While watching Tron the other night I was surprised to see a familiar shape:
I wonder if Namco is receiving residuals with every copy of this movie sold? Regardless, this was a nice touch, and is just one of many reasons why Tron is such an amazing flick.
If you haven’t picked up your copy of Lord Of The Rings on blu-ray, what the heck are you waiting for? Yeah, yeah, I know…”no EE, no sale.” But when do you honestly expect the extended versions to be released? And if you’re willing to pass up on the theatrical versions, then you have more self control than I.
As my greedy, sweaty hands ripped into the soft plastic skin of this box set, I couldn’t help but notice the following MPAA ratings on the back of the box:
Hmmm…what’s the difference between “Scary Images” and “Frightening Images”. I would think that there’s enough of a difference between the two to distinguish “Scary” and “Frightening”.
Utilizing the vast, unbridled power of the tubernets, I see that Webster defines “scared” as:
Thrown into or being in a state of fear, fright, or panic
And “frightened” as:
1 : to make afraid : terrify
2 : to drive or force by frightening
These two definitions seem to define the same thing, so why does the MPAA differentiate between the two? Is this simply busy work? A way to justify their existence?
Of course there’s always the option that I’m making too big of a deal about this trivial matter.
*meh*
I don’t know about you, but seeing the trailer for the original Tron movie has really got me pumped to see the remake / sequel:
For my money, any movie that stars The Dude and Captain Sheridan has got to be doing something right.
I haven’t watched this film in a couple of years. I think I’ll be dusting off the DVD tonight and giving it a spin. Won’t you please join me in counting down the days until the release of Tron 2.0?
Mulling over my 2500+ DVD / Blu-ray collection this weekend, I was in the mood for an action/adventure type of flick. Equilibrium? No, too preachy. The Road Warrior? No, too gritty. Ronin? No, too good (save that for later). Ah…what’s this? Peter Jackson’s King Kong? Well, I hadn’t seen this since its release. I had completely forgotten that I even owned a copy, so I decided to give it a spin.
Bouncing downstairs with King Kong in hand I threw it into the PS3, settled down with a glass of Sam Adams, and prepared to be entertained.
Unfortunately, what I witnessed could not be classified as “entertainment”.
Not to put too fine of a point on it, but Peter Jackson’s King Kong is perhaps one of the worst movies ever made. I find it hard to believe that the same guy who filmed the Lord Of The Rings trilogy managed to create this stink of a movie. Overproduced, poorly acted, and overly long are perfect descriptors for this embarrassment of a major motion picture release. I could only bring myself to watch up through the dinosaur stampede scene before jumping from the couch and angrily pushing the eject button with furious rage.
I felt used, belittled, and manipulated.
Now I know why I couldn’t recall anything about this film.
I had had enough. No, Peter, I’m not scared by skulls. Please stop with your dramatic slow motion zooms onto every skull on the island. No, Peter, I don’t feel like your 80’s era special effects drew me into the action. I felt like you were mocking the audience by making us watch the deck hand as he did his best Curly Howard impersonation, running in an obvious cable harness as the “ground” fell out from under him (note: this was the scene that solidified the painful, gnawing notion in my belly that I was watching a film that was worse than Dead Ringers). And no, Peter, Jack Black is not a dramatic thespian capable of eliciting an emotional bond between the viewer and his character. In fact, I was hoping that you would be breaking from script and offing Black in the first miserable act.
Question for you Peter; did you even pay attention to the way in which King Kong was swinging and thrashing about the character of Ann? Any normal mortal would have had their neck snapped in an instant. Now, I know I’m supposed to suspend my disbelief here. I mean, after all, this movie is about a 25 foot gorilla…but come on. I dare you to revisit this scene and tell me how Ann didn’t have her delicate neck snapped in two, show any visible signs of whiplash, or at least pass out due to the rough treatment from said ape.
As I write this post I’m skimming through this film on my computer. Skipping to the end I’m greeted with the most cringe worthy tag line of the entire movie. The way in which Jack Black utters the classic line “It was beauty killed the beast,” I was half expecting him to break out into a Carrot Top inspired object-oriented comedy bit routine. I’m still unsure how he managed to hold back the giggle that the obvious twinkle in his eyes betrayed. Black must have known that he didn’t have the acting chops to carry this flick. How he ever got the part I’ll never know.
To think that I wasted $15 on this film during its initial DVD release. What a waste. I’m going to purge this movie from my internal data bank (again) by throwing in a copy of Bad Taste tonight. At least that movie was bad in a cool sort of way.
Delicatessen. A dark comedy released in 1991, tells the story of a post-apocalyptic world where meat has become so scare that it’s used as currency. Residents inhabiting the world of Delicatessen live in an apartment complex situated above a deli which is run by a butcher who lures in his victims with the promise of a job as the building’s handyman. Unfortunately, none hired have lived long enough to see a paycheck. They instead end up as meat for sale in the delicatessen.
This film pulls off such a macabre premise with style and flair that doesn’t rely on shocking violence, but instead thrives on brilliant characters and some of the most amazing set designs you’ll ever see on film. Nothing short of a Terri Gilliam film could even come close to touching the style that this movie managed to capture. Easy enough for the entire family to watch, but filled to the brim with enough bizarre situations and filming techniques to keep this flick firmly entrenched in cult status, this is one movie you can’t afford to miss.
Luckily this film was re-released on DVD in 2008, and can easily be picked up from Amazon. Be sure to check out Jean Jeunet and Marc Caro’s other film The City Of Lost Children, which stars a pre-Hellboy Ron Perlman. TCoLC is about a scientist who steals the dreams of children in a bid for eternal life. This movie is much like Delicatessen, but to the 10th power. Best to ease into this one with a viewing of Delicatessen first…
Dominique Pinon (whom you might remember from the movie Alien Resurrection) plays an unemployed clown who's duped into becoming the latest in a long line of unfortunate handymen.
The Frog Man, who lives in an apartment inhabited with frogs and sails.
The fragile Aurore Interligator who believes that spirits in her apartment are urging her to kill herself in ever more complex ways.
The underground rebellion who live, literally, underground.
The mad butcher anxiously awaits the arrival of the newest handyman.
