Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Restrepo (Graded)

In Afghanistan's Korengal Valley, considered to be one of the most dangerous postings in the U.S. military, American soldiers deployed there have to make heads and tails of the situation on a daily basis. From May 2007 to July 2008, Tim Hetherington & Sebastian Junger dug in with the men of the Second Platoon, Battle Company of the 503rd Infantry Regiment (airborne), stationed at Restrepo, sharing duties & shooting more than 150 hours of combat, frustration, routine, jokes, terror & bravery during daily life at the outpost. We see courage. We experience their frustrations. We share their bonding. We hear the music they listen to, and we see the snapshots of their kids that they pass around. It is something that audiences have never before experienced. As they fight the Taliban, these 15 men win our hearts and minds in a way no fictional film can.


Grade: A +
Trailer HERE

Monday, May 24, 2010

LOST (FINALE)

Already I'm seeing a ton of different interpretations, so here is what I agree happened...

The specific story we are presented in the alternate time-line (or purgatory) starts right after Jack dies, the opening shot of the season was a camera going through the clouds focusing in on Jack, presumably right after he has crossed over from life to death.

Everything on the Island was real, it all happened, Jack and the others did not die for nothing as the MIB needed to be destroyed as he would not rest until the island was at the bottom of the ocean, and in order to make him mortal the light needed to be put out long enough for him to be killed. Desmond accomplished that part of the mission, Kate delivered the killing stroke to MIB, and jack re-established the light for Hurley to protect fulfilling his destiny knowing it would cost him his life... And the last we see of this island story is Jack's eye closing just as the series had started.

Hurley was now the new Jacob, Ben had taken over the role of Richard even though he didn't seem to have inherited Richard's immortality. At some point Hurley and Ben find a way to get Desmond off of the Island and back to Penny and Charlie seeing as Hurley was going to run things under different rules as Ben suggested.

Kate, Sawyer, Lepidus, Miles and Claire all presumably get off safely. Claire most likely returns to her mother and raises Aaron as she is supposed to. Perhaps Kate takes the role of mother for Ji Yeon, but doubtful. Some will probably like to think Miles and Sawyer partnered up on some venture together, and Frank finally got back to being a not so drunk pilot and a B character in the LOST universe.

The alternate time-line (purgatory or whatever) was a place without time, a place of final purification to prep our Losties for their final destination, and to be prepped for that final destination they needed to let go of all of the emotional baggage they had in their lives, be at peace, and remember everyone from the island so ll of our Losties were regardless of when they died in the temporal world. As Jack's father says, everyone dies eventually. In Jack's mind and in the mind of the viewer this is happening right after his death when in fact these events we are seeing in the alternate time-line must be happening sometime after all of our Losties have died which could be decades later, and they are going to move on to Heaven together as a group because of that strong bond they formed on the island. Some people are not ready to move on yet such as Ben whose sins may have been too numerous and had more loose ends that needed tying, but it is implied that he will move on when he is ready. Ana Lucia Cortez, Richard Alpert, Mr. Eko, Charles Widmore, Daniel Widmore, Eloise Hawking, Michael Dawson, Walt Lloyd, Danielle Rousseau, Alex Rousseau and further dead or unseen company aren't a part of this main LOSTIE exodus for other reasons.

So what was the deal with Desmond?

The same thing that has been going on with him the whole time, he is seeing the future; so far into the future that he sees past this life and into the next one. Desmond should have died when he turned that key, but he didn't and with it came a certain uniqueness that allows his consciousness to travel through time to the point where he can manipulate events in the past present and future, and in this case he is manipulating the farthest point of his future which is his afterlife and the afterlives of all of our Losties by helping them to move on. Now the mystic knowledge he possesses in the alternate time-line is not really explained, but it can be believed or presumed that it is a form of divine revelation of sorts, that in death things are made clear to him when he has recollections in these experiences with the Losties.

What happens to the dynamic duo of Hurley and Ben? And what happens to those who left on the plane? No one knows for sure, and it is left to us to speculate how they ran the course of their lives but in the end they are all reunited, they all learn to let go, and they are ready to move on.

The End.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Serbian Film (Movie Watch)

Milos is a former porn star who is down on his luck financially. When he receives a call from his long-time movie actress partner, Layla, he welcomes her call. Apparently she's heard that a new film director wants to hire Milos to star in his "artistically-designed" porn film for a very generous price. He is easily lured form his semi-retirement by the lucrative offer, agreeing to meet the director in an isolated mansion but as the filming progresses Milo begins to suspect that the director's intentions may be darker than mere pornography. As the film begins to devolve into a horrifically violent production, Milos finds escape may not be an option.


Trailer 1 HERE
Trailer 2 HERE

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Kane & Lynch (Teaser Poster Release)

Kane is an ex-mercenary on his way to death row. His last job was a disaster that saw his team getting (presumably) killed while he ran off with a fortune in diamonds & was soon caught by the authorities. Now heading to deathrow, his prison bus crashes, a massive shootout begins between the guards, Police & the escaping convicts. Kane is helped to his feet by Lynch, another deathrow inmate. The look in Lynch's eyes and the sadistic smile on his face tell Kane that he is not a friend & it soon becomes clear that this is not a rescue: it's a kidnapping.

Trailer Coming

The Adjustment Bureau (Movie Watch)

On the brink of winning a seat in the U.S. Senate, ambitious politician David Norris, is a man who glimpses the future FATE, the men of the Adjustment Bureau, have planned for him only to realize he wants something else. But to get it, he must pursue the only woman he loves across, under and through the streets of modern day New York. In the face of overwhelming odds, he must either let her go & accept their predetermined lives and dreams... or risk everything to defy FATE and be with her.

Trailer HERE

Monday, May 10, 2010

Frank Frazetta (Feb 9, 1928 – May 10, 2010)

Painter Frank Frazetta, best known for his striking fantasy work with characters like Conan the Barbarian, Vampirella and the original Death Dealer, passed away today at the age of 82.

While Frazetta's direct contributions to video games were unfortunately minimal—a video game based on his Death Dealer character was, at one point, in development at the defunct Acclaim Entertainment—his influence was not.

His dark fantasy style was an influence on Double Fine's heavy metal fantasy game Brutal Legend and Legend of Zelda series illustrator Yusuke Nakano lists Frazetta as an inspiration on his own work.

Frazetta's take on Conan was the foundation for the artistic direction of THQ's 2007 video game based on Robert E. Howard's character. Frazetta's lush and moody paintings graced album covers, movie posters and dozens of fantasy publications, including numerous Conan book covers, Eerie, Creepy, Vampirella and Heavy Metal magazine.

Frazetta suffered a stroke following a Mother's Day dinner, reports the New York Times. He died at a Fort Myers, Florida hospital earlier today.

If you're unfamiliar with the works of Frank Frazetta, do yourself a favor & correct that immediately HERE.


Inception (Graded)

Cobb, a CEO, illegally dives into dreams to extract information. Fischer is a business-type who is soon to become the head of a company. When Cobb & his team attempt to influence Fischer to split his company in two, a man named Saito become privy to the scheme & blackmails Cobb. When Cobb's wife dies in her sleep things turn into a nightmare.

Grade: A +
Full Trailer HERE
Trailer HERE
French Trailer HERE
Teaser HERE

Friday, May 7, 2010

Inception (Imax Poster Release)

Cobb, a CEO, illegally dives into dreams to extract information. Fischer is a business-type who is soon to become the head of a company. When Cobb & his team attempt to influence Fischer to split his company in two, a man named Saito become privy to the scheme & blackmails Cobb. When Cobb's wife dies in her sleep things turn into a nightmare.

Grade: A +
Trailer HERE
French Trailer HERE
Teaser HERE

Super 8 (Movie Watch)

In 1979, a group of kids playing around with a Super 8 camera making movies accidentally capture something… sinister, on film.

Trailer HERE
Teaser HERE
Teaser HERE (Leak)

The Scientist (Movie Watch)

Brilliant physicist, Dr. Marcus Ryan anguishes over the tragic death of his wife & daughter while secretly constructing a mysterious energy generator in his basement. The multi—dimensional energy unleashed by the machine triggers a series of events that propels Ryan toward a higher level of consciousness.

Trailer HERE

The Father of My Children (Movie Watch)

Grégoire Canvel has everything a man could want. A wife he loves, three delightful children & a stimulating job. He's a film producer. Discovering talented filmmakers & developing films that fit his concept is his vocation. With his bearing & exceptional charisma, Grégoire commands admiration & seems invincible. Yet his prestigious production company, Moon Films, is on its last legs. Too many productions, too many risks, too many debts. Storm clouds are gathering. But
Grégoire plows on at all costs. Where will his blind obstinacy lead him? One day, he is obliged to face the facts. In one word: failure. He is overwhelmed by fatigue. Which soon, secretly, turns into despair.

Trailer HERE

Death and Cremation (Movie Watch)

In a typical American suburb filled with middle class morals, a lonely 59—year—old, Stan, contributes to society by offering cremation services from his basement. In fact, Stan murders neighbors he perceives to be social bullies. Jarod, a fatherless 17—year—old high school outcast, lands an after—school job in Stan's cremation house & the two develop an unusual working relationship that quickly evolves into a partnership. As detective Matt Fairchild puts together clues from local disappearances, Stan must decide if protecting his newfound trainee is worth killing for.

Trailer HERE

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Killer Inside Me (Movie Watch)

Lou has a bunch of problems. Woman problems. Law enforcement problems. An ever-growing pile of murder victims in his West Texas jurisdiction. And the fact he's a sadist, a psychopath, a killer. Suspicion begins to fall on Lou, & it's only a matter of time before he runs out of alibis. But in Thompson's savage, bleak, blacker than noir universe nothing is ever what it seems & it turns out that the investigators pursuing him might have a secret of their own.

Trailer HERE

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Splice (Poster 2 Release)

Clive & Elsa are young, brilliant & ambitious. The new animal species they engineered have made them rebel superstars of the scientific world. In secret, they introduce human DNA into the experiment. The result is something that is greater than the sum of its parts: a female animal-human hybrid that may be a step up on the evolutionary ladder. They think they may have created the perfect organism but could they have destroyed themselves & the rest of humanity?

Trailer HERE
Clip HERE

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

The American (Movie Watch)

Alone among assassins, Jack is a master craftsman. When a job in Sweden ends more harshly than expected for this American abroad, he vows to his contact Larry that his next assignment will be his last. Jack reports to the Italian countryside, where he holes up in a small town & relishes being away from death for a spell but when jack decides to take a step out of the shadows it may just be tempting fate.

Grade: B +
Trailer HERE

Monday, May 3, 2010

Thor (Movie Watch)

"Thor" spans the Marvel Universe from present day Earth to the realm of Asgard. At the center of the story is The Mighty Thor, a powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions reignite an ancient war. Thor is cast down to Earth and forced to live among humans as punishment. Once here, Thor learns what it takes to be a true hero when the most dangerous villain of his world sends the darkest forces of Asgard to invade Earth.

Grade: B -
Leaked Extended Trailer HERE