I’m sure that by now anyone who’s even remotely in the know of entertainment today is aware of the release of The Twilight Saga: New Moon, second Twilight film adaptation.  The previews and trailers indicated a possible improvement over its predecessor, which for just about any sane movie fan meant something above lousy.  As such, expectations for the film seemed to be of a fairly moderate level, with potential for some profit to be made in the first few days of its release.  A fair opening seemed to be the most likely outcome, nothing groundbreaking at all.

Of course, when you’re living in a generation that has certain award shows (ahem, MTV) give the first Twilight a Best Picture award over The Dark Knight and even the merely above average Slumdog Millionaire, any ludicrous events can come about.

And sure enough, we wind up seeing New Moon rake in high numbers and even break records.  For those who might not be up to date, here are the film’s opening numbers and previously set records for comparison:

Midnight Showing

New Moon: $26.27 million (from 3,514 theaters)

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: $22.2 million (from 3,003 theaters)

Full Opening Day

New Moon: $76.27 million

The Dark Knight: $67.2 million

Opening Weekend

New Moon: $140 million

Spider-Man 3: $151 million

The Dark Knight: $158 million

Additionally, the film grossed $118.1 million, which brings its current worldwide total to over $258 million already.  Even if you actually happen to be a fan of the films, those are some rather shocking numbers, especially given it broke two records and now has a bronze medal for best opening weekend.  The irony of these results, however, is with the reception the movie has garnered, holding a 30% on RottenTomatoes (4.8/10 average from 162 review) and, at the time of this post, a 4.5/10 on IMDB from just less than 16,000 votes.

Now, although I’m aiming to make a career out of reviewing common entertainment productions, I refuse to spend my hard-earned cash on either of these films to earn no compensation.  But even without know how good or bad New Moon would be ahead of time, I think it’s quite absurd how well it’s done already.  Even Summit Entertainment (which produced the movie) is surprised at how much money it took in.  The target audience is about as cliché and shallow as a movie can get, and it seems everyone who possibly could’ve been turned on by this wound up seeing it.

Tragically, this is only going to lead to subsequent adaptations that will be as bad, if not worse and because the studio(s) now know they can bring in plenty of money, they don’t even have to worry about effort.  Can we get a round of applause for our generation, ladies and gentlemen?

And to think Robert Pattinson, who did a more than adequate and praise-worthy job in Harry Potter in the Goblet of Fire, has become little more than a make up mannequin who acts like a soap opera lead.

The highlight of any Las Vegas trip, the huge number of them makes it impossible to visit every single one of them on two nights. Or maybe it is possible if you stay up for 48 hours straight. There were so many beautiful ones out on the strip that we weren’t able to walk into, but the favorites of mine that we did have the chance to visit were Paris, the Luxor and the Bellagio (no surprise there). The stinker about casinos is that you can’t take any pictures on the playing room floor because they have such a beautiful setting, especially the Bellagio.

Luxor
It’s been around for quite a long time, and the last time I was there they had a little boat ride inside the hotel for people to ride. The tour boat ride is now gone, but that’s good though, you get to focus on the casino and the hotel itself, and the hotel is quite the setup.

Inside the pyramid you can see that all the doors to all the hotel rooms, which I can imagine is pretty sweet to have a view of the lobby floor and the casino as soon as you walk out of your room. The view from the outside is awesome with the pyramid and the ancient Egyptian statue.

Paris

Now i’ve never been to Paris, but from just how the casino tries to model the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe, I think I may definitely want to take a trip and slam a few bottles of wine.

The Eiffel Tower has an elevator ride to get to the top, where you can take some great pictures of the Las Vegas skyline. I wish I had more time to check the view, because I can only imagine it being very beautiful.

The casino inside is pretty interesting as soon as you walk in. You see a part of the foundation of the Eiffel Tower come through the casino floor, where people have access to the elevators. As you walk through the casino floor, the ceilings sport clouds and a blue sky that brightens up the playing area, which is a welcome change from some of the dark and drab casino room floors at other hotels.

The hallway of shops and restaurants inside Paris I can only assume models some of the city streets you can find overseas. As you walk through it leads you to the casino room floor of Bally’s, which is right next door. Now right across from Paris is the Bellagio, and the awesome Bellagio Fountain.

The Bellagio

The cream of the crop is what I gotta say of the Bellagio. The fountain was the main draw to me, because once again playing and gambling isn’t my thing. But the hotel and casino is just gorgeous from inside out. Walking through to the casino floor I passed the shops inside, and with the shops they have you know only the people with good money stay here. The Bellagio was the main hotel target in the film Ocean’s 11, which made it just as cool walking through it. It’s kinda like walking through Chicago knowing that it was the site of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.

Upon walking up to the registration desk, on the ceiling is a beautiful arrangement of artificial flowers. The colors are eye catching and vibrant, and a photo doesn’t do it justice.

Right across from the registration desk is the site of the Bellagio Conservatory, home of a crapload of fresh flowers and one cool light display that changes every so often, complimenting the flowers, ‘lawn decorations’ and water fountains that is inside the conservatory. Currently it’s in it’s Fall theme, with a very scarecrow greeting you as you walk in.

The lawn decorations I speak of are the things that stick out of my head when thinking about the conservatory. It’s not a bad term I’m giving it, it’s just pretty interesting to see a couple of talking trees inside. it’s something I haven’t experienced since watching The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

It was definitely a fun trip out there and to get away from Chicago for a few days. If you’ve been reading my last few entries, just remember that if you head out to the Vegas desert, check out these spots on top of the other places you see, and don’t take Spirit airlines!

The Twilight Series has done it again.  First it was the books and now Stephenie Meyer has taken her ever so popular series to the big screen.  This week alone “New Moon” grossed 140.7 at the box office.  This means, the second movie in the Twilight Series took number 1 at the box office.  Only movies to do better were the “The Dark Knight” which holds the record for the biggest weekend debut at $158.4 million, and “Spider-Man 3″ with $151.1 million.  And get this, according to CNN the majority of her audience is female (80% of tickets went to females).

Other popular movies at the Box-Office:

“The Blind Side” which is a true life sports drama and stars Sandra Bullock raked in 34.5 million

“2012″ brought in $26.5 million this weekend, totalling $108.5 million.

“Planet 51″ came in 4th place bringing in $12.6 million.

Disney’s, “A Christmas Carol” came in 5th and brought in 12.2 million, and now sits at 79.8 million.

-Ron

Right off the bat, I want to admit that I find the word underrated to be overrated.  And overrated…well, that’s just…well…that’s overrated, too.  I mean, how can we, as consumers, public viewers, the opinionheads of the country, really know how to gauge the “ratedness” of a particular item/product/etc.  There’s the internet, but that’s only a fraction of the population.  A hefty fraction, but still, you’re leaving out other demographics.  There are box office rates and billboard and award shows and many other outlets that give us, the public, a peak into the majority opinion.  BUT…that still doesn’t determine what is “underrated” or “overrated”.  This opinion often includes those disinclined to go to the movie theater (like myself) and wait for DVD, or those people who don’t buy DVD’s in store – but rather from a street vendor, or get it themselves online.  It’s the same with music.  There are forums and message boards where people from around the world can talk/argue/bullshit about the media around us.  But still, how can you really know what should be considered underrated or overrated?  Some throw these words around, with the meaning behind it their own opinion, rather than everyone elses’.  For example, Johnny may have seen The Dark Knight and couldn’t find one redeeming factor in the duration of the runtime.  But what about the numbers?  It shattered box office records and made millions on top of millions, so Johnny here, would say, “The Dark Knight is overrated.”  It’s a blockbuster, though.  How many people go to the movies to see the blockbusters just because they’re the blockbusters?  I would bet a decent amount.  Then, there’s the hype.  Word of mouth.  People at work talk about Heath Ledger’s performance or Christian Bale’s death-metal-vocalist impersonation, and soon that word travels, and a good chunk of the populace are going to see it.  The movie earns a spot on the biggest moneymakers of all time.  Johnny must feel something here.  He must be thinking, “this movie is overrated”.  It makes sense.  It seems everyone and their mother has gone out to see this movie!  BUT, so has Johnny.  How many Johnny’s are out there?  For every person like me, who enjoyed the hell out of the movie, there’s someone who didn’t take away anything from the viewing.  Therefore, it wouldn’t be fair to call The Dark Knight overrated. 

Then, there’s music.  Like today’s pop music.  I can’t stand it, nor can I find any ounce of talent or heart or soul in the majority of what’s considered popular music today.  All that American Idol, Britney Spears stuff, or the Lil’ Wayne, modern rap stuff.  I see how popular it is, and just think, how overrated?  But once again, for every American Idol-loving person, there’s the opposite, the one like me, wondering what the hell happened to good music?  There’s usually an equal divide.  What’s underrated to one, may be overrated to another.  It’s all based on opinion – where there is no right or wrong.  It’s a touchy subject, therefore I tend to stray away, and worry only about the opinions of myself or the people close to me. 

While a talented band musically, LRB weren't the best-looking band.

So why name a blog Criminally Underrated when I’m against the word choice altogether?  I’ll tell you why – because I believe it.  Who listens to the Little River Band?  Seriously?  Who?  Aside from the few songs on the radio, who else, besides a tiny portion, could name a Little River Band song?  Maybe the word/phrase I’m searching for is under looked. 

Little River Band is an Australian rock band whose heyday took place in the late 1970’s.  Their biggest hits in the U.S., ranging from 1975 to 1981 included “It’s a Long Way There”, “Lonesome Loser”, “Lady”, and “Reminiscing”, which peaked at # 3, making it their biggest hit.  By 1983, they had lost many of their core band members, including lead vocalist Glenn Shorrock and harmony vocalist/guitarist  Beeb Birtles.  Founding member Graeham Goble stuck with the band throughout the 80’s, trying to keep it fresh and innovative, but this is around the time when the band’s excellence started to decline.  They went for a faster, more aggressive (with the times) sound that just didn’t work for LRB.

I’m not saying they’re the greatest band in the world.  We all know that title is reserved for Tenacious D.  But somewhere between Crosby, Stills and Nash and The Eagles is Little River Band – with their harmonic choruses and smooth arrangements.  They also have a few country-tinged tunes (mostly found on the rare After Hours album which apparently the U.S. record company found “too dark” and had them record a new album which would be Diamantina Cocktail).  However, besides the hits, there are a great number of songs to be heard in the discography of LRB.  The tragic part of the tale is that the Little River Band touring today features no founding members.  It’s basically a cover band.  They played at a festival in my city a year ago, and I opted not to go because of this little fact.  If Shorrock, Birtles or Goble aren’t there, well, I’m not either. 

Now, the reason I call LBR underrated is that I’ve only met a handful of people who’ve actually heard of them.  One of them is my father.  This makes sense – he remembers them from when they were a successful rock band.  But what about now?  Why no resurgence?  You’ll hear younger people talk all day about CSN, The Eagles, Steely Dan, and other countless “classic rock” acts, but why no LRB?  Am I alone in this respect for the band?  Well, if I am alone, then that would certainly justify the title “underrated”.  There are not many forums or message boards where LRB is being discussed on the internet, and literally every record store I’ve been are missing any selection from this band.  Why is that?

Below are some videos from youtube.  Check it out and let me know what you think.  Is this the first time you’ve heard of this band?  Are you a longtime fan?  Do you think I’m crazy for defending this one-time popular but now washed-up band?  Comment below and share your opinions, people of the internet!

Este oficial. Twilight Saga: New Moon a spart recordurile inca din prima noapte. Astfel, incasarile totale ale filmului in seara lansarii au fost de 72,7 milioane de dolari!

Poate suma nu pare extraordinar de mare, dar hai sa luam, de exemplu, filmul “The Dark Knight” cu regretatul Heath Ledger, care a strans 67,2 milioane de dolari in prima seara.

Fanii sunt foarte incantati de noul film cu vampiri si asteapta cu nerabdare Twilight Saga: Eclipse si evident, soarta filmului Breaking Dawn.

YahooMovies kirjutab –

Vampiirid ja libahundid on saanud võitu pimedast rüütlist. “Videviku saaga: Noorkuu” võttis esimesel linastuspäeval 72,2 miljonit dollarit, mis ületas viie miljoniga eelmist esimese-päeva-rekordit! Eelmist rekordit hoidis “The Dark Knight” (“Pime/Tume rüütel”), mis kogus esimesel päeval külastajatelt 67,2 miljonit dollarit.

Kui “Noorkuu” hoiab oma rada, on sel võimalik saada ka avanädala rekord, mis ületaks, jällegi, “The Dark Knighti” 158,4 miljonit dollarit.

Need andmed käivad ainult Ameerika Ühendriikide ja Kanada kohta – mis siis küll ülejäänud maailmas toimub?

Millal Sina “Noorkuud” vaatama lähed?

This video took me by surprise. His Batman impression is very entertaining. There are several moments in here that make it worthwhile, even though there are a certainly a few stupid things, of course.

After breaking the record for biggest midnight opening, “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” earned over $72 million its opening day, breaking “The Dark Knight’s” record of $67 million. The opening weekend record of $158 million may be in danger.

What do you think?

Lukas Eggen

Esta ocasión repasaremos la carrera de la tal vez mi actriz preferida: Maggie Gyllenhaal, quién cumplió 32 años el pasado 16 de Noviembre. Comenzemos con lo personal, la hermana de Jake Gyllenhaal esta casada con Peter Sarsgaard y tienen una hija llamada Ramona.

Y por qué es mi tal vez actriz favorita? Simplemente porque es demasiado aventada, o no? Quién la haya visto lo ha de saber también como yo. Si, ya se, la vi por primera vez en The Dark Knight, y agradezco a Dios que hubieran quitado a Katie Holmes (Gracias!!) con su actuación deshabrida.

(referring to when she started acting) “Even in elementary school, I took it really seriously. I was always doing plays.”

Aquí hay un recorrido en el tiempo por las múltiples facetas de Maggie Gyllenhaal:

En la SECRETARIA, interpreta a una chica masoquista que consigue trabajo con un jefe sádico…ya pueden imaginarse el resultado. La película esta muy bien, aunque sí la recomiendo para adultos, a menos que quieran quedarse como yo cuando la vi: :O  WTF?  La enseñanza de la película es: sí son secretarias, nunca se equivoquen con la máquina de escribir. Aunque después de ver esta película no creo que se vuelvan a equivocar…

Toda una estudiante promiscua en los años 50 en LA SONRISA DE LA MONA LISA, quién no tiene prejuicios y hasta tuvo una relación amorosa -y corta, claro- con su profesor de italiano, bajo la tutela de Julia Roberts y compartiendo créditos con Julia Stiles (10 cosas que odio de ti).

“I want roles that challenge people to question where they are in life.”

Una madre con antecedentes penales a causa de las drogas y el alcohol que quiere ganarse el cariño de su hija de cinco años a quién no ha visto en años, esto es en SHERRYBABY, una genialísima película donde su actuación es tan convincente que dan ganas de golpear a la madre sustituta.

Una adolescente dark que trabaja como niñera de unos niños que pelean contra una MONSTER HOUSE…claro, sólo dobló la voz.

Logra que Will Ferrell pruebe las galletas con leche, y por ahí se convierte en su novia, en MÁS EXTRAÑO QUE LA FICCIÓN, mostrando su lado sarcástico y dulce a la vez.

Y, pos supuesto, es la novia de Harvey Dent, el interés de Bruce Wayne y una parte del plan del Joker en…THE DARK KNIGHT, siendo Rachel Dawes.

Estas son sólo algunas de las memorables actuaciones de Maggie, y bien vale la pena verlas; y más aún las películas independientes. Feliz Cumpleaños (atrasado) Maggie!

“There are two ways to be cool: One is to be disinterested and make it seem like you must be doing something much more interesting than everybody else if you are this disinterested. The other is to be extremely interested. You are not trying to please anyone, but you are really invested are really focused.”

I am looking for movies that are actually about something and that are questioning something. Movies that are provocative in some way and I am also looking for roles that I think will force me to grow or learn something about myself or the world in order to play them well.

“The Twilight Saga: New Moon”, which stars Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner, Robert Pattinson, Dakota Fanning and Michael Sheen showed just how popular it was last night. The film made $26.67 million from its midnight showings, breaking the record of $22.2 set by “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince”. The film now has a chance to break “The Dark Knight” opening-day record of $67 million. What did you guys think of the movies?

Lukas Eggen

Took me a while to get todays list together I drank way too much Great Lakes Christmas Ale last night and have been sleeping most of the day. Anyway here are MY top five comic book movie fight scenes. It was a hard list to compile since there are so many good ones but these are my top five. What are yours?

Number Five: The Dark Knight: BatPod vs. Truck
This could have been the whole movie and I would have been just as happy.

Number 4: Sin City: Marv’s Story
Marv’s whole story is like a big long terrific fight scene.

Number Three: X-men 2: Nightcrawler at the Whitehouse
This scene is just down right amazing.

Number Two: Superman 2 Fight in Metropolis
This is the first fight scene of its kind and it still holds up in my opinion.

Number One: Spider-Man 2 Train Fight
This fight reminds me of what it felt like to read comics as a kid.

Nell’annuncio ufficiale, la Mattel giustifica le nuove scelte a proposito della serie Movie Masters di “The Dark Knight” dicendo che sono dettate da vendite particolarmente soddisfacenti. Difficile crederci. Basti pensare che la prima delle action figures uscita in esclusiva sul sito Mattycollector.com cioè Joker versione rapina in banca (Joker as Gotham City thug, foto a sinistra) oggi, a più di un mese dal lancio, è ancora disponibile e non sold out (i personaggi di altre serie, come ad esempio i MOTU Classics di He-Man & company, vanno sold out in pochi giorni, spesso anche in un solo giorno)! Le notizie sono due:

- le prossime action figures saranno vendute a 15 dollari e non a 20 dollari;

- a partire dalla primavera 2010 le action figures, una volta uscite su Mattycollector.com, saranno disponibili anche nei negozi americani della catena Toys “R” Us!

Perciò, Joker versione rapina in banca rimarrà l’unica esclusiva di Matty. Il fatto che le action figures avranno un mercato alternativo al sito Mattycollector.com rende auspicabile e molto possibile un calo dei prezzi e un fiorire delle occasioni su ebay. Le action figures usciranno su Mattycollector con cadenza mensile a partire dal 15 Dicembre. Ecco il calendario (suscettibile di modificazioni):

- 15 Dicembre: Survival Suit Bruce Wayne
- 15 Gennaio: Harvey Dent
- 15 Febbraio: The Joker with Missile Launcher
- 15 Marzo: Scarecrow
- April 15: Batman (Night Vision)
- 17 Maggio: Two-Face

[Fonte ToyNewsInternational]

It has been reported recently that Studio Warner Bros. and Director Chistopher Nolen will supposedly announce plans for the next Batman movie  next Januray. Considering that most news related in Batman 3 has been fairly flimsy as of late, I certainly hope this is true.

Here’s a shocker…writers make mistakes, or in this case, unintentional faux pas. Considering the 70 year history of Batman, something like this panel doesn’t seem too out of line given the thousands of words that have been written on the Dark Knight.

Having a sidekick means you’re going to come into physical contact with him (or her), but within the context of every other superhero in the scene being concerned over a women, this comes across as curiously homoerotic.

File this under unintentionally hilarious.

[via yesbutnobutyes]

~Beckett Noyes

So we took a look at the characters of The Road. This got me thinking:

I was blown away by Viggo Mortensen’s performance in The Road, but I found myself asking, what other great performances impacted me and our readers?

Maybe it was Heath Ledger’s haunting portrayal of The Joker, the classic performance of James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause, or Kate Winslet in Titanic.

Whatever it is,

What do you think are the greatest performances of all time?

Comment below.

Schutt und Asche.

Einen Monat bevor Roland Emmerichs bahnbrechendes Weltuntergangsszenario zum ersten Mal über die Leinwände flackerte und direkt am Startwochenende einen tsunamigleichen Geldstrom in die Kinokassen spülte, hatte Dr. David Morrison vom astrobiologischen Institut der NASA wenig Gutes über die viralen Marketingmaßnahmen zu sagen, mit denen man bei Sony vorab schon mal ein bisschen wohlige Panikstimmung aufkommen ließ.

InstituteforHumanContinuity.com hieß der Stein des Anstoßes, der für den Weltraumforscher eine Lawine ins Rollen brachte, die allerdings im direkten Vergleich mit den herabstürzenden Schneemassen in Emmerichs Film eher mikroskopische Ausmaße annahm. Bekanntlich ist das Internet ja bereits randvoll mit jeder Menge dubioser Sekten, weißgekleideter Gurus oder langhaariger Hobbypropheten, die vom nahen Ende künden und dazu in der Regel auch ziemlich genaue Daten vorlegen können (welche dann nach Ablauf der jeweiligen Frist – irren ist menschlich – eben nochmal nachgebessert werden müssen). Wen also soll da eine weitere pseudowissenschaftliche Organisation aus der Reserve locken, die für den Stichtag 21.12.2012 die immerhin 94-prozentige Chance einer Kollision des blauen Planeten mit einem anderen Himmelskörper vorausberechnet und Tickets für geheimnisvolle Überlebensarchen verlost? Niemanden. Niemanden jedenfalls, der nicht ohnehin schon vom Untergangsvirus infiziert ist und vielleicht bereits heimlich Plakate mit der Aufschrift „Das Ende naht“ in der Hinterhand hält. Konsequenterweise bedauert im Film selber, als schon die halbe Erdoberfläche in Schutt und Asche liegt, eine der Figuren am meisten die Tatsache, dass ausgerechnet „die Idioten mit den Schildern“ Recht behalten hätten. So kann man es natürlich auch sehen.

Doch Dr. Morrison würde hierüber vermutlich nur den Kopf schütteln. Dem „Independent“ berichtet er in einem Beitrag vom 17. Oktober über mehr als eintausend verängstigte Anfragen von Menschen, die befürchteten, die NASA halte Informationen zurück und helfe auf diese Weise, den Weltuntergang im Maya-Jahr zu vertuschen. Teenager gar habee es gegeben, die sich mit Suizid-Gedanken beschäftigten, weil sie nicht miterleben wollten, wie es mit Mutter Erde zuende geht. – Was einen da in erster Linie lehren sollte, seine Plattensammlung nach Alben von Morrissey oder Robert Smith zu durchsuchen und die aufgespürten Exemplare unauffindbar vor dem eigenen Nachwuchs zu verstecken, ist in Wahrheit (und da können sich alle mit der Erziehungsarbeit überforderten Eltern nach kurzem Aufschrecken wieder beruhigt zurücklehnen und weiter zappen) die Schuld der PR-Abteilung eines großen Hollywood-Studios ohne Moral und Gewissen – letzteres übrigens eine Tautologie.

Fake-Websites sind in der Vermarktungsmaschinerie für US-Blockbuster heute Standard und manchmal mindestens so unterhaltsam wie die beworbenen Filme selber. Auf den ersten Blick mag man sich täuschen lassen, doch bei genauerem Hinsehen wird in aller Regel ziemlich schnell klar, dass man es mit einer oftmals ziemlich kostspieligen Fiktion zu tun hat, die vor allem eines will – ein Produkt verkaufen. Was da unter dem Label „Virales Marketing“ verbucht wird, hat längst den Charakter von Online-Spielerei eingenommen. Filmcharaktere bekommen eigene MySpace-Profile und fiktive Firmen eine aufwendige Webpräsenz. Sogar ganze Wahlkampagnen finden mittlerweile im Netz statt, ohne dass der Kandidat, geschweige denn das Amt, für das er antritt, überhaupt existieren (so geschehen mit Harvey Dent aus „The Dark Knight“).

Im Fall von „2012“ rührten die virale Werbetrommel neben dem anstößigen „Institute for Human Continuity“ (wobei der Name selber ersichtlicherweise bereits der erste Witz der absurden Hoemepage ist) auch die Webpräsenz von „Farewell Atlantis“, dem erfolglosen Weltuntergangsroman von Hauptfigur Jackson Curtis (John Cusack), sowie der offizielle Blog von Charlie Frost (sehr lustig und vollkommen irre: Woody Harrelson), einem Verschwörungstheoretiker, der so ziemlich alles über die letzten Tage der Menschheit weiß und dies mithilfe von selbstgebastelten Flash-Animationen (quasi der dilettantische Gegenpol zu den perfekten CGI-Wundern des Films) an seine Leser weitergibt.

Farewellatlantis.com stellt mit einem downloadbaren Probekapitel und einem Original-Vorwort von Science-Fiction-Autor Nick Sagan (schrieb u.a. einige Episoden von „Star Trek Voyager“) dabei fast eine noch bessere Illusion dar als die umstrittene Instituts-Homepage. Ein Blog hingegen, wie ihn Charlie Frost führt (thisistheend.com), ist tatsächlich nur einer von vielen seiner Art – und bei den meisten weiß man viel weniger über deren Realitätsgehalt als in diesem unübersehbar fiktiven Fall. Dass alle drei Webpräsenzen übrigens deutlich als „Part of the 2012 Movie Experience“ gekennzeichnet sind, hebt sie deutlich von vergleichbaren früheren Maßnahmen im Umfeld von „Blair Witch Project“ bis „Cloverfield“ ab. Dr. Morrision darf sich also wieder beruhigen – sofern er nicht selber Bestandteil der Kampagne ist. Man weiß ja nie.

Im Hinblick auf Emmerichs Untergangsszenario hat das Spiel mit Fiktion und Realität natürlich seinen ganz eigenen Reiz. Während die Marketing-Abteilung bei Sony alles dransetzt, Elemente des Films in der virtuellen Umgebung des Internets mit möglichst vielen Realwerten aufzuladen, macht sich das Geschehen auf der Leinwand einen Spaß daraus, die Sache von der anderen Seite anzugehen. „2012“ spielt in gewissem Sinne in einer Art alternativer Gegenwart, komplett mit einem farbigen US-Präsidenten und einem Gouverneur aus Kalifornien, dessen Englisch mit unüberhörbar steierischem Akzent durchsetzt ist (und dessen Worten man selbstredend keinen Glauben schenken kann, denn, so stellt Jackson Curtis glasklar fest, der Mann ist Schauspieler, und was er sagt, liest er von Karten ab). Doch echte Originale gibt es praktisch keine, auch wenn Deutschland zum Zeitpunkt des Weltuntergangs von einer Frau regiert wird und der italienische Ministerpräsident zu borniert ist, um sich in Sicherheit zu bringen. Einzig die englische Queen hat es in Emmerichs Parallelwelt unbeschadet hinübergeschafft.

So sehr der Film aber auf allzu genaue Imitationen realer Vorbilder verzichtet, so präzise bildet er all das nach, was er in der Folge dann mit den aufwendigsten Zerstörungsmaßnahmen, die es je auf der Leinwand zu sehen gegeben hat, gnadenlos einreißt, umstürzt, dem Erdboden gleichmacht oder überflutet. Und das geschieht nicht nur überaus gründlich, sondern vor allem mit einem derart entfesselten Willen zur visuellen Überwältigung, dass es einen als Zuschauer vollkommen paralysiert. Nie zuvor hat irgendein menschliches Auge Vergleichbares wahrgenommen, und alles, was Emmerich bis dato gemacht hat, wirkt angesichts von „2012“ wie eine bloße Ansammlung von Fingerübungen. Kein Zweifel, der Mann aus Sindelfingen, der hierzulande ebenso gerne wie lange als bemühter aber untertalentierter Spielberg-Klon verlacht wurde, ist auf der Höhe seines Könnens angekommen.

Und das betrifft nicht nur die grandiosen CGIs. Gegen Ende der ersten Stunde nimmt der Film in einem Maße Fahrt auf, dass man es mit der Angst zu tun bekommen kann. Und wenn man sich von den unglaublichen Zerstörungsorgien erholt hat, muss man fast befürchten, dass alles Pulver, das Emmerich zur Verfügung steht, schon verschossen ist – so gewaltig erscheint das, was man da gerade zu sehen bekommen hat. Der erste Angriff der Aliens in „War of the Worlds“ verkommt zum Sandkastenspiel gegen das, was hier geboten wird. Und doch leiht sich der Film den entscheidenden dramaturgischen Trick ausgerechnet genau dort aus. Denn die Tatsache, dass die unfasslichen Bilder vom völligen Zusammenbruch aller Zivilisation (zunächst Los Angeles) nicht selbstzweckhaft abgebildet werden und zur reinen Show verkommen, wie es bei früheren Emmerich-Produktionen verstärkt der Fall war, sondern zumeist den Rahmen einer halsbrecherischen Flucht bilden, sorgt erst dafür, dass man dem Geschehen unabhängig von den Schauwerten folgt und „2012“ ganz nebenbei einige der atemberaubendsten und spannendsten Action-Sequenzen der letzten Kinojahre erhält.

Aber auch sonst sind einige Parallelen zu Spielbergs Apokalypse-Variante nicht von der Hand zu weisen und klar intendiert. Am deutlichsten wird dies in der Konstellation, mit der die Hauptfigur in Gang gesetzt wird. Denn die Zerstörung der Menschheit soll für den durchschnittlichen US-Zuschauer vor allem lesbar sein als Makrokosmos-Variante zerrütteter Familienverhältnisse. Und so bildet folgerichtig die Keimzelle der Gesellschaft denjenigen Ort, der gerettet werden muss, wenn die ganze Rasse überleben soll. John Cusack übernimmt den Part von Tom Cruise und dekliniert ihn nach allen Regeln der Kunst durch. Warum machen Emmerich und sein erneuter Co-Autor Harald Kloser das? Weil es funktioniert.

Doch das Ensemble an Figuren hat noch weitaus mehr zu bieten, und auch hier ist ein entscheidender Unterschied zu früheren Filmen des erfolgreichsten deutschen Kinomachers in Hollywood spürbar. Wo sonst oft eine gewisse Eindimensionalität der Charaktere vorherrschte, entfaltet sich hier eine ganze Handvoll sehenswerter Sympathieträger, die aber immer noch so nah am Rande der gewohnten Klischees entlang balancieren, dass sie für das breite Publikum, wie es ein fast 300 Millionen Dollar teurer Spielfilm braucht, problemlos konsumierbar bleiben. Das ist Emmerich zuvor nur selten, und wenn, dann nur in Ansätzen so trefflich gelungen wie hier. Besonders bemerkenswert ist dabei, dass selbst Figuren, die zunächst nur Abziehbilder zu sein scheinen, nach und nach mehr Tiefe offenbaren dürfen, als man auf den ersten Anschein vermuten würde, und die Darsteller tragen das Ihre dazu bei.

„2012“ ist selbstverständlich nicht frei von gnadenlosen Übertreibungen, unglaublichen Zufällen und hier und da einer gehörigen Portion Pathos. Dagegen ist nichts einzuwenden, denn an anderer Stelle gelingen dem Film dafür auch einige ungewöhnlich stille Momente, die der ganzen Sache zu einem bemerkenswert breiten emotionalen Spektrum verhelfen. Dass im letzten Drittel einiges an Zugeständnissen notwendig wird, um die Spannung aufrecht zu erhalten, ist das Ergebnis einer dramaturgischen Technik, die bereits die meisten Bond-Filme mit Roger Moore vorangetrieben hat – nur dass Emmerich und Kloser noch gehörig eins draufsetzen. Aber wer will ihnen das vorwerfen, wenn man sich schweißgebadet am Sitz festkrallt angesichts der ständigen Knappheit, mit der die Figuren immer wieder so gerade noch dem sicheren Tod von der Klinge springen?

Genau 12.012 Jahre früher reichte dem Urzeitkriegers D´Leh noch ein einziger Speer, um einer fehlgeleiteten Kultur ein Ende zu bereiten, zwölf Jahrtausende später müssen sich schon die Erdplatten verschieben, um die Dinge wieder zurecht zu rücken. Und das ist alleine optisch schon die bessere Variante. The End of the World is a helluva ride.

Artikel © 2009 Thomas Lenz. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.
Filmplakat / Fotos: Sony Pictures Releasing GmbH

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He just wanted to do a kickflip over him that’s all. That’s all a guy really wants right? What a great image.

The Batman franchise has been a shot in the arm for DC fans. When the Tim Burton Batman movies came out, I was impressed with both the visual and story-telling aspects of the movies. Once Joel Schumacher came on board, the movies got more and more campy and lost the dark tone that the Burton movies had made. (How can we forget the awful bat nipple costumes?!?!?!)

Let’s now fast forward to the Batman Begins and The Dark Knight films, which took the core elements that make Batman a great character and showcased them perfectly. Of course, the Christian Bale voice-work was laughable, but overall the story-telling was solid and the villains were executed to perfection. Chris Nolan has a great vision of the Batman mythos and makes the character portrayal dark and ruthless, yet also humanizes Bruce Wayne. Overall, the newer franchise has had great casting as there have been memorable cast members, however, I exclude the Rachel Dawes character here because I felt she didn’t add much in the first first film.

Villains are one of the things that get discussed the most when we go into “New Batman” territory. After the great work by Liam Neeson, Cillian Murphy and of course Heath Ledger, the Batman villains have taken a life of their own in terms of popularity, and are always being looked at closely by the press.

With that being said, below are some of my casting choices for villains in any future Batman films that may go into production.

Much like my article in the previous post regarding Spider-Man,  lower-tier villains make great filler material and could be introduced throughout the film as criminals that Batman has caught and dropped off at Arkham. When I say lower-tier, I mean the likes of:

• Mad Hatter
• Deadshot
• Mr. Zsasz
• Black Mask
• Penguin

(Now I am sure many of you will probably not agree with a character like the Penguin being considered lower-tier, but given the darker tone of the films and the lack of danger the character possesses I chose to make him a lower-tier guy.)

Batman's Rogues Gallery

Here are my cast picks:

• Riddler-Personally, the Riddler is a character that has become more pivotal in recent Batman titles and has slowly moved up the ladder from being a hack villain to being a real force. You would want his character to be on par with the Joker, but with a more sarcastic wit about him. Now in terms of smarmy and sarcastic I see some great acting choices. JohnnyDepp of course is a fan favorite and would do well. Another choice to me would be Ed Norton. I would even go towards Crispin Glover who fits that dark persona that the villains seem to be taking as of late.
• Talia al Ghul- If you want to go back to Ra’s Al Ghul territory, his daughter would be a great villain. In terms of casting, I would only go with Rhona Mitra since she has great physical presence, is easy on the eyes and has already done a great deal of stunt work which would prove useful as someone who can not only fight Batman, but mess with him psychologically due to his past history with Ra’s.
• Catwoman- A fan favorite and rumored for the next film. With Catwoman, you want strength, speed, beauty and a sultry yet dangerous persona. You need a good actress who can really convey emotion since there will be plenty of dialogue between her and Batman. To me the following actresses can pull off this role with ease.
  • Angelina Jolie- A fan favorite that embodies all the traits I mentioned above.
  • Charlize Theron- Her work in Aeon Flux showed she’s not afraid of doing action scenes and can act well in dialogue-heavy roles.
  • Jessica Biel- Physically perfect for the role. I am certain many question her acting ability but I am sure that for a Batman film she would step her game up.
  • Scarlett Johansson- Much like Angelina, she embodies all the qualities needed for the role.
  • Kate Beckinale- After her work in Underworld, I am sure she would be a make a great Catwoman as well.
• Clayface- While he doesn’t fit in well with the more realistic tone. I feel that like Ra’s Al Ghul in the first film, he can be made a more threatening and tortured character. With Clayface, you want a young, handsome actor who can convey both anguish and anger after becoming a monster. I like Jake Gyllenhaal for this role as he can convey the unbalanced chracter very well.
• Killer Croc- Much like Clayface, his character can be dark and terrifying. If you need further proof see the Arkham Asylum game which made Croc not only a force but also showed a terrifying mind behind the grusome visage. For Croc, you need a physically imposing presence. I would go with Micheal Clarke Duncan, which with heavy make-up and/or CGI would fit,  as has the acting chops to make Croc a serious problem. I also like  Andrew Bryniarski who not only has an imposing frame but has experience playing characters that require heavy prosthetic work.

I am only scratching the surface on Batman’s Rogues Gallery and I am sure many of you wanted to see some other characters. To me, the character choices I have made here reflect my personal choices well.

Do you agree or disagree? Leave your comments and share your picks.

That bastion of truth Wikipedia has compiled a list of the highest grossing flicks of this decade so far, and if you look closer at the top 20 films at the box office, only one movie has not been based on a past film or (remake/sequel), or an adaptation of an established property. You know the sources: comic, book, play, Hasbro toy etc. I highlighted in a previous post (quite brilliantly…) the upcoming film releases based on old products. However, I did not realise the full extent of the Old Rope+Short Attention Span=Money formulae.

Want to know the the only original feature film to make it into the the top 20 of this decade?

Finding Nemo, which nestles in well at #15 with $864.6 million.

Further still, if you look at the top 30 films from this decade thus far, there is only one other original film property among the pack

DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda, #30 spot with $631.7 million.

Worryingly, out of the top 50 grossing films of this decade, there are only 9 movies based on original premises and properties. Out of the nine, five, yes FIVE of those nine films have come from the Pixar Studios camp. A damning indictment to an industry built on grandiose spectacles. How spectacular can something be in its third incarnation? Maybe Up! wasn’t the rendered Citizen Kane it has become accepted as, rather, an original story that dared to depict death in a children’s movie.

Cheers Pixar.

As for the rest of you layabouts….

You can find the entire top 50 below:

1 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King New Line Cinema $1,119,110,941 2003
2 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest Disney $1,066,179,725 2006
3 The Dark Knight Warner Bros. $1,001,921,825 2008
4 Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Warner Bros. $974,733,550 2001
5 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End Disney $960,996,492 2007
6 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Warner Bros. $938,212,738 2007
7 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Warner Bros. $929,022,922 2009
8 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers New Line Cinema $925,282,504 2002
9 Shrek 2 DreamWorks SKG $919,838,758 2004
10 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Warner Bros. $895,921,036 2005
11 Spider-Man 3 Columbia $890,871,626 2007
12 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Warner Bros. $878,643,482 2002
13 Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs 20th Century Fox $878,615,229 2009
14 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring New Line Cinema $870,761,744 2001
15 Finding Nemo Disney / Pixar $864,625,978 2003
16 Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith 20th Century Fox $848,754,768 2005
17 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Paramount $833,229,011 2009
18 Spider-Man Columbia $821,708,551 2002
19 Shrek the Third DreamWorks SKG $798,958,162 2007
20 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Warner Bros. $795,634,069 2004
21 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Paramount $786,636,033 2008
22 Spider-Man 2 Columbia $783,766,341 2004
23 The Da Vinci Code Sony / Columbia $758,239,851 2006
24 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Disney $745,011,272 2005
25 The Matrix Reloaded Warner Bros. $742,128,461 2003
26 Transformers DreamWorks / Paramount $709,709,780 2007
27 Ice Age: The Meltdown 20th Century Fox $655,388,158 2006
28 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Disney $654,264,015 2003
29 Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones 20th Century Fox $649,398,328 2002
30 Kung Fu Panda DreamWorks SKG $631,736,484 2008
31 The Incredibles Disney / Pixar $631,442,092 2004
32 Hancock Columbia $624,386,746 2008
33 Ratatouille Disney / Pixar $623,707,397 2007
34 The Passion of the Christ Newmarket $611,899,420 2004
35 Mamma Mia! Universal $609,841,637 2008
36 Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa DreamWorks SKG $603,900,344 2008
37 Casino Royale MGM / Columbia $594,239,066 2006
38 War of the Worlds DreamWorks / Paramount $591,745,540 2005
39 Quantum of Solace MGM / Columbia $586,090,727 2008
40 I Am Legend Warner Bros. $585,349,010 2007
41 Iron Man Paramount $585,133,287 2008
42 Night at the Museum 20th Century Fox $574,480,450 2006
43 King Kong Universal $550,517,357 2005
44 Mission: Impossible II Paramount $546,388,105 2000
45 The Day After Tomorrow 20th Century Fox $544,272,402 2004
46 Madagascar DreamWorks SKG $532,680,671 2005
47 The Simpsons Movie 20th Century Fox $527,071,022 2007
48 Monsters, Inc. Disney / Pixar $525,366,597 2001
49 WALL-E Disney / Pixar $521,268,237 2008
50 Meet the Fockers Universal $516,642,939 2004

Dré

Joker’s Pencil Trick

One of the greatest movies; The Dark Knight.

I like quite a few aspects from this kinetic typography video and I think elements improve through the length of it. Just two parts out of many that I like are the ‘hmm’ that comes out diagonally from the writing and the jumping punctuation around ‘plan’. This is such as interesting part of the movie, the words and the way they are said and also the great sounds that accompany these words by Heath Ledger…. Amazing!

Now compare this with the one below. Some similar elements and some very different. Both have nice textured backgrounds to them.

The contrast of the different typefaces is a nice effect, with the Joker having a great odd looking font.

Monty Python

Funny audio clip, with some nice creativity. I like when the page fills up with words from all different places and angles and along with the simple imagery and type it has a great effect.

Simplicty rules here.

I have been enjoying looking at different kinetic typography videos since one of our earliest workshops for this A-Z of Graphic Language projects, where we were creating our own kinetic typography videos in Flash.