What we do in life echoes in eternity

Ok, so time is passing so slowly now as it’s only ~ 70 hours until I see Transformers the (live action) movie. Awesome.

Just watched the animated Transformers the movie from 1984 starring Optimus Prime, Ultra Magnus, Rodimus Prime, Galvatron and Unicron.

Amazing movie. Its got the classical three act sturcture - the first is a tragedy (the death of Optimus Prime - forgive me for shedding tears after 23 years at this one), the second is a glorified chase scene full of fun characters and action sequences and the third is the coming of age of Rodimus Prime, nee Hot Rod.

Optimus Prime is, frankly, the perfect role model for kids. His integrity is second to none, he cares, he’s brave and he leads with authority and kind. He gives his life for those around him, will always do what’s best for the Autobots and is just cool, too. The original Jack Bauer? Better. His passing in the movie is an extremely sad moment and if it weren’t for the progression of Hot Rod’s character and his use of the Autobot matrix of leadership it just wouln’t have worked. But it does. We’ve all got the touch and after this movie we’re all a little wiser now.

You’ve got the touch - Stan Bush

I could talk more about the Transformers but I think I’d just continue to babble like I have so far - lets wait for the live-action movie and then we’ll see what’s going down. Autobots - transform, and roll out

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P.S.

“You got the touch
You got the power

After all is said and done
You’ve never walked, you’ve never run,
You’re a winner

You got the moves, you know the streets
Break the rules, take the heat
You’re nobody’s fool

You’re at your best when when the goin’ gets rough
You’ve been put to the test, but it’s never enough

You got the touch
You got the power

When all hell’s breakin’ loose
You’ll be riding the eye of the storm

You got the heart
You got the motion

You know that when things get too tough
You got the touch

You never bend, you never break
You seem to know just what it takes
You’re a fighter

It’s in the blood, it’s in the will
It’s in the mighty hands of steel
When you’re standin’ your ground

And you never get hit when your back’s to the wall
Gonna fight to the end and you’re takin’ it all

You got the touch
You got the power

When all hell’s breakin’ loose
You’ll be riding the eye of the storm

You got the heart
You got the motion

You know that when things get too tough
You got the touch

You’re fightin’ fire with fire
You know you got the touch

You’re at your best when when the road gets rough
You’ve been put to the test, but it’s never enough

You got the touch
You got the power

You got the touch
You got the power”

Wow - that’s what I am currently thinking having just watched the latest trailer for the live-action Transformers’ movie coming this summer. Everything up to now I’ve seen has passed by without the merest hint of excitement that it might just be as cool as opening up my birthday presents 20 odd years ago to find Optimus Prime staring back at me - it all looked rubbish; silly character styles, typical summer blockbuster stories and so on. Now I dare to believe - I didn’t want to, perversely - that way I would not be disappointed. Now, the chance is I may be, but I am also now anticipating like no other the Transformers’ movie: whether it does fail and I do feel even a twinge of dissatifaction I’m sure the film will go down in a blaze of glory.

For many years I looked forward to the day I would be able to afford my own home cinema system. Over time the ideal changed; at first I was looking forward to a 32″ CRT, then the same but with 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround sound compatible speakers. Next I’d decided it had to be a Plasma or LCD (if I could get over the limitations of each - well documented) as I could get something approaching 40″. By the time I was earning and had saved the cash needed for such a display I was able to plump for the best LCD out there: the Sony Bravia KDL-W462000. That was in November ‘06.

From April to November 2006 I saved monthly to ensure I could get ‘a big telly’ when I 1) submitted my thesis and 2) it was time for the Ashes. Suffice to say I was sufficiently motivated to achieve both objectives (with some fudging) and went shopping. I’d done the requisite research over the past two months, looking in magazines such as What Hi-fi? and websites like the AV-Forums and CNET. The Sony sounded superb on paper - full HD 1080p support via it’s native resolution (1920 X 1080), highest contrast ratio yet seen in an LCD (blacks blacker than Plasma :O) and good reviews in terms of motion blur (there wasn’t any really). Sure, it cost a bit but then it was the best and it was Sony.

Fantastic TV set. I got it installed and it looked great in SD when I’d fiddled the settings - and this was on a screen far too big for SD…in time my Sky HD box arrived and the quality of HD picture was outstanding. Truly awesome with amazing clarity, detail and colour depth. Frankly, I was loving it. However it soon became clear that all was not rosy - watching darker scenes (I always watch films etc. in a dark room) in my chosen lighting at my chosen settings showed up an uneven backlighting, or ‘Mura’ (Japanese for blemish), whereby a supposedly black image is marred by some light that shouldn’t be there. Granted to many watching in their lovely living rooms with log fire and soft lighting this wouldn’t even be noticeable, let alone a problem, but to me, having spent so much money, I just couldn’t relax and enjoy my screen as I couldn’t help but notice the Mura. Back it went - exchange time.

The Sony centre from whom I’d bought the TV were excellent, they understood my comments and despite a Sony press release stating such occurrences were ‘rare’ and ‘within limits’ etc. were eager to please and replaced my set. The second set seemed to have a perfect panel - I didn’t check for issues just tried to enjoy and see what happened. Independence Day in HD was a tremendously enjoyable sight and all was good. Until, that is, I noticed this screen had some Mura (noticeable only during fast moving scenes but enough for me) as well as an actual cut in the panel :O…turns out the screen had been used before and re-sold. Exchange.

Worst panel of the lot. Manufactured in October 2006. We chatted (Sony centre and I) and decided to wait and see if we could get a more recent panel - many owners of the 40″ had had success replacing old with new and surely Sony would sort the problem? Two months later and none were forthcoming which leaves me now with a fat refund but no big screen. I’m back down to the old 20ish inch CRT - lovely picture, but small and not exactly HD. Makes my newly acquired PS3 look rather poor for sure - and I haven’t actually seen any Blu-Ray films yet as I didn’t get a chance before the display went back.

So, what now? Well - shopping. But which display to go for? I’m still largely an LCD fan as the contrast, motion handling etc. of the W was excellent, as was the overall picture, and all this without glare or screen-burn worries. However, I would like a panel now if possible so will keep my mind open. My main criteria are for a screen of 46″ minimum within my budget which does 1080p. Currently the Sony is still the top dog but this month some new Samsungs come out, next month Panasonic release some plasmas, Toshiba in June and September release their new range, Sony have something not quite right in June but hopefully what I want in September/October and of course the plasma pioneers (Pioneer). Time to wait and see…hopefully the next couple of months will provide clarity in terms of full spec. and pricing leading to my knowing what I want and when I can expect it.

Here’s hoping!

It is time.

I have finished my studies. Time for a new project; something I have always talked of but never done. Time to write that movie script.

One night a week will be devoted to thinking / writing at least - obviously I can do more.

Soon I’ll have a basic plot and from there I can try and write dialogue. I don’t know whether it’ll be good bad or Z-movie quality but I owe it to myself to try this and see if I can be that I’ve always wanted - a filmmaker.

2007. Time for a filmic preview of future delights (yes, its a bit late but hey, I had to watch Smokin’ Aces and Rocky Balboa, both of which were excellent). So, on-wards with part one:

• Grindhouse

Without a doubt my most eagerly awaited movie this year, this Rodriguez / Tarantino double-feature exploitation ‘grindhouse’ picture will be unlike anything else we see in 2007. Rodriguez is up first with Planet Terror, a zombie flick which is promised to be the light-hearted section of the movie. Check out the trailer - specifically Rose McGowan’s character’s ‘transformation’. QT is providing Death Proof, a real scary slasher / horror movie with a stunt-man taking out ladies. All of this will be enveloped by spoof adverts and made to look like an old and cheap film in spirit with the eponymous movies of the 70’s. See it in April.

• Hot Fuzz

Shaun of the Dead is pretty much the funniest film around. The love of genre movies by Wright, Pegg and Frost was clear for all to see. Now, imagine the same but with the love of action movies apparent. Now that is pretty much my idea of a perfect movie. Its out on Feb. 16th and promises to build and build and build up to some quite astonishingly OTT comedy action, all based in the quietest of rural settings, with, unless I’m very much mistaken, Timothy Dalton as the baddy. Awesome.

• 300

Zack Snyder introduced himself as a director of some quality with 2004’s Dawn of the Dead remake - a film which managed to espouse the usual rule and turn out pretty damn good compared to the original. Here he has given another of Frank Miller’s graphic novels the Sin City treatment, only this is a much different story: 300 Spartans fight 1 million Persians in the Battle of Thermopylae. Think Gladiator, only cooler and far more violent. Tonight, we dine in Hell indeed.

• Transformers

Unequivocally the greatest toys in history. Truly the finest ever kids’ TV show (Generation one here folks). Now a live action movie done by Michael Bay and with brand new robot designs? Why am I sure I want to see it then if they’ve destroyed it so much from what I know and love? Well, Michael Bay knows how to do action, likely second only to Jim Cameron. Spielberg is over his shoulder, too. So lets say it’ll be a good film, what of the memories? Even if Optimus looks different, he’ll sound the same and at the end of the day it is the Transformers. This list is, after all, my most anticipated movies this year. This is right up there - here’s hoping for quality, too.

• Shoot ‘em Up

I don’t know much about this film. What I do is that it could be the Batman Begins of Action movies; the redux. Michael Davis wrote it, shopped it and refused to let it go without him directing. Its pure action as I understand it - maybe an action paradigm? I hope so. After the 80’s action went downhill fast (sure we’ve had some good stuff but not with balls, until recently anyway). I hope this is what I’ve been waiting for.

Right, that’s it for part one. There’ll be another five along soon. For now though I’ll remind you of this post and this one from last year’s previews. From that some haven’t / didn’t come out until 2007. I’m still highly excited by them all - especially Zodiac. Enjoy!

“…I ain’t no bum, Mick. I ain’t no bum.”

And he’s right, isn’t he? Rocky aint no bum. Never was, never will be. Not even during the hard times (I’m thinking circa. Rocky V). The life of Rocky has shown that he’s one of the most inspiring characters in film history. The man, the southpaw with no shot at the world title takes Apollo all the way first time round. He beats him second. He comes back from defeat to regain the title and then he beats the robot who killed his friend. He takes on youngsters and then one more time he proves he has it in him to go the distance. For Adrian.

And that leads us to the rest of Rocky, the other stuff that makes him, arguably, THE role model in all of cinema. He really loves Adrian, Paulie, his son. He felt like Mick was his Father and even the man who beats seven shades of s**t out of him is loved. Rocky, the man, showed anyone can do anything, but he did it all in the right way too. Never once disrespectful, never giving up, always doing what he thought was right. The man is a Legend. The man may be fictional but oh my, if ever anyone needs motivation or an essay on how to live life you could do far worse than Rocky. Any of them really, though its really seen in Rocky I and Rocky Balboa.

Now, that leads me on to the 6th film in the series, and likely, last. Its great, lets get that out of the way first. Its an excellent movie with some great dialogue (was it so good in the first episode? I must check) with a real good performance from Sly (as Rocky would put it) and a nice bookend to the series. What it really did for me though (seeing as its Rocky I 30 years later) is remind me anyone can do anything. Rocky did the unimaginable. Twice. He had a go and made it. Now, lets not forget that although this is not real life it mirrors it; Sly wrote the script for episode one and refused to sell it without he being Rocky. We all know the film went on to win Best Picture from the Academy and Sly became a star (allowing him to forget his early beginnings).

Rocky, and Sly, both went from nothing to everything. They did this in 1975. They have just done it again in 2007. I believe I can do anything. In the coming months I will set aside time to do what Sly did. I will write that script I always dream of writing. Maybe I can do a Rocky. Hell, even if I don’t I’ll have tried, and at the end of the day, isn’t that what’s its all about? Do it. Succeed or fail its ok, as long as you don’t trick yourself. Just do it. I’ll keep you posted

Have you ever been to Dave’s trailer page? The most comprehensive repository for downloadable movie trailers around, it is.

I thoroughly recommend going along, regularly, as it is updated nigh-on immediately when a new trailer is released and Dave’s got it on his server.

I recommend checking out Grindhouse currently - my most eagerly awaited film (Zodiac accepted - well, it is a Fincher movie ) of 2007.

“Enough is enough. I have had it with these motherf*****g snakes on this motherf*****g plane”

This was it. My journey through cinema has taken me from Fantasia to Nazi Germany; From 1955 to a galaxy far far away but now I have reached the apex - the peak. From now on its downhill all the way. I can sleep easy, and rest, for I have seen Snakes on a plane and it is good. No, awesome.
People who have followed my blogging exploits since the turn of the year (other blog) will know of my vociferous support for this movie since I first started hearing about it, support that has grown exponentially over time. So much, in fact, that I have happily proclaimed it the saviour of modern cinema multiple times online and in public as I was that excited; that confident. It delivers - by the bucketload - exactly what the title suggests.

This film has some great stuff. Sam Jackson. People swallowed whole. Superb dialogue. Brilliantly pitched humour. Great acting. Sam Jackson. No other man on Earth would have been able to say his dialogue and come across so cool. No other man on Earth is so great to listen to when the quote involves some motherfracking. When you’ve absolutely, positively, got to have motherfracking said - accept no substitutes.

I have no qualms in declaring this the finest movie I have seen in 2006 so far. It truly delivered on its title, and gave more, much more, in what was, in all seriousness, a surprisingly coherent film held together by the finest narrative yet imbued with set-ups, gags, characters and more that really gave life to the whole thing and made it that much more.

A word on the box-office. Initially I was surprised at its relatively small $17 M in its first week of US release. Having thought about it though, I’m not. I had to remind myself its a real B-movie and may as well have been a genre film considering its target audience - guaranteed 90 % male, 18-24 and web-savvy. Its hype and the way the film came to be made me expect more from it but that was always unrealistic. Its done good business so far and will only improve its numbers when it comes to DVD and you can replay over and over the Sam Jackson dialogue. Heaven.

Well, not really. You see, I watched ‘Hidden‘ last night, the 2005 movie by director Michael Haneke. A highly rated award-winning movie at that. Thing is, it was awful. Truly pathetic.

Let me explain. It involved a French couple with being terrorised. The terrorism was via videotapes of near-nothingness save their house, things they recognised or certain recognisable images which when put together may or may not have meant something.

Now, this was all well and good except that the progression of plot was non-existent, which would have been fine had the characters and situations/emotions/atmosphere come across the way in which the director no doubt had intended - i.e. thoughtful, intriguing, tasty and the like. However the characters were just tedious, self-aggrandising 2-dimensional images and the situations/discussions they found themselves in nothing more than superficial with little under the surface unless you yourself dug a tunnel and planted seeds which could then grow in your mind.
The film I’m sure was meant to be philosophical more than detail a smooth narrative and such film-making has to be applauded for taking the unconventional route. Indeed, it is a style which I myself am a great fan of - if done well. In this case nothing really made me yearn for the next scene, nothing intrigued me except for the initial premise which by half-way through was evidently unimportant. Ultimately I was left sitting at the end waiting for a conclusion of some sorts disbelieving that what I had seen was meant to be it. Unfortunately, it was. Poorly executed ideas which left me with a pretty bad taste in the mouth.

I would go into more detail but the film doesn’t deserve it. The take home message is thus: It fails in its aims and the aims which I thought it had. Two for two. Not good.

Weekend Box-Office in America:

Pirates continues to rule all before and after it, with a quite astonishing 300+ million dollars in three weeks. Pity the film isn’t a patch on the first, huh (lost too much of its charm to be anything more than a fun comedy actioner)?

However, the talking point has to be the failure (it must be called that) of Shymalan’s Lady in the Water. Reviews had been pretty poor, and the film seemed laughable to be honest. Well, here is the director’s worst opening since before his little ghost movie of 1999. I have to admit after the truly pathetic The Village it was to be expected his next movie would be taken with distrust. A shame as he’s undoubtedly a talanted guy but seemingly he trusts only himself when it comes to films…