RealD 3D and Dreamworks's animated Megamind

this is only a teaser trailer (haven't found a longer one yet), but i like the idea: make a "good" bad guy in an animated comedy.   the main character of this reminds me a little of the type of over-the-top, megalomaniacal villain in Monsters vs. Aliens, but it's hard to tell anything much from a teaser.

i'm actually looking forward to seeing a 3D animated movie.   i wasn't very impressed with Avatar as a movie, but it really was over the top visually, and the RealD 3D technology is amazingly good.   it projects polarized light off a specially reflective screen to each eye alternately, through the use of glasses with differenly polarized lenses, a total of 144 times per second.   i've read that (rarely) some people get headaches from watching these kinds of films, but i've also read that paying attention to the in-focus part of the picture- usually the point anyway- makes that even more rare.   i didn't have any problems watching Avatar, and i made a conscious effort to disobey that warning, specifically to see if it caused any.

incidentally, what's up with having people recycle those glasses? how inefficient is that?! how about saving them until the next time and bringing them with you? when they're 'recycled', are they disinfected and repackaged, or do they melt them down and keep making new ones? the only reason i can see for recycling those glasses is to make a little more money every time you buy a RealD 3D movie ticket.   i'd rather save my $1/ticket charge (or whatever it is) and keep the glasses.   (actually, i did keep mine, and i'll use them again next time whether i have to "buy" a new pair or not...i'm kinda neurotic about wasting perfectly good things.)

for better or worse, the 3D tech seems to be the latest "killer app" for the theaters, a real draw when many would prefer to spend less money streaming on-demand films through their HDTVs.   having a pretty decent TV myself, i see the attraction.   the TVs are getting better and cheaper all the time, and the content is much cheaper in the long run, especially if you'd be buying multiple movie tickets for a lot of films.   movie theaters are notoriously expensive! you can make the argument that it's the concessions that double the cost, but what's a movie without popcorn? that's part of the experience, in my book.   besides, it's what keeps them in business.   and there are always going to be films you MUST see on the big screen.

i doubt this movie's one of them, but some animated 3D film or another will eventually see me shelling out $50 for the privilege of sitting in a dark room with my son, in funny glasses, eating overpriced popcorn.

M. Night Shyamalan does The Last Airbender

having a son is a perfect excuse to sit around watching cartoons...at least until they get old enough to think that's not so cool anymore.   (then you have to find a new excuse to commune with your inner geek.)   anyway, my son was the right age when the original cartoon version of this was new, and it was a good show.   Shyamalan's done a lot of films- some of them really excellent, like The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, and Signs- but i really didn't know what to make of it when i heard he was doing this.   looks like he nailed it.   if the performances live up to the look and the scope of this project, he'll rightfully have one of the biggest hits of the year on his hands in July.   i'm really looking forward to this one- hope it's not a disappointment, and i don't think it will be.

by all means, watch the animated series first!

Ridley Scott's Robin Hood redux

i've had a thing for medieval period films as long as i can remember, mostly because i was completely obsessed with King Arthur when i was a kid.   and i've also had a thing for summer blockbusters, ever since i saw Star Wars at the drive-in in fourth grade...or was it fifth?...i think it was fifth.   anyway, if it's sci-fi or fantasy epicness, count me in.   Ridley Scott's done some great stuff, including two of my favorite movies of all time, Blade Runner and Aliens.   Russell Crowe was one of those guys that didn't do much for me at first, but i thought he was pretty excellent in Gladiator and even better in Cinderella Man, so i'm looking forward to seeing him play another of my favorite classic characters here.

but i'm really looking forward to seeing Cate Blanchett in this; you can pretty much count on an excellent performance from her.   if you haven't seen them, check out The Gift, which also has a really great performance by Giovanni Rabisi, and Veronica Guerin.   and definitely check out Elizabeth, if you haven't.

recycling The Sorceror's Apprentice

this is Disney's live-action spin on their old Fantasia segment.   is nothing sacred?!   well, Mickey fans can rest easy; this has nothing to do with the beloved Mickey-battles-the-flood short, and everything to do with capitalizing on the famous name.   think National Treasure meets Harry Potter.   Alfred Molina is likely to be a great big PLUS for this film, as he's usually pretty fantastic, and he gets to play a villain here.

this film's premise is similar to The Vampire's Assistant (trailer & clips here), the first film adaptation of Darren Shan's Vampire Blood trilogy (the first of 4 trilogies in his fictionally biographical Saga of Darren Shan arc).   Assistant had some great story elements, a lot of humor, and occasionally stellar special effects work; it was entertaining, but short of outstanding.   not having read the books, i can't comment on them personally, but i gather J.K. Rowling liked them.

Apprentice looks like it had a lot higher budget- your typical Disney summer blockbuster / family-oriented action-adventure film.   i was skeptical but, judging by the trailer, this could be fun.

Kick-Ass hits the theaters in a couple weeks- looks pretty good

i think Chloe Moretz is about to be a household name, even though most people are going to think twice about letting their kids watch her in this movie, which comes off as a bloodier, darker sort of "Superbad-meets-Mystery Men", but is really an adaptation of Mark Millar's graphic novel.

official trailer #4 (yes, there are 3 more, and no, i'm not posting them all)




unrated trailer #2 (Hit-Girl is awesome.)




unrated trailer #1

from the youtube page:

Release date: 16 April 2010
Cast: Mark Strong, Nicolas Cage, Aaron Johnson, Chloe Moretz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse


A twisted, funny, high—octane adventure, director Matthew Vaughn brings KICK—ASS to the big screen. KICK—ASS tells the story of average teenager Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson), a comic—book fanboy who decides to take his obsession as inspiration to become a real—life superhero. As any good superhero would, he chooses a new name — Kick—Ass — assembles a suit and mask to wear, and gets to work fighting crime. Theres only one problem standing in his way: Kick—Ass has absolutely no superpowers. His life is forever changed as he inspires a subculture of copy cats, meets up with a pair of crazed vigilantes — including an 11—year—old sword—wielding dynamo, Hit Girl (Chloë Moretz) and her father, Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) — and forges a friendship with another fledgling superhero, Red Mist (Christopher Mintz—Plasse). But thanks to the scheming of a local mob boss Frank DAmico (Mark Strong), that new alliance will be put to the test.