evil blogger

First, check out the new trailer for director Neill Blomkamp’s (yeah, that’s Neill with two “L’s”) upcoming film “District 9″, in which extraterrestrials have become refugees in South Africa, and are forced to live in slum-like conditions until they find a kindred spirit in a government agent that is exposed to their biotechnology. It’s an interesting twist on “alien movies”. Some people (yours truly included) will find the trailer oddly familiar.

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The new Star Wars trilogy gets a lot of flak for not living up to the original. Complaints include the addition of too “kid-friendly” and over-the-top Jar Jar Binks, wooden acting by both actors portraying Anakin Skywalker, corny dialogue and too much focus on making money. However, with all the faults the original trilogy may or may not have had (give Hayden Christensen some slack: you wouldn’t sound any better reading from his script), Star Wars fans, and humanity in general needed Episodes I through III. Because regardless of George Lucas’ scriptwriting abilities, the man knows how to tell a damn good story. Listed below, in no particular order, are a few of the (I’m sure) many reasons why it was worth seeing Star Wars Episodes I, II, and III, and how they gave us goosebumps like the original did.

1. Jedi at the pinnacle of power: In the original trilogy we were introduced to two bon-a-fide Jedi: Obi-wan Kenobi and Yoda, and they were both old and crotchety and completely irrelevant to the rest of the universe. In the modern trilogy, and most noticeably in Episode II: Attack of the Clones, we see the Jedi for what they are: an army badass policemen.
   Goosebump moment: Seeing lightsabers light up all around the stadium in Geonosis before seeing the Jedi charge a massive mechanized army.
2. Lightsaber battles: While we’re on the topic, there’s one category in which the modern trilogy is unquestionably superior to the original: lightsaber duels. Looking back at A New Hope, Obi-wan’s duel with Darth Vader was nothing more than a lame shuffle between two old men. Emotional though it was, action-packed it was not. Luke provided a bit more athleticism and excitement to a lightsaber duel but it still pales in comparison to the modern trilogy.
   Goosebump moment: While each Episode attempted to out-due the lightsaber battle of it’s predecessor (and probably succeeded), Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace ushered in the new era of Star Wars with Darth Maul’s double-edged lightsaber. With one swift, sexy move, Darth Maul officially blew our minds.
3. Yoda: There’s a little overlap here, but Yoda is one of the most famous characters in any medium, period. Episode II: Attack of the Clones saw him get a digital face lift. Whether or not you liked Yoda’s new look (you have to admit, they did a pretty good job… just look at the whites of his eyes, the weaving of his robe… he was almost real), the ends justified the means, because we got to see him kick ASS. It took five movies before we got to see the universe’s greatest Jedi fight someone. I’d say it was worth the wait.

Goosebump moment: Yoda uses the force to pull out his lightsaber and turns it on.

4. Formation of the Empire: It’s poetry… and most definitely a space opera. For nearly the entire modern trilogy, the Republic is the shining star of the galaxy. It represents good, as do our main characters. The Separatists are evil, and the main characters do battle against them. And yet, through the complacent allowance of the corruption of power, we see the Separatists in a different light. Were “we” wrong? Was the Republic what we thought it was? [For those Star Wars fans who also enjoy the NFL, see here.] Suddenly the roles of good and evil are reversed in such an epic way, it’s almost beautiful to stand back and look at the transformation of galactic government over the course of the six films. Jar Jar Binks and lightsabers aside, that’s some pretty heavy stuff when you think about it.
   Goosebump moment: Not as easy to pinpoint as the others on this list, but seeing the clone troopers for the first time, and Palpatine taking center stage of the Senate “as” Lord Sidious are a couple of great scenes.
5. Villains: The original trilogy had one main bad guy: Darth Vader. And though he was, and still is considered one of the greatest villains ever, he wouldn’t really cut it if Star Wars came out for the first time this year. The modern trilogy introduced us to three distinct villains each with something new to bring to the table. Darth Maul, as was mentioned previously, had dual-sabers and a seriously menacing face. Episode II: Attack of the Clones had Lord Dooku, Yoda’s old padawan who flashed a snazzy little curved saber and proved he could go toe-to-toe with the most powerful Jedi in the universe. Episode III: Revenge of the Sith trumped the previous five films with one of the coolest villains ever with some of the most badass potential possible. I say potential because the film didn’t really do this dangerous killing machine. His fighting prowess didn’t get nearly enough screen time, especially given the sneak peek Star Wars fans got with the animated Cartoon Network miniseries The Clone Wars.
   Goosebump moment: Each villain came with their own, but seeing General Grievous whip out four lightsabers has to be at or near the top. If Maul’s two sabers were good… four is twice as good no?

Regardless of your feelings towards George Lucas, Jar Jar Binks, the new animated Clone Wars film, or the TV series set to come out, deep down you all know the prequels had redeeming qualities.  Deep down you all know there were a few moments that made you feel like a kid again.

With The Dark Knight blowing the minds of moviegoers everywhere, and Christopher Nolan’s name being thrown around with the likes of “Jesus” and “God,” it seems only fitting that another Nolan get his credit: Christopher’s brother, Jonathan.

For those of you who have been Christopher Nolan fans long before The Dark Knight, you’re already aware of his impeccable track record:

• The Dark Knight (2008)
• The Prestige (2006)
• Batman Begins (2005)
• Insomnia (2002)
• Memento (2000)

Three of those marvelous films were penned by Jonathan Nolan (Memento, The Prestige, The Dark Knight). A good director needs a great script to become a great director, and it’s safe to say Christopher Nolan is a great director, so let’s look at the great writing that has sent him to the top, starting with “the beginning.”

Memento
This film was truly remarkable. The whole film plays backwards? It’s so complicated and intricate it’s absolutely beautiful. The film starring Guy Pearce was based on a short story Jonathan wrote in college revolving around a man unable to make short-term memories. To cope with this he writes notes and tattoos on his body and convinces himself to escape from an asylum to track down the man who killed his wife and gave him the amnesia-inducing head injuries. While on a road trip from Chicago to Los Angeles, Jonathan pitched the idea to his brother Christopher, who loved it and asked him to write up a draft. Christopher then began working up a screenplay from Jonathan’s first draft while Jonathan continued to finish the short story. Ultimately the two stories (”Memento mori,” and Memento) were very different, but it was Jonathan Nolan’s idea that got his brother’s juices flowing. Memento was so good you it’s probably safe to say it launched Christopher’s career. So thank Jonathan for that.

The Prestige
2006 saw two period magician films. A little odd? Yeah. The Illusionist involved the Incredible Nazi-loving Hulk actor Edward Norton using his “magic” to woo Jessica Biel. The Prestige saw Wolverine and Batman act like the mind-bending bad-ass magicians they are (oh, and David Bowie plays Nikola Tesla and does all sorts of crazy things with electricity and accents…hell yes). Jonathan Nolan adapted the script (with help from brother Christopher) from a novel by Christopher Priest. The end result was a beautifully scripted, visually stunning, twisting and turning story that’s worth watching at least another four times.

The Dark Knight
I’ll spare the review of The Dark Knight, as you’ve all already seen it (at least once) or have heard of its greatness. While the acting on every level was superb (hey…give Christopher a little credit for Heath Ledger’s goosebump-inducing performance), it would not have been possible without some a beautifully twisted script that took Batman to the dark depths where the character belongs.

Christopher Nolan has a heavy burden on his shoulders, knowing that the world expects nothing but greatness from him from here on out. But he should take comfort in the fact that he has an equally-genius brother to help write the stories that will enthrall us for years to come.

Random fact: Though both Christopher and Jonathan were born in London, Jonathan has more of an American accent and Christopher has more of an English accent. Now you can impress your friends!

Sources: imdb.com, wikipedia.org

Social network site MySpace claims to be responsible for the world’s first ever community-created feature length film. Here’s an excerpt of the article from the TimesOnline:

For Faintheart, a comedy centring on a battle reenactment club, the director and much of the music were chosen by users of the networking site MySpace.

The same online group was asked to compete in auditions for some of the smaller parts and users were even asked how elements of the plot should develop.

“It’s the world’s first publicly generated movie,” said Jamie Kantrowitz, vice-president of marketing for MySpace. “It’s about involving a potential audience for a movie in the making of the film itself.”

This really isn’t anything spectacular because if you read behind the “press release” you can see that a production company put up 1.3 million pounds (about 2.6 million dollars) and more or less went overboard with getting some community feedback. The MySpace community hardly created it themselves and were simply the beneficiaries of a stunt. Were it a collaborative effort spawned out of the blue within the community, I would be impressed, but this is nothing short of expensive marketing. Don’t expect this to catch on, especially not in Hollywood. See the rest of the article here.