. . . . . .I cannot believe January is all but gone and I didn't make one update since the 1rst. 2010 has been something like repeated kicks to the jewels. Needless to say, my being in a downward funk left me dazed and closed off to anything productive. . . . . . .I must say that I was also saddened to read about artist/ actor/ filmmaker Dennis Hopper's failing health. I posted last year on his birthday because I had been going back and watching his films. I keep waiting for someone to do a documentary on him. His filmmography may contain many not so satisfying movies but it also includes many great ones. He has been working in film for ages and is something of a living legend. He has been acting since the mid-1950s. He has worked with many talented artists and if nothing else, he is a living link to filmmakers that have passed on. I think he is underrated and unfortunately I also think think that there won;t be a documentary about Hopper until after he is gone. I hope the reports of him being in his last days are false and he is on a recovery track. Get better sir and hang in there! On a less downbeat note: I must thank Cartoonbrew.com for bringing to my attention the live action Yamato film. I can't help myself, I am psyched to see this one. Even if it gets godawful review, I'll probably have to check it out. Below is the teaser. -Nate
..010110 Happy New Year!
. . . . . .As I keep saying, 2010 sounds like a year that should have flying cars and homes in outer space. Anything less seems anticlimactic. Since that won't be happening anytime soon, I am settling for a New Year's resolution of getting out of debt. That was more or less my resolution last year, so here's hoping it will actually happen this time. May all your resolutions come to fruition, have a great time and party on! -Nate
..122409 Congratulations to Matt and Mieko!
. . . . . .My very dear friends are the proud parents of a bouncing baby girl!! Nothing like making it just in time for the holidays... All my love to the new family! -Nate
..122409 Happy Holidays!
. . . . . .Here's hoping that you all get to have a good time over the holidays and heading into the new year! From me and mine to you and yours, have a great time, relax, and enjoy all you can! -Nate
..122109 Actress Brittany Murphy passed away
. . . . . .I was driving back from my folk's place while trying to remember which trailers I wanted to put in the last post when I heard on the radio that actress Brittany Murphy passed away. I can't claim to be familiar with a lot of her work but I always thought she was better (and creepier) than she got credit for in a small role in the disturbing little film 'Freeway'. I seem to remember liking her in '8 Mile' and 'Sin City' (pictured left.) as well. She was only 32 and looked to have had a whole life and career ahead of her. You can read more at 'The Boston Globe' HERE. Rest in peace. -Nate
..122109 Overdue update with a wave of trialers...
. . . . . .Illness and many related issues helped keep me away from updating the site so I thought I would at least post a few of the trailers I've been interested in before the whole friggin' month slips by. 'Iron Man 2', 'Robin Hood', Daybreakers', the remake of George Romero's 'The Crazies', 'Brookllyn's Finest', and 'Saint John of Las Vegas' all got my attention for various reasons. Now all I have to do is get out of debt so I can afford to go to the movies.... -Nate
..Iron Man 2 trailer:
..Robin Hood trailer:
..Daybreakers trailer:
..The Crazies trailer: (remake of the George Romero film)
..Brooklyn's Finest trailer:
..Saint John of Las Vegas trailer:
..112409 On the horizon is HBO's 'The Pacific' and I can't wait!
. . . . . .I love ‘Band of Brothers’. It is one of the great pieces of entertainment and one of the best looks at the American soldiers caught in the WW2 European front. The episodes are bookended with interviews with some of the real soldiers that are portrayed in the show (in my opinion, much more effective and sincere than the forced-feeling bookends in ‘Saving Private Ryan’ but that could just be my issue.) Anyway, HBO has an upcoming series called ‘The Pacific’ that looks to be something of a follow up to the great ‘Band of Brothers’ (although, obviously it will be about a different group of soldiers.) ‘Band of Brothers’ is a tough act to follow but even if ‘The Pacific’ is half as good as its predecessor, it will still be worth checking out. I'll be curious to see if the new HBO series will be made in the same format as 'Band of Brothers', with the real soldiers interviewed throughout. ‘The Pacific’ won’t be arriving until next year. No word when in 2010 'The Pacific' will start to air so I just have to make do with a small featurette and some short teasers (one of which is to the left.) The official site for 'The Pacific' is HERE. . . . . . .In the meantime, if you have a Blu-ray player, 'Band of
Brothers’ looks incredible on the format! The series is one of the best looking Blu-rays around. Much of the show has boosted levels of detail that were, to me, jaw dropping. The closeups loo good and the backgrounds have so much detail that they have an almost three dimensional look. I don't want to oversell it but the tranfer really did impress me. That being said, if you haven't made the jump to Blu-ray yet, you can't go wrong with the DVD. Make no mistake: the DVD looks great too and you won't be dissapointed. HBO just managed to take full advantage of the high definition format. I wish more Blu-rays had as strong a transfer as 'Band of Borthers'. If you like tales of war and haven't seen it, do yourself a favor and pick up the Blu-ray to right or the DVD on the far right. Good stuff, get it if you can. -Nate
..110409 new interview with the director of ‘Return to Lake Havasu: the story of the making of Day of the Wolves’ !
. . . . . .Earlier this year, I was shown a fun little crime drama called 'Day of the Wolves'. Some may watch the 70s heist film and be turned off by the small budget and largely bloodless action. Others like me, might find it quite a fun movie that has been unfairly hidden. In writing my review of the film I found out that there was a documentary being made about it called ‘Return to Lake Havasu: the story of the making of Day of the Wolves’. The documentary is coming out in 2010 and the director, Greg Quinn was nice enough to take the time for an interview. The focus was 'Day
of the Wolves', as well as ‘Return to Lake Havasu: the story of the making of Day of the Wolves’ but Mr. Quinn also answered some questions about another film he is working on, 'Winning Big'. Those that are curious should check out the interview by clicking the above photo or HERE. My thanks to Mr. Quinn for taking the time out of his busy schedule to do the interview! -Nate
..110309 Public Enemies on DVD and Blu-ray early?
. . . . . .I really enjoyed Michael Mann’s film ‘Public Enemies’ and can’t wait to get my grubby hands on the Blu-ray. The official release date is December 8th but some people have been posting in forums that it will show up early on November 10th. I’m hoping the release date is one rumor that turns out to be true. From what I can tell, the film will be released in the same version that was shown at the theater. I read at that there was an alternate cut submitted for review in the UK but it seems that may not have been true. Either way, I cannot wait to check out the Blu-ray. You can get it from Amazon to the left (on DVD, 2 disc DVD, and Blu-ray no less) but they still show the December 8th date. I keep waiting for there to be some sort of update on Amazon. -Nate
..110309 new interview coming soon
. . . . . .Sometime in the next couple of days I will be posting an interview with filmmaker Greg Quinn. Quinn is working on multiple projects currently and one of them is about a low budget crime drama from the 1970s called ‘Day of the Wolves’. You may just want to check it out. In writing my review of the film (see that HERE) I stumbled up some information Quinn’s film: ‘Return to Lake Havasu: the story of the making of Day of the Wolves’. Quinn was extremely nice and goes into a lot of detail about ‘Day of the Wolves’ and beyond. I will probably have it up, tomorrow or the day after. -Nate
..110309 John Carpenter part 2
. . . . . .On a different note, in my Halloween post, I was lamenting that John Carpenter has not made a full length movie in ages. I found out that a new Carpenter film is due to come out in 2010. The movie is called ‘The Ward’ and is listed a horror film. No official site yet but you can some preproduction footage at John Carpenter’s official site HERE. See the IMDb.com page with some details on ‘The Ward’ HERE. -Nate
..103109 Happy Halloween! What better way to celebrate than with a little John Carpenter?
. . . . . .I give you a nice little interview with Carpenter from 2002. This was made for the Showtime 'Masters of Horror' series and is hosted by the great Bruce Campbell. I could watch Carpenter stuff until my eyes bleed and if ever there was a day for this would be it. I have to at least mention that Carpenter's return to the cinema is long overdue. The guy has not made a feature length film since 'Ghosts of Mars' I can't believe no one has put up the money for new film. Hell, even if it is super low budget, Carpenter has certainly shown he can work with almost any budget. I was one of the few that saw 'Ghosts of Mars' at a theater (and I remember that my father and I saw 'Vampires' at the theater when that came out.) Carpenter is a living
legend and should be able to make as many films as he can while he is still around. Falling under the “why the hell
not?” category, I have also posted Siskel and Ebert talking about 'Halloween' on their show 'Sneak Previews' (before they started their show 'Siskel & Ebert'.) They like the film and mention that it is not like the other violent horror films of the day (this clips is from 1980.) I'm not sure I agree with everything they are saying but to me the clip is more of a cool bit of nostalgia more than anything else. For what it is worth, growing up in the middle of nowhere meant that before the days of the internet, it was often hard to find out about some of the movies with limited distribution. 'Siskel & Ebert' reviewed a ton of films and even if I didn't agree with their reviews, they still gave some publicity to offbeat films that I may not have otherwise
heard of. Anyway, enjoy your Halloween, eat candy 'till you puke and watch a billion bloody movies! -Nate
..102209 Heaven help me but I want to see this... I give you the trailer for 'The Expendables'.
. . . . . .I liked Stallone's recent update of 'Rambo' and I'll give him this: the guy can direct pretty hard hitting action. If he can manage that again with 'The Expendables' and somehow make the rouges gallery of a cast that he has assembled work than this could be one fun action film. The one liners kind of worry me but hey, this is a pretty early trailer and like I said, I enjoyed 'Rambo' so here's hoping this one works out too. Look for 'The Expendables' in 2010. I don't know how long this trailer will be up because it keeps getting pulled so catch it while you can and remember it is an early one, the film is still in production (or at least post production.) -Nate
..101709 Mel Gibson returns to the screen with 'Edge of Darkness'
. . . . . .Mel Gibson is starring in the upcoming film 'Edge of Darkness'. The movie is a remake of a TV mini series. I've been meaning to check out the series for ages and I have to admit I'm curious about the film. 'Edge of Darkness' is set to be released in early 2010. -Nate
..100709 'Harry Brown Trailer and official site.
. . . . . .Last month I mentioned that I was looking forward to the film 'Harry Brown' starring the great Michael Caine. The film is opening in the UK November 13th and the official trailer and site are now online. You can see the official (UK) site for 'Harry Brown' HERE and the official trailer is embedded above. I'm hoping this is a kick ass revenge flic' and I can't wait to see it! The critical praise that is stuffed in the trailer suspiciously seems like overkill but I am playing the optimist and can't wait to see it! (That is, whenever it makes its way to the US and I'm not exactly sure when that will be.) In the mean time give a look at the 'Harry Brown' trailer (that sounds like a venereal disease) and official site. -Nate
..100209 'Public Enemies' and 'Manhunter' Blu-ray.
. . . . . .DVDtimes has posted some info about the UK Blu-ray of Michael Mann’s excellent film ‘Public Enemies’. Amongst other things, they mention that Mann has recorded a commentary track and that there is at least one featurette that will likely be on the Blu-ray. They also mention that there is more than one cut of the film (with a runtime difference of only 11 seconds between the two versions.) They imply that both cuts will be available but they don’t say in what form.
I am guessing that the US Blu-ray of ‘Public Enemies’ will be similar to the UK one and this makes it likely that there will be at least a few extras. I would really like to see both cuts on Blu-ray (and available through seamless branching) and some extras on the making of the film and maybe some on Dillinger as well. I keep hoping that there will be a special edition of 70s film ‘Dillinger’ to coincide with the buzz surrounding ‘Public Enemies’. You can see the DVDTimes post HERE. . . . . . .Speaking of Mann, I somehow missed that another favorite film of mine that he directed is out on Blu-ray, ‘Manhunter’. I may have missed Michael Mann’s crime drama coming to high def because it is only available in a 'Hannibal Lecter Anthology' set with ‘Silence of the Lambs’ and ‘Hannibal’. (Amazon link to the left.) Not only is ‘Manhunter’ only available in the set but the film has no extras, save a trailer. I am not sure what version of ‘Manhunter’ has been released (there are 3 or more cuts of the movie) on the disc but I’m hoping to get my hands on it soon and find out. I really only want to buy ‘Manhunter’ so I’m hoping it will get a release as a standalone film (and maybe it will have some of the extras from the Anchor Bay DVDs or at the least some new extras.) In the meantime, I’m hoping to check out the Blu-ray shortly and I am happy to see another Michael Mann film show up on Blu-ray. If you want to know about the different versions
of 'Manhunter' or if you are just a fan of the film, I say you should take the time to check out 'Manhunter' the Complete Resource Site' the one stop website for all things 'Manhunter'. The site is HERE or you can jump to the page about the different versions HERE. If you are like me and like Mann's work I also recommend you check out Michael Mann, a blog dedicated to all things Mann, see it HERE.' -Nate
..100109 Dennis Hopper taken to hospital.
. . . . . .There were a bunch of reports yesterday saying that actor Dennis Hopper is sick and has been rushed to a hospital. The guy is a living legend and he has been a part of many legendary films. I keep waiting for someone to make a documentary about him (and as long as I'm babbling about it, someone needs to make one on Harry Dean Stanton too.) Anyway, while I can't claim to like every film Hopper is a part of, there are a great many that I love. I don't care what anyone says, 'The Hot Spot' is an underrated little neo-noir, that should get a special edition release. Of course, I'm still waiting for a special edition of 'The Last Movie'. If you have the opportunity, I recommend watching it as a double-bill with the documentary 'American Dreamer'. You want to see someone off the wall? Watch that documentary and you can see just what a whirlwind of vice Hopper once was. Watching that film makes it seem amazing that Hopper made it out of the 70s in one piece. Anyway, here's hoping the man pulls through and can find his way to continue working for many days yet to come. Get better sir. You can see a small blurb on CNN.com HERE. -Nate
..093009 Some of my favorite films are headed to Blu-ray.
This week ‘Zombieland’ is opening in theaters and not only does it look like a fun, bloody, zombie flic’ with Jesse Eisenberg, Mike White and Amber Heard but it also stars Woody Harrelson. Harrelson has been in a series of offbeat projects for awhile now but this is the first time in ages
that I am really psyched to see a film that he is the lead in. The R-rated trailer for 'Zombieland' is above. Actually, I’m psyched for 2 films with Harrelson, the first is ‘Zombieland’ , the other is called ‘Defendor’. ‘Defendor’ looks to be a
comedy/ drama centering on a man who decides to become a superhero. (See the trailer for 'Defendor' to the right.) I can’t wait to see both films and I have to say, it is great to be see Harrelson heading up both of these films. ‘Zombieland’ comes out October 2nd, this Friday. ‘Defendor’ has no scheduled release date
yet. The official site for 'Defenfor' is not up yet but you can see the one for 'Zombieland' HERE. -Nate
..092609 Some of my favorite films are headed to Blu-ray.
. . . . . .Continuing my Blu-ray theme from the last post, I had to mention that a few of my fav’ motion pictures are going to the world of Blu-ray. In no real order, Michael Mann’s excellent film ‘Heat’ is going to arrive on the format with a new cut. Not only is ‘Heat’ one of my favorite films but writer/ producer/ director Michael Mann is one of my favorite filmmakers. I’ve been itching for ‘Heat’ go high def’ and I didn’t have to wait as long as I thought I would. For those that don't know, 'Heat' a sweeping, huge, crime drama starring Al Pacino and Robert De Niro as two men on opposite sides of the law. Mann surrounds them with a strong cast and often slick action. I know some feel the film is too long but for me it is perfect. Mann combines the drama of the policemen's and criminal's personal lives with the violence and danger they have to face. . . . . . .I’m sort of hoping that the Blu-ray will have the original version of the film along with the new one but I suspect it will just be the director’s cut. A lot of Mann’s films have multiple versions on the home video market. I have about 3 different cuts of ‘Manhunter’ (it may even be 4,) 2 of ‘Thief’ and I’ve been meaning to grab the theatrical cut of ‘Miami Vice’. Actually, I’m hoping more of Mann’s films will start to come out in high def. ‘Thief’ especially has never really had a completely satisfactory transfer. Anyway, I’m hoping the Blu-ray will have the features from the special edition DVD as well as some new ones too. In a way cool random note, the Blu-ray of
‘Heat’ comes out on my birthday, November 10th. I have to give props to Blu-ray.com for posting about the new cut of ‘Heat’. You can see their post HERE. . . . . . .'48 Hrs.’ is also coming to Blu-ray although there no longer seems to be a firm release date and I’m beginning to wonder if it won’t get pushed back to 2010. While I don’t want to wait longer I am hoping that the delay will allow Paramount to actually put some extras on the Blu-ray. Walter Hill’s ’48 Hrs.’ is, in my opinion, something of an underrated film and really should get the full special edition treatment. I’m not holding my breath though and frankly I suspect I will just be lucky . . . . . .if ’48 hrs.’ shows up on Blu-ray at all. You just can’t go wrong with Nick Nolte, Eddie Murphy, James Remar, David Patrick Kelly, Brian James, and Annette O’Toole! Great bits of action, comedy and grit make the film solid and Eddie Murphey’s humor, charisma and screen presence give ’48 Hrs.’ legs. The movie is definitely not politically correct (there are at least a few cringe inducing moments) but '48 Hrs. 'is part of what set the mold for the modern action/ comedy. Walter Hill was on fire when he made this one. How about interviews?? Commentaries??? Hell, anything? I’d even appreciate promotional featurettes from when '48 Hrs.' wist first in theaters. Sadly Paramounnt seems to have no interest. For now you can preorder the Blu-ray at Amazon and hopefully it will be released shortly.
. . . . . .Speaking of underrated, Christopher McQuarrie’s ‘Way of the Gun’ is a gritty, bloody, underrated little crime drama with a bevy of great tough-guy performances. I never understand why some films just don’t find their niche. (Actually, goes for actors too, James Caan has been a way underused actor.) To me, the film is enjoyable in the same way that Sam Peckinpah’s ‘The Getaway’, ‘Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia’ or Michael Mann’s ‘Thief’ are enjoyable. Benicio Del Toro and Ryan Phillippe are quite good as a pair of violent and ruthless thieves. Here’s hoping the movie gets a good transfer. There are solid and (sometimes menacing) performances from three I already mentioned above as well as Taye Diggs, Nicky Katt, Scott Wilson, Juliette Lewis and her father Geoffrey. If you are up for a violent film and a fan of any of the above (and especially the two leads) give it a try. . . . . . .As for me, I just can’t wait to get the Blu-ray. Like all of the other films I'm babbling about, I'm hoping this will have new features but it doesn't seem likely. I'd love to see Del Toro do a commentary or maybe a documentary on the making of the film. Really it is more important that 'Way of the Gun' gets a decent transfer. So, if that happens I will still be happy but come on..... How about just a few new extras??? I get the feeling that in years to come 'Way of the Gun' may develop a bit of the following. I'm biased because I liked the film all along but I do think the movie
got a bad rap and never got enough notice when it came out in theaters.
. . . . . . Turning to a different filmmaker, I have enjoyed every film made by writer/ director Paul Thomas Anderson and I especially love ‘Magnolia’ and ‘Boogie Nights’ and cannot wait to see them in High Def. Sadly Magnolia will not have any new features which is a shame because it didn’t have that many to begin with. ‘Magnolia’ is a sweeping, operating drama that is waaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy underrated and really is just crying out for an in depth “making of” documentary... I guess I can just hope it has a good transfer. ‘Boogie Nights’ is also headed to Blu-ray but not until into 2010 and I haven’t heard any mention of the features yet. See the post at Blu-ray.com HERE. . . . . . .Finally, all of the previous releases I mentioned were Blu-rays coming out here in the US. However, the silent film ‘Sunrise’ is coming to Blu-ray in the UK. ‘Sunrise’ is a downright beautiful (but dark) silent film from the great F.W. Murnau and I believe it is one of the first (if not the first) silent films to be released on Blu-ray. I am just dying to get my grubby hands on this one. The best home media review site in the world; DVDBeaver, already has a comparison between the Blu-ray and the DVD. The difference is impressive and I can’t wait to get my grubby hands on it. Now, in the comparison at DVDBeaver, they do say that even though 'Sunrise' is on a UK Blu-ray, it is region free and should work on a US Blu-ray player. I have no way of verifying
that so you may want to be aware that there is a possibility it may not play right. However, if you are like me and have played foreign DVDs and Blu-rays from time to time than this is a no brainer': get this Blu-ray! Check out the great comparison and review from DVDBeaverHERE. -Nate
..092209 Sony to fans of ‘The Shield’: “No Blu-ray for you!”
. . . . . .I have to give props’ to Blu-ray.com, as they are where I first heard about this. For awhile I was into the FX cop show ‘The Shield’ and while I lost track of it after a few seasons, I have been meaning to go back and watch more. This should be easier as the series is getting a new release as a complete boxed set. (which is to the left.) You might think this would be good cause to release the show on Blue-ray but apparently you would be wrong. Sony has no plans to release the show on Blu-ray. Why? According to series creator Shawn Ryan, Sony told him the 16mm film stock was not a high enough quality to put on Blu-ray. If this sounds suspicious to you, it is probably because I can’t imagine that it is true. There already have been films put on Blu-ray that are 16mmm and look better than their DVD counterparts. This isn’t the first time ‘The Shield’ has had issues with a home market release. I seem to remember that when the first four seasons were released on DVD, they were all in fullscreen only. If I’m remembering right, there was insult to injury as the deleted scenes were in widescreen. So now Sony is saying they are not putting ‘The Shield’ on Blu-ray because of poor film stock. I suspect the real reason is that they want to wait and see what the demand for the series is. This is a real shame and all the more frustrating because Sony seems to think this is an acceptable answer. Now, maybe there is something else I am not aware of, like maybe the original masters were destroyed or
something but I doubt it. I'm hoping that Sony changes their collective minds on this. Ryan is a very talented filmmaker and I’m looking forward to his next series. I hope that maybe someone will make him aware (if he doesn’t know already) that ‘The Shield’ like other 16mm projects would benefit from a Blu-ray transfer. If you are interested you can check out the much better article about this on Blu-ray.com The post is under the heading "No BD for The Shield, 16mm Film Stock Blamed" and you can see it HERE. Shawn Ryan’s twitter page is HERE his two posts about the show not coming to Blu-ray are HERE and HERE. -Nate
..091909 Reviews of 'Drag Me to Hell', 'Public Enemies', and 'Star Trek'.
. . . . . .Sooooooooooooo, I somehow got waaaaaaaaay behind writing these reviews. All at once you can see my review of 'Public Enemies' HERE, 'Drag Me to Hell' HERE, and 'Star Trek' HERE. -Nate
..091109 An overdue update with a who is ‘Harry Brown’?
. . . . . .Michael Caine has an upcoming film that I so want to be good. He plays the titled Harry Brown, an aging man with a military background that goes on a rampage after a friend of his is brutally attacked by criminals. ‘Harry Brown’ brings to mind the revenge films of the 70s or recent hit-or-miss returns to the genre such as ‘Death Sentence’. No trailer yet and the writer and director of the film have not made anything that I’ve seen but pictures like the one to left have me itching to see the movie. Caine is a great actor and perhaps one of the greatest living actors today. His filmography has its ups and downs but the man is more often than not, excellent. His work in the original ‘Get Carter’ is part of what keeps it a favorite of mine. Here’s hoping ‘Harry Brown’ is a solid film with Caine kicking serious ass and for the love of god I hope it is not as depressing as ‘Gran Torino’. The film is scheduled for a release sometime this fall. There is no official site that I am aware of yet, so I give you the IMDb page HERE. -Nate
You can see old updates in the "Old News " section of this site.
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