Doghouse - Film and everything inbetween...

Now there's a Batman...

2011-08-13T14:28:00.006+01:00

Sure those of you out there that care have already seen the new Batman videos and photos of a snowy Gotham, fighting in the streets and the new Batwing...
If you haven't here are some...

Batwing.

Football Stadium shoot - love the broken field prop/set

Check this link for more photos...

More details here...

Woof.

Hope given to me by the Terminator...

2011-07-25T23:44:00.005+01:00

Check out these 10 deleted-scenes-that-would-have-ruined-the-film on Cracked.com.

Reasons for their removal are more obvious than others, the crabbing Alien looks more like a goof than a deleted scene. Strangely enough the deleted T2 scene dosen't seem to be on the DVD or Blu-Ray edition of the film. Weird.

I love Roger Rabbit and this makes great viewing, quite a twisted idea.

Interesting watching though, also check this link with nearly six minutes of footage from the failed Wonder Woman pilot. Not terrible but not good either. Why did the 1970's version work, perhaps it didn't.

We've been betrayed...

2011-07-18T22:22:00.003+01:00

So I didn't feel left out, I watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 the other day. I'm not a huge Potter fan, I've never read the books, probably never will and although I'm proud that one of the most successful film franchise of all time is British, I find the films quite difficult to get on with. I'm an adult who understands the hero's journey and all that, but I have always found the Potter films hard to follow, they skip time in such a subtle way and there are so many characters. I'm probably just not that interested. Christ I've sat through Cleopatra and the directors cut of Dances with Wolves. And I understand Dune, (Okay so I don't understand Dune)

Deathly Hallows Part 1 was no exception to it's predecessors, at best it felt like a filler for the epic conclusion that has just hit theaters. Almost like standing next to an ugly person makes you look better - Deathly Hallows Part 2 couldn't be any worse than it's older brother...

Anyway, as an editor I was itching to cut all the boring 'Lord Of The Rings' style aimless wandering about out of Hallows Part 1 so I was rather pleased to find this.

These chaps have gone even further and condensed the last 7 movies into seven minutes...

Green Bay...

2011-07-03T14:12:00.005+01:00

Michale Bay caught reusing footage from The Island in Transformers 3.

This is actually quite cool, I guess just to fill a couple of shots that you didn't get or couldn't fit into the schedule. It dosen't detract, not like some old films using stock footage of things they couldn't film or couldn't afford to shoot and The Island is fairly old now. Disney have been doing it for years. There is a recession on...

X-men: First Class has a couple of ropey old 1970's Las Vegas shots at the top of the movie, it may have been a stylistic decision but I didn't think it worked...

You look like a hood ornament...

2011-06-28T21:02:00.003+01:00

Remember the 1991 film Rocketeer? Check this 20th Anniversary animation...

Someone had to say it...

2011-06-24T13:40:00.003+01:00

Magnited States of America...

2011-06-23T19:37:00.003+01:00

If you're ever in the US check out Alamo Drafthouse cinemas. They have great customer relations.

This is great. If it was my cinema I would have taken you out the back and...

Everything is a Remix...

2011-06-23T13:56:00.004+01:00

Kirby Ferguson has so far produced 3 x 10 minute parts to his Everything is a Remix series. Part one: The Song Remains the Same, deals with music and bands and according to Ferguson the inevitably copying or stealing from others. Part two: Remix Inc. looks at the big business of using popular pulp in Hollywood film making and Part 3: The Elements of Creativity touches on the shared general knowledge and building blocks of industrial design.

All of Ferguson's films are well written and slick in execution, they do however feel like a trailer for a more heavy weight and in depth documentary series which I fear will never manifest. I also can't help think that he sometimes takes it too far, or in some cases, misses the point of the homage or reference altogether.

In Part 2: Remix Inc. Ferguson looks at the films of Quentin Tarantino, mainly Kill Bill part 1 and 2, revealing and comparing where he suspects Tarantino has borrowed/referenced a style from other movies. In Tarantino's case this is probably done quite deliberately, not in some attempt to enhance or better his work in a cheating fashion, but as a homage, a subtle celebration of the films that he loves.

Ferguson also compares Star Wars to WW2 dogfights and a handful of old samurai films where Lucas may have borrowed some plot points. He also points out that many scenes in Star Wars take direction directly from the early the Flash Gorden TV show's, not surprising as I remember reading that Lucas embarked his Star Wars project because he wanted to make Flash Gorden but rumor had it Dino de Laurentiis had already bought rights.

Ferguson's films are engaging enough, but I do feel that he is quick to accuse creative talent of homage or borrowing, sometimes these similarity's could be down to fashions or just using the language of film to put across an idea...

Check out the others here. Here's more Tarantino references.

Don't be afrid...

2011-06-13T11:41:00.003+01:00

Quite excited about this film...

Guillermo del Toro up to his usual tricks.

Pic of the day...

2011-06-07T21:49:00.006+01:00

Quitn from Ain't It Cool News has been posting a daily behind the scene picture for a while now. Sent in by readers from all over the internet, the pic of the day thread is one of the highlights of reading Ain't It Cool, not just reserved for serious geeks some of these shots are a snapshot into a past world. A successful film might reach a wide audience and in some sense have an immortal quality, these pictures show the workings behind those iconic sequences, I love them.

The only collection I've found (thanks to Mad Dog), other than trawling through the Ain't it Cool archive, is here.

Falling Down...

2011-06-06T12:41:00.001+01:00

I've been falling out of love with the Foo Fighters for a while now and their latest rip off video pretty much seals the deal.

Some may call it homage to the 18 year old Falling Down but it seems a shame they didn't go with Phil Hodges puppetised version submitted to the This Video Sucks contest, set up by the Foo's. Makes no sense to me...

The Reich Side of the Moon...

2011-05-18T09:55:00.001+01:00

So not factually correct I take it...

Talking of Deloreans...

2011-04-22T18:00:00.004+01:00

Check out the new video from the Beastie Boys...

Looks like a part one - judging buy the teaser this should be great. Everyone's in it...

Back To The Future Part 1 & 2 Synced..

2011-04-20T13:50:00.008+01:00

I remember cutting the milk bar, cafe 80's and saloon scenes together at collage as an editing project. It really showed off the brilliant repetition of these films. This is going one step beyond, I must admit I have thought about doing this. Brilliant.

Stanley Kubrick's Boxes...

2011-04-06T09:34:00.007+01:00

If you're a Stanley Kubrick fan and at a loose end on Friday check out journalist Jon Ronson's Stanley Kubrick's Boxes at the Gate Picture House in Notting Hill at 8.30. With a Q&A and a screening of Kubrick's Vietnam war epic Full Metal Jacket. £12.oo online and it hasn't sold out yet...

I had the privilege of working as an editor on Kubrick's Boxes and Ronson's access behind the gates of the Kubrick estate is a great insight into the man and myth. For a more on the doco, check out this Doghouse post from the depths, July 2008. (With a great pic by Marcus Yau.)

Rutger Hauer with a Shotgun...

2011-04-02T12:38:00.005+01:00

Unknown first time director and writer Jason Eisener is just about to release the brilliant looking Hobo With A Shotgun starring Rutger Hauer as the Hobo, a homeless vigilante with a pump action gun and a hatred of all that's bad. It's based on Eisener's fake trailer of the same name used in the intermission on Grin dhouse.
Check out the trailer...

And if you have a spare 15 mins check out this short by Eisener, it's about trees getting their own back. He seems to like revenge.

I love his Tarantino-esque use of typography too, plus his use of retro sound F/X.
Woof...

Dogboarding...

2011-03-29T12:05:00.001+01:00

Always get the K&R insurance...

2011-03-25T11:21:00.001Z

Everyone loves Russian Raymond...

He say you Blade Runner...

2011-03-23T23:25:00.001Z

Great video showing the real locations used in the filming of the sci-fi classic Blade Runner.

From the fantastic Frank Lloyd Wright house at 2655 Glendower Avenue in LA to the amazing transformation of Union Station. There is some nice match photography here, however I'd like to point out that the opening shot of Blade Runner's smoggy L.A. was in fact a miniature created by the SFX team, not an enhanced shot of real L.A...

Check out more like this at On the set's YouTube channel...

I just want to be your friend...

2011-03-22T12:02:00.002Z

Blinky™ from Ruairi Robinson on Vimeo.

19th-century Inception...

2011-03-14T23:24:00.000Z

Death-cock...

2011-03-14T22:50:00.000Z

Death scenes from 36 of Alfred Hitchcock's movies, synchronised to climax in unison.

E.T. phone Turkey...

2011-03-13T20:38:00.004Z

A great E.T. copy from Turkey.

This is too creepy, not sure they have captured the family feel of the original.
Thanks to the smashing FAKIES blog for posting this originally.

TRON: Uprising...

2011-03-05T10:57:00.003Z

This will probably be better than TRON: Legacy...

Cool looking animated TRON series from Disney telling the story of how we got to the end featuring the voices of Elijah Wood and Lance Henriksen due for Summer 2012...

Take a look again...

2011-03-02T22:51:00.002Z

You've seen the latest Old Spice ad - Scent Vacation...

Now see how it was made, he dosen't really go anywhere - brilliant.

I love behind the scenes stuff. This answers a few questions, great how it all starts with practical effects.
Woof.

Really tied the room together man...

2011-03-02T22:42:00.004Z

Tech Tron Lebowski mash up thing...

Phoney Home...

2011-02-23T21:52:00.003Z

They may have taken this fan trailer a little too far...

Where the hell am I supposed to find silver bullets? K-Mart?

2011-02-21T23:44:00.003Z

Shane Black to write/direct Iron Man 3? If it's anything like Monster Squad I'm there...

Love this film.

Apollo 18...

2011-02-21T21:58:00.001Z

This might be quite good. Moon meets REC or something...

You decide...

2011-02-18T10:50:00.003Z

...shouldn't be too difficult.

I would hate to see it out of control...

2011-02-16T22:29:00.005Z

In fact I would love to. A loss of control is probably what Inception was lacking, a little chaos in Nolan's sterile world would have helped the whole experience greatly.

Love Inception or hate it you can't escape what a massive undertaking it must have been making a film on this scale...

Check out this making of video, pretty cool stuff. Good to see that although there are many digital effects in the film, most build on practical in-camera effects. I think the train sequence is the my favorite...
All these featurettes are on the Blu-ray release of the film.

Geek Wars...

2011-02-09T00:21:00.004Z

Check out this great fan boys unofficial re-cut of Star Wars Ep. 4 with loads of brilliant geek making of stuff tied in...

It's also been done to Empire and Jedi. Check it out...

Reginald Poofta...

2011-01-30T15:02:00.003Z

David Brent bumps into Michael Scott. Brilliant promo.

Why 3D doesn't work and never will. Case closed...

2011-01-24T23:58:00.005Z

...by Walter Murch, the most respected film editor and sound designer in modern cinema.
So he knows what he's talking about.

If the 3D boom lies uneasy with you; have a read of this brilliant letter from Walter Murch to Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times. He's not impressed either.

Woof.

Life After Beth...

2011-01-11T17:03:00.006Z

Mystereious Al's heart wrenching film debut is finally online for all to see.

Well done to all who helped create this brilliant film.
Take 6 minutes to watch it at the Life After Beth Microsite, for a guaranteed lump in your throat...

Hombre Lobo...

2011-01-05T22:32:00.001Z

Guillermo Del Toro Alka Seltza ad from 1991, not only did he direct it - he's in it...
Epic.

Let's Rock the Google Doc's...

2011-01-05T13:43:00.003Z

Amazing animation using only Google doc's...

We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. - Walt Disney

Back to the set...

2011-01-04T16:15:00.002Z

Collection of 1955/1985 photos form the Back To The Future set...

Nothing's real anymore...

2011-01-04T15:42:00.004Z

Cool special effects before-and-after shots from the first season of HBO's prohibition series, Boardwalk Empire...

Makes me realise you can make anything - anything's possible.

RIP Pete...

2011-01-03T10:05:00.002Z

Oscar-nominated actor Pete Postlethwaite dies aged 64...

Comedy Central...

2010-12-14T22:56:00.000Z

Bad ass Comedy Central promo...

Comedy Central's New Logo from Cliff Kuang on Vimeo.

Light Jousting...

2010-12-12T22:52:00.002Z

Super-retro Daft Punk music video Derezzed for their new Tron:Legacy soundtrack.

Doc, where are you?

2010-12-06T22:02:00.002Z

New Back To Te Future Game goes on the market this month...

Sure it'll be brilliant, but I have to say, with all the amazing hyper real texturing and CG moeling that goes into games these days, this looks a little flat...

Beep beep...

2010-12-06T00:18:00.002Z

Coyote Falls, brilliant CGI interpretation of an old Warner Bros. favorite...

Get away from her you bit...

2010-12-01T11:01:00.002Z

Benni Diez tronitizes Aliens in a sci-fi mashup...
Too cool. Look out for the Ain't it cool logo...

God this equipment's heavy...

2010-11-29T23:44:00.002Z

Sorry I missed this Bill Murry/GB acceptance speech at the Scream Awards, I've been t'up north doing editing...
Very cool stuff...

An OK Lieutenant dvd review...

2010-11-29T17:32:00.005Z

Dear Weiner... I mean Werner

Well your film wasn't brilliant, clever or great, it was as the title suggests OK... The Bad Lieutenant your latest flop was alright... I was definitely missing Keitel and his amazing performance. Why choose Nick Cage?. Nick Cages' veins and lack of sideburns although might look good for his character, it made me feel sick. I don't know what has happened to Cage, maybe its age...? I'm pretty sure he was good and not bad in Leaving Las Vegas which was bloody brilliant... But then it did have a great director... You suck.

A new adaptation of an old story... Boring... Where has your originality gone, did you ever have any? Did Hollywood's safe betting on re-makes and sequels appeal to you?... Did it make you feel like you might be closer to not making another flop..? Werner if I were Eddie Murphy in the Raw era and not his Daddy Day Care years, I'd be asking "What have you done for me lately"... Actually why are you deemed so great...? You are mad and your Iguanas are really annoying... Apart from Grizzly Man where you had a great story that you couldn't f**k up your curriculum vitae isn't so hot is it?... Rescue Dawn yeah whatever... I need to be rescued from your films. You probably get on really well with Bale maybe he could teach you how to shout at your D.O.P...

On the Plus side Xzibit was an inspired choice for you, you actually realised that 8 mile was a decent film... Could you make a film that good..?

Anyhow I must go now, I've got another film to watch and dislike.

Peace Out
Geeagle x

P.S. Herzog When you're using cameras and not too busy putting the clapper board on yourself... get your Curry Wurst munching meat head of a D.O.P. or one of his team to clean and dust off the lenses... I hate seeing dust on the lens whilst looking into the light... It gets on my moobs.

WANT...

2010-11-29T16:41:00.003Z

2011 Time Travelers Calender from Alex Likes Design...

R.I.P. Leslie Nielsen & Irvin Kershner...

2010-11-29T13:34:00.008Z

The super funny leader of spoof Leslie Nielsen has passed away at 84.
Check out Ain't It Cool's heartfelt post, some great clips too. I agree Forbidden Planet, is a corner stone of Cinematic sci-fi...

*UPDATE*

I hadn't realised until just idly digging around online that Irvin Kershner has died too! Director of arguably the best Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Robocop 2 died aged 87. Dam it.

Inspected, approved, catogory 3...

2010-11-25T10:03:00.000Z

Nothing is real anymore....

2010-11-24T22:09:00.000Z

I don't know why I'm still amazed by the outstanding level of VFX work involved in features - but I am. Check out this making of short looking at the opening titles of "Enter the Void". French visual effects studio BUF completed nearly 350 vfx shots for the film. It's absolutely fantastic work. (Originally spotted over at Motionographer)

Who you gonna call? Fu*@k you...

2010-11-15T19:37:00.002Z

Ghostbusters Return - watch more funny videos

Third time's a charm...

2010-11-14T10:44:00.004Z

Remember Back to the Future Part 2? Remember the confusing alternative 1985? Remember The Biff Tannen Museum? Check this out...

BTTF.com has got their hands on this exclusive never-before-scene clip of the full 3 and a half minute video bio for Biff Tannen seen briefly in Back To The Future 2.

The VHS tape was obtained through a fan that had family connections to the production of the Back To The Future films. This clip above does not appear on any official Back To The Future release! Cool! (Original post found on Doobybrain.com)

Of course it was your fault...

2010-11-13T16:42:00.005Z

If you watch TV or look around when you're outside I'm sure you would have seen the Currys and PC World Star Wars ad's...

Compared to all the other stuff released by Lucas Film in the last say 10 years, this is actually quite charming, with R2 and Threepio playing to their strengths...

Just get released already...

2010-11-11T20:07:00.002Z

I super can't wait for this film. It had better not be rubbish...

Snow White remix...

2010-11-08T19:26:00.001Z

Just makes me want to watch Snow White again...

Jack Foley...

2010-11-06T11:45:00.003Z

This dude comes across as a bit of a douche, but at least he's passionate. Good insight into the dark art of sound effects... I love the metal spatula for the sword ringing.

Hate...

2010-11-01T17:44:00.007Z

Firstly Thank you Cosmo for letting me contribute to your blog.

Secondly I'm in a bad mood with old film directors so apologies if I cause offense but I think I have a point and I welcome any discussion on this matter... and no I don't care if they are all old men now there's no excuse, most of them are multi-millionaires so why not just give up....Maybe this is the correlation. Young director = Good Film... Old Director = Bad Film... I'm starting to get sick of shit movies by old school, over the hill, once were good directors. I'm sick of the shit that they keep rolling out. I'm sick of them riding on their old reputations to get their films bankrolled, and I'm concerned that they think that huge budgets and CGI usage will help their shit films be good...

Were good, now shit old school directors. In order of shittest longest time since their last good cinematic release...

No.1 Francis Ford Coppola (Last good film made - Godfather: Part 2 1974)
No.2 Peter Weir (Last good film made - Mosquito Coast 1986)
No.3 John 'The Killer' Landis (Last good film made - Coming to America 1988)
No.4 James Cameron (Last good Film made- Terminator 2 1991)
No.5 Brian Di Palma (Last good film made- Carlitos Way 1993)
No.6 Steven Spielberg (Last good film made - Jurrasic Park 1993)
No.7 Robert Zemeckis (Last good film made - Forrest Gump 1994)
No.8 Terrence Malick (Last good film - The Thin Red Line 1998)
No.9 Ridley Scott (Last good film made - Black Hawk Down 2001)
No.10 Martin Scorcesse (Last good film made - The Departed 2006)

Whilst Im on this rant. Stone...WTF...!! Why have I left you out you tripped out sorry ass vietnam vet... What were you on making Wall Street 2? Having a flashback... It's desperation mate, we haven't seen a good film off of you since... Hang on I will just check imdb... (5ins later) Since JFK, or perhaps Platoon...? You are a has been. Not even if you shouted like Pacino in Any Given Sunday would you convince me of your skills. Your twisty turny craney cgi mixed shots in Wall Street 2 were shit by the way. I want my £5.90 back. I'm sooo cross with you I'm excluding you from my hate list...

More to follow. Sorry for the cursing.
Peace out.

Geeagle

Survive...

2010-10-27T13:05:00.002+01:00

Smashing widdley electro from Daft Punk, showcasing shots from the coolest looking film Disney have released in years.

Put a Bing on it...

2010-10-23T11:22:00.001+01:00

Fantastic Argos ad...

Making of...

Power Laces! Alright...

2010-10-15T11:36:00.001+01:00

Back to the Fox...

2010-10-14T12:49:00.002+01:00

This is an awesome teaser remake, Fox is still the king of the cool teens.

Heavy...

2010-10-13T09:34:00.006+01:00

As you all know, Back to the Future is doing the rounds at your local flee pit on it's 25 year anniversary. What you may not know is that it could have been a very different film and in a alternate 1985 it kinda was. Aside from a very different original script involving a fridge and an H-bomb - See Indy 4 - Marty McFly was gonna be played by Eric Stoltz. I remember reading this in one of my many BTTF annuals when I was a kid - but seeing Stoltz as Mcfly in this clip if pretty cool.

Eye Carumba!!!

2010-10-11T17:25:00.002+01:00

So dark...

Allegedly Banksy himself story-boarded and directed this alternative Simpson's title sequence.
That kid needs to lighten up...

RIP Tony Curtis

2010-09-30T13:53:00.001+01:00

Another sad piece of news from Hollywood - screen legend Tony Curtis is with us no more after suffering cardiac arrest at his home in Nevada.

All I'm going to say is that Curtis made a wonderful woman....

Keep watching...

2010-09-28T23:40:00.001+01:00

RIP Sally Menke...

2010-09-28T23:35:00.003+01:00

Sally Menke, Quentin Tarantino's editor found dead. Sad news, I got the news late as I was in an edit all day. Needless to say she was quite a hero of mine. AICN already posted this, but it's good.

'What's the Pope's job?'

2010-09-26T11:36:00.006+01:00

Channel 4’s new reality interactive TV experiment.
‘Seven Days follows the interwoven lives of some of Notting Hill's most colourful characters’

After about 7 minuets I felt like I had to write something down.
As compelling as watching a torture film; it’s not nice and I hate it, but I continued to watch.

‘I wouldn’t even wear that dress for sick children.’

Sam and Laura the two hateful upper middle class girls in Soho shopping for a French maids dress, I missed why they require one, but it was the most entertaining strand of the show. Especially the line: ‘I hope no one sees me in here’ uttered by one of the girls as they entered Harmony, a licensed Soho sex emporium, followed by a camera crew. I’d like to think she was making a joke, but I doubt it.

They seem to hate each other and themselves, with zero self esteem and confidence, which is strange as I discover they are models and the maid outfits were for a tacky looking awards ceremony… Thinking about it, perhaps it’s not so strange.

‘I feel like Paula Radcliffe on her first marathon.’

Hannah, the 26-year-old mummy’s boy, - sorry girl. She reminds me of Tracey Emin, not sure why, big mouth I think, or perhaps it’s her vagueness towards her privileged life. Very dull trustafarian, not much to report. Highlight is her overuse of ‘Mummy’.

‘I’d rather be pregnant for every day of the rest of my life, rather than deal with the ensuing children.’

I didn’t get her name and I don’t care. What kind of mother says that? And what kind of mother says that on TV? Brilliant.

‘I put him in the fridge on his favorite pillow, I covered him in rose petals and want away for two and a half years.’

Keith Richards sound-a-like and property developer, sitting in his plunge pool talking about a cat he had for 14 years.

Moktar, a new law student doesn’t see the point in going to university if the government can’t guarantee him a job. Doe’s the state owe him a living? Or should he work hard to make something of his life? To be honest, who cares?

I just wanted to express some feelings about this show, I doubt I’ll watch it again, it’s not the programme makers I have a problem with; I just find the characters so shallow and hateful. It makes me squirm to watch, perhaps that’s an underling problem I have with my fellow humans or it might just be the people chosen to be in 7 days.

Check it out on 4oD.

Woof.

Micro motion...

2010-09-23T10:06:00.002+01:00

Aardman Animations have set a Guinness World Record for 'Smallest stop-motion animation character in a film', with their new short film: ‘Dot’...

Mobile cinema...

2010-09-18T12:06:00.005+01:00

Cool old skool government initiative cinema bus thing from the Ministry of Technology...

I want to hire this...

Assimilate this...

2010-09-15T22:36:00.002+01:00

Zombie Star Trek comedy...

No warning. No Mercy. No Escape...

2010-08-30T13:41:00.003+01:00

Paul Andrew Williams latest flick "Cherry Tree Lane" is on the warpath. It is a truly terrifying experience. Simple premise and claustrophobic as hell. Without giving too much away the story is set in one suburban home on, you guessed it, Cherry Tree Lane. Some ne'er do well youths break in and lay siege to the parents of a boy who has seriously pissed them off. There are a lot of "hoodie horrors" on the horizon but I have to say that this really does stand apart from the crowd. It has more of a feeling of Das Boot meets Straw Dogs via Funny Games. With the British Film Industry limping like a three legged whippet it's films like this and directors like Williams who prove that we truly have the best talent in the world. Quality not quantity. If you want to show support for this film then go to Steel Mill Productions and you will find links to the facebook, twitter and all other internet based things where one can show ones support...

One sheet...

2010-08-24T22:09:00.003+01:00

Film posters carry a lot of weight, they are usually the first images you see of a film, well that's how it was before the days of the internet hype machine. Drew Struzan was the man behind all the coolest posters when I was growing up. Now there is a documentary telling his story as one of the most recognizable and influential movie poster artists of all time.

It seems he's not the only one with the eye for misty film light. Check out Jerry Vanderstelt...

They don't make 'em like they used to...

2010-08-24T21:41:00.004+01:00

Silent Star Wars...

If you like this, check out the 1954 Ghost-busters trailer we posted a while back, or have a butchers at the 'Premakes' youtube channel...

Indy 5...

2010-08-23T23:59:00.002+01:00

F**k off.
Shia LaBeouf said it'll be crazy. Whatever.

Pure guinness...

2010-08-19T21:48:00.001+01:00

I'm Still Here...

2010-08-17T14:32:00.003+01:00

Elevator to hell...

2010-08-15T22:27:00.003+01:00

Original...

CG version...

Clever but pointless...
Although not as pointless as this video:

You die, choose again...

2010-08-15T20:50:00.003+01:00

I've seen a few interactive (choose your own adventure) type videos on you tube recently. Clever stuff, they make use of the annotation feature. The first is an animated break dancing Batman and Joker - impressive enough - but in this video you can choose your character and battle it out on the dance floor. Check the making of for a animation geek-out.

The second clever interactive video is a good example of 'you choose' narrative. Made for the New Zealand based pizza delivery company Hell Pizza. Pretty cool.

Your Lucky Day...

2010-08-15T18:11:00.001+01:00

A megaball drawing sends a convenience store spiraling out of control...

Space ain't black enough...

2010-08-11T18:04:00.005+01:00

How colourful...

2010-07-25T21:40:00.005+01:00

New nasty Machete trailer...

Comic-con...

2010-07-25T21:29:00.005+01:00

One day I hope to go to the San Diego comic-con...Check out the new Tron trailer released at the convention, looks amazing. Watch right to the end for the light jet! Amazing.

The movie event of the summer so far?

2010-07-23T15:49:00.018+01:00

Toy Story 3 arrives this week, just in time for the school holidays, other summer blockbuster fare include Predators, Shrek Forever After, The A-Team and The Karate Kid

Theses films are great examples of Hollywood blockbusters; Predators will have big sci-fi guns and luminous alien blood, Schrek 4 will be another twisted take on a fairy tale with retro fitted jokes, the A-Team will have a thin plot that ruins our childhood memories an loads of explosions and we can be sure Toy Story 3 will be funny, sad and the best 3D CG we’ve ever seen.

How do we know all this? They are all continuations of established franchises. Toy Story 3 is the third film in a trilogy that put Pixar on the baron CGI feature map and they won’t change their award winning formula - they’ll just build on it. Like most big films this summer, Hollywood just banks on pre-existing ideas with established characters and familiar plots.

Inception is different; it is a new script, and a new film. Sure it deals with themes and ideas that have been in fantasy and sci-fi writer’s collective conscience for decades, but as a film event it’s original. Brilliantly, mind bendingly original. A good way of looking at Inception is as an advanced summer blockbuster; it should have a limited sci-fi, cult audience akin to films like Alex Proyas’ Dark City, but more people will watch it due to it’s bankable stars like Leonardo DiCaprio helped out by it’s massive advertising push.

Nolan’s reboot of the tired Batman franchise has given comic book adaptations a grown up adult feel. And it seems doesn’t matter if you read them as a kid anymore, The Dark Knight broke a few box office records including the biggest grossing weekend and the highest opening week ever. So the public are voting with their feet and they seem to like his style. It’s these figures that allow Nolan to produce films like Inception. His unique position in Hollywood is something other filmmakers can only dream of at this level in their career. Nolan’s huge success has given him an unusual freedom and this freedom shows.

Nolan delivers something different with Inception, something cerebral, something we’ve seen in cinema before, but with the believability of his unique reality: The Matrix, but real. The story has a simple premise: That of the ultimate industrial espionage, stealing information from inner space, idea theft. Something I’m sure many government facilities have toyed with over the years.

However the plot of Inception is a little more complex and somewhat akin to the feel of it’s main subject; dreams. The worries and concerns of how I was going take in and believe this fantastical yet familiar world were soon quashed as the Russian doll of a script started to open up. The Matrix dared us to see how far the rabbit hole goes and Nolan has shown us. The labyrinthine script starts with a lengthy set up that is thankfully devoid of Star Trek techno babble, lots of new ideas, but easy to swallow and take onboard. We never really find out how those metal briefcases work, but it doesn’t matter, there is more at stake. Also the characters are introduced and set up, something an established franchise doesn’t have to do.

Then, as I was wondering where the train in the street was and where it was all going, it starts. James Bond style sieges and the nicest slo-mo ever, cross cutting between four or five scenarios, some in reality some not, but all real. No journey FX, no wobbly Avatar rainbow tubes to fall down. Just a sharp cut into a new exciting situation. As Cobb says, you don’t ever remember getting to where you are in a dream.

The tension builds and builds, more than helped out by another epic soundtrack by the brilliant Hans Zimmer, with touches of Vangelis’ Blade Runner soundscape. (Listen out for this on Top Gear soon!) The information we have gained from the first half comes into play in the second, all the dos and don’ts of this world unfold through the multilayered script. I do feel that Nolan’s writing could have benefited from a look over or a rewrite form an external source, I imagine his brother Jonathan Nolan gave him a helping hand, a few scenes did linger slightly and some dialogue did seem a little stilted.

The more I think about this movie the more I feel that I haven’t seen anything like it before and the more I want to see it again. Looking at films that delve in to the human psyche in a physical way don’t even seem to come close to Inception, What Dreams May Come or Identity for example.

I can highly recommend this movie to all. It’s best not to form much of an opinion or worry too much about the story, just wait and see. A word of advise; make sure you are not tired when viewing Inception, you may feel like you’ve nodded off and missed 20 minuets but stay with it. It’s more that worth it. Complicated but connected like Magnolia but I got it on the first watch.

I feel this review doesn't come close to what I want to really say about Inception. I've written and rewritten this review a few times and it still isn't quite right. I really want to keep it shortish...

I realise I haven't mentioned the brilliant performances for the supporting cast; Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy, the brilliant Ken Watanabe and the not as annoying-as-I-thought-she-would be Ellen Page Then there's Nolan's lucky charm Michael Caine and the creepy Cillian Murphy. Tom Berenger makes an appearance too and Cobb's disturbed wife played by the haunting Marion Cotillard. Also all the other references, the 2001: A Space Odyssey style room, the brilliant regretful tones of Édith Piaf's 'Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien', Wally Pfister's amazing photographic style and I haven't even touched on the sublime special effects. I feel I need to watch it again and again.

Woof.

Cigarette Burns...

2010-07-19T21:57:00.011+01:00

Seen the haunting, gorse, short Zombie film from the twisted vision of Mysterious Al?

No?!

Well get yourself down to Rosemary Branch's theater on the 7th of August for Night of the Long Shorts. Hosted by the smashing people at Cigarette Burns. The horror lineup looks pretty nasty, with an eclectic mix of award winning and innovative works. Check out their website for more details. Or if you like using Friendface check this link...
Plus if this is your thing - and it should be - swing by
the Mucky Pup on the first Monday of every month for more; 'cinematic diversions brought to you from our decaying minds.' Check the blog...

Hotel Hell Vacation...

2010-07-19T20:45:00.005+01:00

Shameless advertising campaign using the National Lampoon's Vacation franchise...

Watercolours...

2010-07-12T16:24:00.006+01:00

...they aren't cool.Well Mark McHaley thinks they are and he's right. I've recently become a fan of Geek Art and they have some pretty interesting stuff. Not all film related, but all geeky...

Bigger badder and no Lilo...

2010-07-12T11:51:00.005+01:00

Ain't it Cool said this was more mainstream than the last, that may be true but I doubt my Mother will be attending a screening of this film. Tarantino and Rodriguez should carry on parading and self referencing their films. A film based on a fake trailer from a revived Grindhouse format. Love it. If we could hang out with Freddy Newandyke and Mia Wallace, this is what they would watch.

An eye for an eye...

2010-07-03T17:04:00.008+01:00

“Versions” is a visual essay by Oliver Laric, investigating the re-appropriation and manipulation of images in our culture...
Check out the video here.
Worth a watch, quite mind bending but very good.

Dog day afternoon...

2010-06-28T20:27:00.001+01:00

Mind-blowing At-At animation.

I've seen things...

2010-06-25T23:20:00.001+01:00

I keep missing these, looked great...

Now there's something you don't see everyday...

2010-06-20T17:20:00.003+01:00

Game to film time again kids and this time it is one that is close to my heart. Sony are pushing for a 2011 release of an adaptation of Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. For anyone unfamiliar with the game it's essentially a good fun actioner with a very cinematic feel to it. You play Nathan Drake, a treasure hunter who is on the trail of The Gold of El Dorado. Set entirely on one Island Drake soon falls foul of various baddies. Think Indiana Jones meets Die Hard and you'd be sailing up the right river...

Don't get too excited as, although Sony want to push for a 2011 date, the film still has no director attached. Sony are "in talks" with David O. Russell of I Heart Huckabees fame and even the script is having an overhaul from Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer (Sahara and the new Conan film). So unless there is a small miracle or a hastily made substandard film is released it may still be some time before we see this exciting project take any kind of shape. Definitely one to watch out for though... or not.

Kermode...

2010-06-18T08:50:00.007+01:00

I've always admired, from afar, the film fanatic and critic Mark Kermode. I remember his glossy rockabilly hair on TV as a kid and getting confused between him and the drawn out Mark Cousins with his confusing inflection. Sorry Kermode.

However it wasn't until recently that I've started to seek Kermode's film chatter out. A director friend put me on to his BBC film blog, saying it was the only one worth looking at. He may have gone gray but there is still something spirited about his film stance, without being a hater. Plus he knows a thing or two about horror writings...

Although he's not a Star Wars fan, which he regards as 'a gross infantalisation of the dark hearted 'serious' sci-fi.' But no one is perfect. And to be fair, as ingrained as Star Wars is in my childhood, looking at the three prequels as stand alone sci-fi films, there's not much under the surface. Whatever, he was interviewing Werner Herzog when he was shot. Bad ass.

No no no no no no...

2010-06-17T13:14:00.006+01:00

Plus there is a Fraggle Rock movie in the pipeline too. A Weinstien production would you believe? Although they did do Hoodwinked!
Woof...

They're digging in the wrong place. Again!

2010-06-16T16:29:00.005+01:00

So the rumour mill surrounding Indiana Jones 5 keeps on grinding despite key players (Ford, Spielberg, LaBeouf) being skeptical. Indeed the only person who seems blindly optimistic is the man who caused all of the damage on Indy 4, George "creator and destructor of childhood dreams" Lucas. What has this mill spat out? Indiana Jones and the Bermuda Triangle... I shit you not.

As I say this is all, it would seem, just rumours so let's hope somebody smashes Big George's typewriter before he smashes any more dreams shall we?

Let everyone's favorite archeologist hang up his hat and whip with what little dignity he has left.

Let's talk about [REC] baby...

2010-06-15T16:02:00.003+01:00

What can one say about [REC]2? Well I guess one could say that it was a fairly pointless sequel really I mean where does one go after the rip roaring shocker that was [REC]? Well rather cleverly directors Jaume Balagueró (also writer) & Paco Plaza take us back to the quarantined apartment block from the first film immediately after it's predecessors grisly viral events. A swat team are sent in with a shady doctor to document the aftermath and try to find the cause and possible cure for the virus. Now the temptation here would be, at least for some to simply carry on that story happily with more infected residents popping up and spewing nasties all over the place. Not here, the writers throw in a rather enjoyable curve ball which turns the entire situation on it's head and makes for a fairly tense viewing experience. I won't ruin it for you.

The only thing that really let's this down is the story that runs parallel to the swat team's. Some curious children with a camcorder manage to sneak into a locked down, quarantined building and we are subjected to their squealing and running about for far longer than is necessary. In fact it feels as if this chapter was thrown in to pad out the film. T

here are some nice cross over points of the two groups and some inventive camera techniques too as the film is all P.O.V. of each character. Think of a very bloody Peep Show. All in all loads of fun and I think one of the best horror experiences for a while. Now we wait for the yanks to remake it starring Kevin Bacon, Penélope Cruz and some of the kids from High School Musical:.
Bastards!

No fangs for the memories...

2010-06-15T10:46:00.007+01:00

Daybreakers

When three of Hollywood’s most prolific, overrated payday actors Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe and Sam Neill first sat down to rehearse Daybreakers – I’ll bet neither one could look the other in the eye.

Did they believe in the script? Not a chance. Did they believe in the characters? I doubt it, they’re vampires. But these aren’t unbelievable in the sense that they’re mythical beings, they’re unbelievable in the sense that once you’ve dispensed all disbelief that vampires aren’t real – you’re left with puff-pastry vehicles for dialogue as convincing as Gerry McCann... oh come on, he did it.

These characters aren’t even one-dimensional, they have nothing. They’re singular points. They’re fleshy exposition for a plot that’s less intriguing than the black bits of dirt accumulated under your toenails – which at least smell interesting.

This film is awful. It makes as much sense as a dog’s dream about a vampire film. The female lead is so ugly, you feel offended on behalf of humans.

The one positive thing about Daybreakers – it’s very short, it doesn’t feel it, but you know somewhere there’s another 90 minutes of celluloid in an editors bin, taking up space. It’s been butchered to such an extent; they seem to have ruptured the very essence of time and space. In one scene, you’re witness to the complete downfall of society, an almost Utopian future cascades into utter bloody chaos as a broken society rips itself apart from the inside out. Meanwhile, Ethan Hawke drives from a tree to a farm. There’s no context or tension and each scene turns into a crescendo you didn’t know or care was around the corner.

It’s made me re-evaluate my own perception of time. How do I know that during the 30 minutes it takes me to write this, there aren’t other world events developing and resolving at a frightening canter. Perhaps Dean Gaffney has run for mayor – bear with me – won the election and introduced a bylaw decreeing that anyone better looking than him isn’t allowed outside their homes during daylight hours – so he can have the city to himself.

And one day, as Gaffney races around the M25 anti-clockwise at 180 miles an hour, firing a Smith & Wesson revolver out the window at the blurry cows – he crashes into a billboard of himself, breaking his own neck and swallowing his own face. Dean is then forced to spend the next 25 years in crippled isolation, with nothing for company but books. Boring! He reluctantly studies art, philosophy, literature and history – he learns about ancient civilisations and begins writing poetry. For the first time, Dean loves. He sees the beauty in the world. He sees the potential. He looks back on his time as mayor with deep and profound regret. The power, the opportunities… the waste… is it too late? Could Dean possibly run for mayor again and use the power for good? To create a better world? With no face and no legs?

No. He loses the election to Romeo Beckham.

Dean can no longer live in a cannibalising, turkey twizzling society. So he hangs himself. Unfortunately for no-faced Dean, his neck is already broken, and he’s left swaying and alone for two weeks before dying of starvation. Meanwhile, I’m still here finishing this review, 28 minutes after I started it. Sure it was a tangent, but it gets my point across. The film doesn’t make a lick of sense. It’s bongo. It’s awful. 2/10.

Don't go without me, I wanna get a picture...

2010-06-15T09:17:00.003+01:00

I didn't post about Dennis Hopper at the time of his death, I don't remember why, he really was one in a million...

Dennis Hopper 1936 to 2010...

Well I don't don't like you either fool...

2010-06-13T14:09:00.001+01:00

Thanks to the Great Murphprendo for this...

I have to shit. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me...

2010-06-09T16:37:00.008+01:00

So I’ve finally done it. Don’t all thank me at once, but I have at last, taken ‘one’ for the masses. Surly now I can be remembered as a real man, a true hero and a martyr to the people.

And what have I done to get this heady status? I watched The Human Centipede of course…

*SPOILERS*

It wasn’t that bad either, I’d like to brag about sitting through difficult to watch torture and grotesque scenes of a scatological nature, but I’m afraid I can’t, because this years most shocking film is just not shocking. As for 100% medically accurate, I think 100% medically boring might be closer to the truth.

Sure the subject matter is of a disturbing nature, I’m not saying you should sit down with the family and watch it over a meal, but as a film written around one sick idea; that of humans joined, against their will, ass to mouth. Then forced to live as a 12-limbed beast sharing the same gastric system, it should be more shocking. Sadly it’s just slow and a little funny.

I could almost forgive the obvious stereotypes, such as setting such a deprived act in Germany, and the hammy, shallow characters, if the shock value was a shock. It really felt like director Tom Six had thought of the most depraved act he could and then slotted it into a script he purchased from the Internet.

The girls involved in the ‘pede are American tourists driving in Germany and rather predictably get a flat tyre on a night out. Everything that James Cameron has done for strong women in cinema seemed to come unraveled at this point, as the two girls teetered around in their heels complaining they couldn’t possibly change the wheel. Looking for a phone they come across the ‘surgeon’s’ house and despite banging on about being from New York, put up little fight as their nightmare begins.

It’s all rather convenient and unbelievable. Surely if you expect the audience to suspend their disbelief that someone is capable of creating a human centipede, then you should at least make the rest of the story fall within the boundaries of acceptance, all a little hard to swallow, if you pardon the pun. Pointers to the disturbed nature of the villain end up backfiring too. Reminiscing over a previous attempt to make a K9 centipede, just looks like a picture of three dogs sniffing each other’s bums, nothing sinister in that.

The police ultimately come into the picture and despite their hard look and pushy nature they seem to be as affective as thimble of milk on a burning house…

The old saying: get it banned, get it noticed springs to mind or at least sprung to mind. There has been much press over The Human Centipede (amazingly it's Google's second suggestion when typing 'human into the search) although I don’t think it has been banned anywhere yet, perhaps because it’s so very tame. Whilst watching I was also reminded of the 1990’s series reboot of The Outer Limits, it has a cheap TV feel and could be told in half the time.

Only bother watching this if you have nothing better to do, or if it’s on at a party, worth it for a laugh, but that’s about it.

Woof.