“9″ In Theaters Tomorrow, 9-9-09

"The Spark of Life..."

Shane Acker, Tim Burton & Timur Bekmambatov’s apocalyptic CGI — stop motion inspired — animated film “9″ finally hits theaters tomorrow and this is definitely one of the few films that I’m going to have to see in theaters this year for that larger-than-life effect. This one had me right from the get-go as it just drips creativity and originality. I’m also excited to just continue to sit back and marvel as animation continues to reach this whole new plateau in terms of technical and creative achievement.

Also, be sure to head over to Film in Focus for some very cool extras, including character/production art, interviews, games, and much more.

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On the Radar: Reynold Brown: A Life in Pictures

Reynold Brown: A Life in Pictures from The Illustrated Press

by Daniel Zimmer and David J. Hornung
Standard Edition: $39.95 U.S. (+$5.00 P&H), 9 x 12, Full Color, 224 Pages, HC

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John Adams, The HBO Mini-Series

“Our obligations to our country never cease but with our lives.”

I have great respect for America’s Founding Fathers and gained and even greater one for John Adams during my recent American Navy course given that, like Washington, he was indeed “a friend to the Navy” during his tenure as 2nd President of the United States and that he understood the need to ‘always be ready for war at sea,’ and built up America’s Navy accordingly that well protected America’s shores — so having heard over and over that HBO had put together a 7-hour mini-series, and that it was ‘exceedingly’ good just as many times, I figured that I had best put it at the top of my ever-growing Netflix queue and get crackin.’

I viewed the first episode, “Join or Die” last night, and it definitely left a good impression, enough so that I will be making it a point to finish the next 6-installments within the next week or so.  Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney are already a couple of my favorite actors as is so seeing them in their respective roles as John and Abigail Adams was a real treat.  Once again, I’m a little late to the part, but better late than never as the old saying goes.

John Adams is a sprawling HBO miniseries event that depicts the extraordinary life and times of one of Americas least understood, and most underestimated, founding fathers: the second President of the United States, John Adams. Starring Paul Giamatti (Sideways, Cinderella Man, HBOs American Spendor) in the title role and Laura Linney (You Can Count on Me, Kinsey) as Adams devoted wife Abigail, John Adams chronicles the extraordinary life journey of one of the primary shapers of our independence and government, whose legacy has often been eclipsed by more flamboyant contemporaries like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and Benjamin Franklin. Set against the backdrop of a nations stormy birth, this sweeping miniseries is a moving love story, a gripping narrative, and a fascinating study of human nature. Above all, at a time when the nation is increasingly polarized politically, this story celebrates the shared values of liberty and freedom upon which this country was built.

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‘Writing Up a Post About Coraline!’

I wasn’t able to make it on opening weekend, but I was finally able to break away this weekend with my girlfriend to see a 3-D showing of the stop-motion animated film Coraline in Dallas as part of our Valentines day expedition.  It takes an awful lot for me to venture over to Dallas, so you have to know that I was pretty excited to see it after enjoying the Hugo award winning book so much last year.

So to get right down to it, in the film we follow Coraline, a remarkable young girl that’s big on imagination and anxious to fill her days with adventure.  Only thing is she’s just moved to a a new home at the Pink Palace Apartment Complex, has no new friends yet, and her parents are so preoccupied with their jobs, and settling into the new place that they pay very little attention to her.  Bored and alone, she sets out to  find exciting new things wherever she can find them.  And one day our little “explorer” happens upon a small door in her new, ginormous, house that she had never stumbled across before.  Initially disappointed that it led to nothing but a sealed brick wall, through a series of strange events, she finds that late at night she’s able to walk through a tunnel behind the door that leads to an opening on the other side.  One evening, summoning her courage, she slowly crawls into the tunnel and emerges from the other side only to find herself…right where she started, the very room that she had just left.  Or is it?  Little details are different and when she hears her mother’s humming nearby she walks into the kitchen to find her mother hard at work cooking dinner.  Coraline is astonished at the whole thing given that the kitchen smells great and that her mother and father don’t cook particularly well, but is even more taken back when her mother turns around, a big smile on her face, revealing buttons for eyes!

Hi Coraline, I’m your other mother.

It’s a world full of magic and fantasy, and a place much different than the dull, rainy, days that fill her afternoons at home — but all is not as it seems and Coraline quickly learns that at second glance, this new world is in reality, a nightmare in the making and that if she is to survive, and save those she loves, she’ll have to utterly defeat her ‘Other Mother.’

Coraline is a fantastic movie full of wonder and imagination, weirdness, zany characters and much for the eyes to feast on throughout the 100-minute stop-motion experience.  I was consistently awed at what Selick and his talented crew of animators were able to do with the stop-motion technique and had to remind myself multiple times of just what I was seeing.  The story isn’t rushed, and there’s plenty of time to immerse yourself in the fantastic world that Gaiman and Selick have created.  The voice actors all did an amazing job, with particular kudo’s to Dakota Fanning and Terri Hatcher for bringing the two main characters to life in the amazing manner in which they did, and Bruno Coulai’s musical score almost became a character unto itself as I was consistently tuning in to see what each piece would bring to a scene.  Enjoyed it so much, in fact, that I downloaded the soundtrack the next day.

Anyhow, I hope you’ll go see the movie and that you’ll get a lot out of it as well.  I had a lot of fun wit it and can’t wait to own the DVD, with all the behind-the-scenes “making of” features! Let me caution you not to take young children to see it without having first screened it yourself as there are some particularly scary scenes for youngsters.  A little guy sitting near me, for example, sat crouched in his seat hiding his face in his Dad’s sleeve half the movie.  Also, be sure to stay through the credits.

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The Office and Other Treasures

Well, my girlfriend and I decided to brave the crowds this Thanksgiving weekend to look for Christmas gifts and while we certainly did that, I also managed to snag a few items at deep discounts that I’ve been meaning to pick up for my collection as well.  For example, our local Target had The Office Seasons 2 and 3 on sale for $13.98 a piece so I happily scooped those up and added them to my basket.  I had to put the series on hold there for awhile after I cancelled my former DVD service, but now that I’m back with Netflix and after picking these two sets up I can start up where I left off at the end of Season 2 and finally get caught up.  It’s been awful hard to have the current Season sitting in my cable gueue andt not being able to watch it knowing that so much has happened that I didn’t want to have spoiled for me (unfortunately, I’m aware of one of the big ones despite my attempts to avoid knowing what’s going on).  Anyhow, my plan is to fire the last of Season 2 this evening and treat myself to at least a couple hours of laughs.

I also finally picked up Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Edward Wright’s Shaun of the Dead at $8.99 and Hot Fuzz for $4.99. These quickly became two of my favorite movies and now I keep an eye out for anything  these folks are involved in.  While I’m sure these won’t be the last editions I own, I figured at this price they’d hold me over until I could get the Blu-Ray or Collector’s editions.  I also picked up The Simpsons Movie for $5.98, so all in all, a great time out with my gal and I managed to to get a few rewards for my efforts in the process.  Even managed to see The 40-Year Old Virgin, starring Steve Carell, again over the weekend (TV version) so a good ‘ol romp of a time all around!

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“What’s This!?”

Hitting store shelves today is the Blu-ray re-release of Tim Burton’s stop-motion animation classic The Nightmare Before Christmas (Blu-Ray + Digital Copy), complete with its treasure trove of extras. So, if you’re one of the many fans of Jack Skellington’s Christmas tale then you’ve got an awful lot to look forward to. Thanks to the Hi-Def Digest here’s a run-down of what you’ll get for your hard earned dollar:

The Special Edition DVD that was released in 2000 contained a bounty of supplemental material. The Blu-ray retains almost everything from that disc.

• Frankenweenie (SD, 30 min.) – Tim Burton’s 1984 short film stars Shelley Duvall and Daniel Stern as the parents of a young science whiz who brings his recently-deceased dog back to life through the miracle of electricity. The local townsfolk don’t react well to the discovery. The black & white short is a little stilted in pacing, but is a clever tribute to 1930s classic horror films and demonstrates the promise of Burton’s developing visual sensibilities. The Blu-ray contains the extended director’s cut version of the film. The piece is preceded by a new video introduction in which Burton plugs his upcoming animated remake.
• Vincent (SD, 6 min.) – Another chestnut from the Disney archives, this early stop-motion animated short by Burton illustrates a poem narrated by Vincent Price. The influence on ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’ (as well as Burton’s short-lived animated series ‘Family Dog’) is abundantly clear. In fact, keep an eye out at time codes 1:20 and 4:45 for a prototype version of Jack Skellington making his first appearance on celluloid.
• Deleted Storyboards (SD, 3 min.) – Storyboards for three deleted sequences (including an alternate ending) are presented with brief commentary by Burton explaining why they were dropped. All three scenes have temp music and dialogue (not by the main cast).
• Deleted Animated Sequences (SD, 5 min.) – Three scene extensions and one entirely new scene made it all the way through to completed animation but were eventually cut for time.
• The Making of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas (SD, 25 min.) – A fascinating documentary that explains the stop-motion animation process and gives a good overview of Burton’s designs, the music, storyboards, art direction, lighting, and how the puppets were manufactured. Unlike most “making of” featurettes available on home video, this one has some real substance to it and isn’t just EPK filler material.
• Halloween Town – This section of the disc is devoted to still galleries filled with character designs and concept art, as well as some short animation test videos. The categories are: Jack; Sally; Oogie Boogie; Evil Scientist Igor; Lock, Shock & Barrel; and the Citizens of Halloween Town.
• Christmas Town – Designs and concept art for Santa and his Helpers.
• The Real World – More still galleries devoted to the poor townspeople Jack terrorizes with his Christmas shenanigans.
• Storyboard-to-Film Comparison (SD, 4 min.) – A breakdown of the Town Meeting sequence.
• Posters – A brief still gallery of five poster art designs.
• Trailers (SD, 4 min.) – One teaser and one full theatrical trailer. The teaser plays up the Disney tradition for innovation in animation and reveals that the film was originally planned for release under the Walt Disney Pictures banner.

Additionally, the Blu-ray shares the following new bonus features with the 2-Disc Collector’s Edition DVD being released simultaneously:

• Audio Commentary by Tim Burton, director Henry Selick, and music producer Danny Elfman – This track has been edited together from three separate recording sessions. Selick’s participation sounds to have been culled from the commentary on the prior DVD. Nevertheless, this is an interesting listen with a lot of solid information about the making of the film. Elfman’s comments about the music are particularly interesting. Burton has been hit-or-miss in past commentaries. He’s pretty focused here, perhaps benefiting from his session being heavily edited.
• What’s This? Jack’s Haunted Mansion Holiday Tour – On Track Version (HD, 7 min.) – This promo for the theme park attraction based on the movie can be viewed either with or without a pop-up trivia track. The trivia jumps on and off the screen far too quickly. The exhibit itself looks kind of neat, but this short ad for it is pretty lame.
• What’s This? Jack’s Haunted Mansion Holiday Tour – Off Track Version (HD, 37 min.) – Much more interesting is this extended version of the promo, which incorporates numerous interviews from the Disneyland “Imagineers” explaining how they convert the traditional Haunted Mansion ride to a ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’ theme each year. (Note that the pop-up trivia is not available during the “Off Track” version.)
• Tim Burton’s Original Poem (HD, 12 min.) – The poem that served as the inspiration for the film is narrated by Christopher Lee and illustrated with brand new animation based on Burton’s original concept art. In this version of the story, Jack is much more of a Grinch-like character. This is a very cool feature.
• D-Box Motion Code – Viewers with D-Box equipped furniture can load the disc into a PC drive to synchronize the shaking and jostling movements with the action on screen. The codes are also available for download from D-Box directly if you don’t have a Blu-ray drive in your computer.
• DisneyFile Digital Copy – The second disc in the set provides a portable video version of the movie compatible with either Windows Media or iTunes. The file can be downloaded from the disc with an activation code provided in the packaging.

Amazon.com is offering the Blu-ray edition at 30% off the cover price, so at ~ $28 dollars that’s a heck of a steal.  Heck, make it an early Christmas present & have yourself some happy nightmares!

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Neil Gaiman’s Coraline – The Movie

Back in April I had the pleasure of reading Neil Gaiman’s Coraline while waiting for my niece to be welcomed into the world (and in the case that you’d like to check it out the brief review you can read the entry here) and I did so after catching a glimpse of the upcoming stop-motion animated film that’s being directed by Henry Selick of The Nightmare Before Christmas fame. Nightmare is one of my favorite animated films, and I love stop-motion animation so I knew this was for me. And after reading the book I’m really looking forward to seeing how they capture the dark, twisted, atmosphere of the novel.

The film will be released in February ’09, and if you’ll check the vodpod section on the sidebar you’ll find an interesting ‘making of’ featurette from IGN that offers a nice glimpse into how much care goes into a project like this, complete with some commentary from Mr. Gaiman himself.

Attached below is a trailer for the film. And I don’t care how many times I hear it, after reading the book that female voice at the end still freaks me out…you’ll see!

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The Dark Knight

It’s fairly easy for me to tell when a particular movie is doing well. My local theater is only a stone’s throw away from my apartment and when a highly anticipated movie premieres I can expect that for a good, solid, weekend that the parking lot will be packed and that there will be a little more traffic on the road home. But with The Dark Knight, it’s been a heavy stream of traffic area since the day it was released. Just last night I passed by the theater on the way to dinner with the family and once again saw that the place was packed. I thought that perhapsThe Mummy had drawn the crowd, but in the back of my mind I had a feeling that the packed house was more likely due to folks going to see The Dark Knight (and in some cases, for the second time). According to Newsarama, I may have been right:

Turns out even the undead can’t stop Batman. Despite the new Universal release The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor leading the North American box office on Friday, according to new estimates (at boxofficemojo.com) for the three-day period, The Dark Knight will again be the weekend’s overall winner. The Dark Knight is estimated to have taken in $43.8 million dollars for the Friday-Sunday period, which would only be a little less than a 42% drop from its total last weekend and would be the second-best third weekend in box office history, behind Spider-Man‘s $45m in 2002…The Dark Knight is now estimated to have grossed nearly $395 million in total domestically and could break the $400m barrier by end of business Monday, just 18 days after its release.

I’ve seen the film twice now, and despite a few nit-picks, I really did enjoy the experience both times. I think I’ll avoid an in-depth review as I just don’t think there’s much more that I can add to the steady stream of praise out there, but I did want to mention that despite the dark, dark atmoshphere I appreciated the theme of hope that ran simultaneously throughout. Evidenced best in Batman’s principled fight to oppose the Joker at every turn, physically and ideologically, Commissioner Gordon’s commitment, and the good nature of the citizenry that won out when the Joker thought he had the people pegged. And speaking of the Joker, I knew very little of Heath Ledger, outside of the tragic news of his death, but I have to echo the steady stream of praise that he’s received for his portrayal – Ledger simply stole the show with his terrifying rendition of the clowned prince of Gotham. Humorous one second, and a monstrosity the next, I never knew what to expect from the Joker one scene to the next and was completely convinced that this guy was capable of bringing down a city almost single-handedly despite his claims to…simply be sowing a little chaos. On multiple levels he nailed the complexities of the twisted clown and it was a fantastic performance all around. And despite having no love for Hollywood, the Oscars and such, it would be a shame if Ledger wasn’t nominated posthumously for the performance. It’s been a great year for comic movies and the bar is climbing ever higher as a result. Good news for all of us (and that much more after I was unfortunate enough to catch the end of X-Men the Last Stand last week *Shudder*).

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Disney – Pixar’s WALL·E

I think I’ve seen more movies this year than I have in the past 2-3 years combined. It’s been a little tough on the pocket book, but I really can’t complain because it’s been a great “summer at the movies” so far, and with a couple of months left to go it looks like I’ll be seeing at least 2 or 3 more.

Anyhow, my Mom’s birthday was this weekend and she was itching to see WALL·E, so we ordered the tickets early, loaded into the car, and braved the opening night crowds to celebrate. Surprisingly, eight of us were able to shuffle into the 5:00 p.m. showing with no incident, get the exact seats we wanted and enjoy the show. I was also surprised when the short film “Presto” fired up on screen as, despite devoting some time to it here, I had completely forgotten it was going to precede WALL·E until I took a moment to recollect what short film we’d be treated to. And, while short indeed, It proved to be as good as I anticipated, and definitely carried with it a Warner Bros. feel throughout. Hope y’all enjoy it.

As for the main feature itself, WALL·E is a masterpiece. Pixar did such a good job animating this, for example, that I had to remind myself that I wasn’t watching a live-action feature at times. It does become a little more evident that this is an animated piece when we get our glimpse at the humans in the story but this is not the CGI of even 2-3 years ago and it is literally amazing what we’re seeing on screen. I sure hope folks take a moment to consider the “magic” as they view these obvious labors of love from Disney & Pixar (especially when they’re this well done).

As for the story itself, you likely already know that the feature follows a quirky little robot (a Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class unit a.k.a. WALL·E) whose directive is to convert an immense amount of human waste into neat, disposable, piles in order to help clean up the mess humanity has made of the earth. The planet hasn’t been able to sustain life since ~2100 so the Buy ‘N Large company initiates a program to take humanity into space while the waste allocation units clean the place up. So, yes, there’s an environmental message at play here but it doesn’t get so heavy handed that it becomes distracting or distracted (I’m looking at you Happy Feet) and who among us doesn’t appreciate the fact that we all need to go a little further in taking care of ourselves and the environment around us – so I don’t begrudge the message. But back to the little guy. In the hundreds of years its been since humanity left WALL·E not only becomes the last remaining unit, but he also develops a curious, playful, personality and genuinely enjoys new discoveries, and tinkering with collectibles that he finds in his daily trash duties. But beyond this, each day is fairly predictable, until a space ship arrives on earth and out pops an “Eve” unit. It’s love at first site for our hero and the movie really takes off (no pun intended) from there.

WALL·E is a fantastic family movie, it has a highly original cast of characters that you’ll be cheering on throughout, some heart-breaking moments (which you had to see coming if you were following the trailers) and it adds those extra layers to the experience as we become fascinated with watching WALL·E defy all odds, save the day, and remind us all of a thing or two about the value and quality of life along the way. Please go enjoy it for yourself, and take a moment to marvel at how far animation has come…and where it’s going.

Thanks WALL·E!

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The Incredible Hulk

I was itching to see The Incredible Hulk on opening night, certainly on the opening weekend, but circumstances prevented me from doing so and I had to put that enthusiasm on hold a little until I could free up some time to spend an evening at the theater. Which means that I’ve spent the last couple of weeks trying to avoid spoilers and such until I could go. Well, my Dad and I finally managed to free up an evening last night and go see the film so I thought I’d spend a few minutes discussing it a little here.

Like a number of moviegoers, I wasn’t really a big fan of Ang Lee’s 2003 Hulk release, so I was really looking forward to seeing what the new Marvel Studios would be able to do after re-aquiring the license, particularly after their stellar Iron Man debut. And, honestly, not really knowing what to expect going into the film I can say that I wasn’t the least bit disappointed and genuinely enjoyed the film very much. Anyhow, for those that haven’t seen the film yet, and it appears that – like myself – there are still a few late to the party, here is how Marvel describes it:

‘The Incredible Hulk’ kicks off an all-new, explosive and action-packed epic of one of the most popular super heroes of all time. In this new beginning, scientist Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) desperately hunts for a cure to the gamma radiation that poisoned his cells and unleashes the unbridled force of rage within him: The Hulk.

Living in the shadows—cut off from a life he knew and the woman he loves, Betty Ross (Liv Tyler)—Banner struggles to avoid the obsessive pursuit of his nemesis, General Thunderbolt Ross (William Hurt) and the military machinery that seeks to capture him and brutally exploit his power.

As all three grapple with the secrets that led to the Hulk’s creation, they are confronted with a monstrous new adversary known as the Abomination (Tim Roth), whose destructive strength exceeds even the Hulk’s own.

And on June 13, 2008, one scientist must make an agonizing final choice: accept a peaceful life as Bruce Banner or find heroism in the creature he holds inside—The Incredible Hulk.

That’s actually more than you’d likely need to know going into the film, but having it fleshed out on the big screen is where the fun is. I freely admit that I was hoping to see an awful lot of “Hulk Smash” in the flick, I mean this is what the character does and what he does really well, but there is certainly more to the Hulk than smashing and sheer violence (always has been) and I was absolutely blown away with the way Marvel personified the Green Goliath, effectively balancing the creature’s absolute rage with a child-like nature that merely sought to be left alone, even cared for it the scenes between the Hulk and Betty Ross are an indication. These scenes underscore the fact that the Hulk isn’t a “monster” in the cruel sense of the word, but a tragic child-like innocent that resides deep in the heart of a behemoth who merely desires to protect himself and the ones he most assuredly loves.

It was fun to contrast the Hulk, with the misguided desires of both General “Thunderbolt” Ross and Emil Blonsky, particularly in the case of the latter. Blonsky’s thirst for power, and an edge, leads him down an all-together different road than Bruce Banner and in direct confrontation with the Hulk throughout the course of the film. But I don’t want to spoil too much there, just rest assured that there are some intense action scenes between Emil and the Hulk and that they are indeed epic. There’s a lot left to mention. I obviously loved the connection to Captain America that you can find in the film and turned to my Dad briefly to fill him in and quickly voice my enthusiasm (quietly of course). I also really appreciated the nod to the 1970′s Hulk series, including: the transformation scenes, the”Lonely Man” score that played during Banner’s exile, and Lou Ferrigno’s role as the Hulk’s voice and a security guard in the film (which was a fun scene between him and Edward Norton). And speaking of Norton, he really does do a fantastic job playing Banner. The scenes featuring his dejection and utter exhaustion are honest, but he brings just enough sense of humor to the role that the performance doesn’t become too “angsty” for its own good – just the right balance. Liv Tyler also did a very convincing job as Betty, impressively running the gauntlet of emotions that a character like this would have gone through, from utter joy at Bruce’s re-appearance to outright horror at the actions of her father, etc. Her anger management scene on the streets of New York, in particular, was a real hoot! I need to wrap this up, but I can’t do so without saying how much I enjoyed that final fight scene between the Hulk and the Abomination. With Iron Man, I was so impressed with the film and the conflict throughout that I was satisfied with the confrontation between Stark and Obediah at the end of the film, but when contrasting it with the final battle in The Incredible Hulk, there really is no comparison (now mind you, Iron Man obviously has its own strengths). Rarely, and probably not since Superman 1 & 2 have I been as engaged in a fight sequence as I was with the final confrontation between these two. The Hulk simply came to life on the screen in a way that was even greater than my expectations, and his fight to keep Betty safe and defeat the Abomination was felt in every punch, kick, and scream. Likewise, seeing his strength grow with his rage was awesome, in the literal sense of the word. So cool!

I really wanted to see this in the theater so as to take advantage of the larger than life visuals, the atmosphere and the sound. It was loud, and during some of those fight scenes the seats literally shook from the power of the speakers. It was almost as if you were right there watching the two battle it out and I highly encourage anyone that hasn’t seen it to try to get out and do so. So, yes, needless to say I loved the movie, it’s great fun, and I probably rank it somewhere just behind Iron Man, and right there with Spider-Man 1-2, which are my favorite Marvel movies to date. That’s darn good company.

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