, but it's still packed with laughs. (Plus John C.Reilly, Sacha Baron Cohen and Amy Adams are actually allowed to steal a few scenes, with makes me think even more of Ferrell as a comedian.) Snag the unrated edition for extra footage and a truckload of commentaries, featurettes, deleted scenes, bloopers, promos and more assorted silliness.
World Trade Center -- The year's second 9/11 movie takes a decidedly different approach than its predecessor (United 93) and turns out to be one of Oliver Stone's more accessible projects. The horrible date is re-captured in chillingly realistic fashion, the performances are pretty great across the board, and the extra features (in the 2-disc commemorative edition) are as informative as they are entertaining. Fans of the film can pick through two separate audio commentaries and a second disc filled with mini-documentaries on the film, the survivors and the event itself.
First up, Edward Burns will be writing a drama set in the fashion world alongside wife Christy Turlington. (Seeing as Burns' last few indie pics were huge flops, perhaps his eye for relationship-type material will garner more attention on the small screen.) Based on an idea of Spielbergs, we're not sure if this has anything to do with another project Spiel-God was interested in -- that one was supposedly written by Rod Lurie and revolved around the "glitzy New York media world." Did Spielberg change it to the "glitzy New York fashion world" and simply bring on Burns to ruin it for him? If it goes to pilot, Burns will also direct. Fantastic.
The second project is based off a script by Scott Gemmill, and its main characters are two American physicists in WWII who discover a way to travel into the future and subsequently come to 2007 in an attempt to aid the war effort ... as well as get into Paris Hilton's pants. (That last part I made up, though everyone knows how kinky those physicists are ... ) However, the film Back to the Future wasn't around in the forties, and so the men soon realize that traveling back and forth can and will affect the space-time continuum. Sounds wonderful ... now give us Indy 4!
With the holidays fast approaching, your thoughts have surely turned to gifts -- whether for that special someone or for yourself. Hey, why not? You've been good this year, right? And, as you happen to be reading this at a site whose focus is movies, it stands to reason you may want to watch a few of them once in awhile. I'm sure many of you remember the good old days when you went to a theater to watch a movie in all of its wide-screen, THX enhanced splendor. These days, with ticket prices, parking, waiting in line and those jerks on cell phones, actually going to the theater is something people do less and less.
Instead, people are staying home, curling up on the couch and watching their favorite movie on DVD in the comfort of their homes. I have to admit that its getting harder and harder for me to go to the theater too. Even though I can go to screenings and all that, its still, in many cases, much more of an ordeal than it needs to be -- or that it seems to be worth. Consequently, I spend more and more time watching movies at home. And that, friends, is why we're here today.
If you watch movies at home and want to maximize the "cinematic experience" of those movies, following are some essential tools that will help you get there. As its not possible for me to have owned every different kind of equipment out there, this list will focus primarily on the items that make up my personal home theater setup -- which was put together over the last few months after exhaustive research. Plus, these items make great gifts too. So, on with the show!
A mother in San Jose is claiming to have discovered what is commonly referred to in the gaming/DVD world as an 'easter egg' in a Princess Shimmering Lights Ariel doll from Disney/Mattel. The doll's voice track is supposed to spout banal, Disney-approved pap like "you're a wonderful friend" and "sparkles are so beautiful," but 40-year old Stephanie Herrera claims that pushing Ariel's voice button three times quickly with a specific rhythm causes the doll to blurt out something that sounds exactly like "You're a slu-ut." According to insidebayarea.com, the claim has been verified by at least one other person. Stephanie Oppenheim, publisher of a toy guide called the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio, tried out the doll and claims she heard the same remark after listening closely. According to the story, a Mattel brand coordinator named Visali Scandalis called Herrera after receiving an e-mail complaint about the slur and ended up admitting also hearing the phrase, but only because of the "power of suggestion."
A Mattel spokeswoman named Sara Rosales has also gone on record stating the opposite -- that no such phrase is audible. Normally, the suspicion in a case like this would fall on the claimant, but we all know that anything having to do with the Disney animation department is suspect. The Little Mermaid, in particular, is known to be woven through and through with layers of second-level stuff, from its simple samplings of Tchaikovsky to its inclusion of a rendering of Georges la Tour's The Penitent Magdalen, which has significance to Grail hunters, to bits of sexual innuendo. In the 2006 Platinum Edition DVD, the film's wedding scene was finally altered because of continuous complaints that the priest in the scene was obviously sporting an erection.
The holiday season is the time to ask for those big items you've been wanting all year, those toys or gadgets or appliances or DVDs that were just too expensive to splurge on with your own money. And now, with the holidays being so associated with the expectation of gifts, Christmas lists (and Hanukkah lists and Kwanzaa lists, etc.) are made by kids and adults alike. Nobody wants to receive a gift they don't desire, and nobody wants to buy a present that the recipient will not like, so it is now common to go ahead and tell Santa, your parents, your spouse and/or your friends exactly what you want from them. And depending on the gift-giver, you probably will wish forask for tell them to get you something big.
When it comes to movies, single-title DVDs just aren't going to cut it. Criterion editions are almost there, but not quite. No, for your present demands, you need something bigger, like a box set. The same can be said for DVDs as it can be for CDs, that box sets are the greatest gifts for the holidays because few people purchase them at regular times of the year. Nowadays there are DVD sets for just about every movie fan. For the documentary lover, however, there are some titles that must be purchased in a box set (due to them being series), and many of them are essentials.
Be sure to be specific on your list, because there are a lot of cheap doc sets out there that might be interesting to watch, but which are not well made and which were definitely bought at the nearby drugstore rather than the video shop. Don't let your gift-giver be confused and/or frugal. And if you are the gift-giver, this list may be a good source for ideas for what to buy your gift-receiver, but keep in mind that documentaries can be an acquired taste for some. Sure, a baseball fan may be into Ken Burns' Baseball and a jazz fan should enjoy Burns' Jazz, but you really never know for sure unless they tell you so directly. And at doc box prices, you don't want to go wasting your money.
It's not just because I've done some work for MrSkin.com that I'm a huge fan of the site. I give the Skinbosses credit for making nudity light and fun, especially in an internet world where sexuality is usually as harsh and nasty as you could possibly imagine. But Mr. Skin still recalls a time when 14-year-old boys would go absolutely ballistic (and justifiably so) when a bare of bare boobies would bounce across the movie screen. (We didn't rent Halloween just for the scares, you know...) Plus the website does really fun stuff like The Year's Top Ten Nude Scenes, and who wouldn't enjoy talking about THAT for 25 minutes or so??
So who made the list? Well, I don't want to spoil anything, but this just in: Salma Hayek has one seriously amazing body, and apparently she wasn't too shy about showing it off in Robert Towne's Ask the Dust -- and that's why she earned 2006's #1 spot! Other bare-chested award-winners include Gretchen Mol, Kyra Sedgwick, Jennifer Aniston and one of those amazingly evil hotties from Hostel. For a full run-down of the clothing-deficient cuties, Zap2it.com has a fairly solid breakdown -- although I think it's cheating for Mr. Skin to include direct-to-video titles in the mix. Those flicks deserve their very own category!
So aside from the ten already spotlighted, what stands as your most memorable piece of cinema skin from 2006? (I can only assume the Skinjedi have yet to see Kate Winslet shine in Little Children.) And yes, that includes half-naked men, I suppose. Wouldn't want to alienate the ladies! [Thanks to USA Today's PopCandy for the tip!]
Think about a room full of five million people. Now imagine they all bought one copy of your DVD. That's (kinda) what happened yesterday when Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest hit the video stores: People went entirely hog wild to get their hands on a copy for Little Timmy or Cousin Janey or ... themselves. (I'm entirely certain that my early review of the DVD was a huge factor in the sales department, and I'd like a Thank You card from Mickey himself. Or Belle.)
By selling 5 million units in one day, POTC2 is on track to become the biggest DVD ever (live-action division) and, combined with the cash-geysers that met a bunch of recent Disney DVDs (The Little Mermaid, Cars, Narnia), is sure to make everyone at the Mouse House all giddy with greenery. And by greenery, I mean cash. (Too bad they still have to fire all those animators, eh?)
For the record, the all-time biggest-selling DVD is Finding Nemo, which sold approximately 142 kamitojillion units, whereas the lowest-selling DVD of all time is BloodRayne, which at last count sold 12 copies. (It used to be 14, but two of 'em were returned for store credit after the buyers' moms saw that prison scene.)
Clearly all this digital pirate booty bodes well for the third and (ha!) final chapter in the Pirates trilogy ... and then I'll be back here next year announcing that the Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End DVD just sold 6 million units in one day. One of which will be mine.
(Quick poll for those who bought the DVD already: Did you get the 1-discer or the sweet, sweet 2-platter version?)
It's not like my parents intended to screw me up religiously, that's just how it went down. Growing up, things were just confusing -- my father was Jewish and my mother converted, which meant her side of the family was Catholic. My father's previous wife was also Catholic, and so my two half-brothers and half-sister decided to live their life according to Jesus. Me? I went to my cousin's Bar Mitzvah when I was, like, six and was totally mesmerized by the fact that a kid could have this huge party dedicated only to him. Thus, I decided to be Jewish -- not knowing anything about the years of Hebrew School I'd have to take on -- strictly for the Bar Mitzvah party. Funnily enough, when I finally did have my Bar Mitzvah, I didn't even know enough people to have a party, so my parents took me on a trip to California -- a place I had always dreamed about traveling to (because, to a kid from New York City, California is on the other side of the world -- so exotic, sunny and full of big Hollywood stars).
Even while I was in training for my Bar Mitzvah, for some reason my parents still wanted me to believe in Santa and open up presents under the Christmas tree. Of course, while I was still in Hebrew School, they'd be gracious enough to hide a menorah in the corner so that I wouldn't forget what the Jews were doing in December. Following the Bar Mitzvah, the menorah was gone, we stopped going to Synagogue, the Christmas trees got bigger and my little sister -- who was three when I officially became a man in the eyes of the Jewish religion -- decided all of this was way too f**ked up for her, and so she became a Buddhist. Still with me? Though my family weren't traditional Jews (in the sense that we actually celebrated the Jewish holidays), our household was forever filled with Jewish humor. One of my earliest memories of my parents was watching them screen Annie Hall over and over again, as my father would shout at me, "Don't worry Erik, one day you'll get this movie." My father also insisted on taking me to see Jackie Mason on Broadway a few times, we traveled to the Catskills, Seinfeld was constantly quoted around the living room and, till this day, there isn't a table that exists in any restaurant where my mother won't feel a draft. (I promise, we're getting to the short films -- just keep reading ... )
I've heard more rumors about Idiocracy than any other film this year. The Mike Judge-directed movie had a surprisingly limited release in September -- perhaps because it was considered unmarketable by Fox, or perhaps because Judge and Twentieth Century Fox had a dispute and the release was merely for contractual obligations. No one knows, and Judge isn't talking. And I heard a rumor that the movie might not even get a DVD release, because Fox wanted to wash its hands of the film. I saw the movie twice when it played in Austin, and I thought that it would be stupid not to release the movie on DVD. It's far from perfect, but it's full of enjoyable gags that could lead to a cult following similar to that for Judge's previous film, Office Space.
Perhaps Fox agrees with me, because this morning I found out that Idiocracy is scheduled for a January 9 DVD release. I noticed that the DVD cover art (partially shown above) is very different from the original movie poster from Idiocracy, and I actually find it an improvement. It's probably intended to appeal to the Office Space crowd, especially since the cover also says "From the creator of Office Space, Mike Judge." The DVD looks pretty bare-bones in terms of features: the only listed special feature so far is a set of five deleted scenes. My guess would be that the deleted scenes are the ones that Judge was unable to finish with the necessary special effects because of budget constraints: the scene at the Liberry of Congress, and maybe even the National Fart Museum. Did you really expect a commentary track from Mike Judge, or a featurette on why the movie didn't get a wide release? I feel lucky that we're getting a DVD at all, and thankful that the rest of the country will get a chance to see the movie. Will it tank on DVD, or will Judge fans walk around saying, "Welcome to Costco, I love you!" and making naughty jokes about Starbucks lattes? I'm hoping for the latter.
If you're like me and love movies but don't relish the thought of going out to the theater all that much, then you most likely have some sort of home theater setup. And if you're also like me, you probably have a High Def TV so you can maximize your viewing experience by watching as many of your favorite movies and TV programs in High Def as possible. 
Piracy is nothing new, especially since the explosion of Napster back when it was a pirated mp3 heaven. Now, half the time we hit the theaters or buy/rent a DVD, we have to sit through a whole spiel on movie piracy. Beyond questioning the actual validity of MPAA and movie company claims, there is a consumer backlash of people fed up with being treated like a pirate with no cause. The current rant on 
While surfing online this afternoon, I stumbled upon three pretty funny videos and wondered, "Gee, some of the readers over at Cinematical might enjoy these." Okay, I lied -- first I wondered whether or not I had any food in the fridge, and then came the videos. Check it out:
Barnyard: The Original Party Animals
Hey, we finally know why 
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A mother in San Jose is claiming to have discovered what is commonly referred to in the gaming/DVD world as an 'easter egg' in a 
It's not just because I've done some work for 
Think about a room full of five million people. Now imagine they all bought one copy of your DVD. That's (kinda) what happened yesterday when 
I've heard more rumors about 
