To those of us who grew up in a world filled with arcades and 8-bit games, words cannot express how much of a love-letter this film is. In the vein of other heart-felt animated gems like Monster’s Inc. and The Incredibles, comes this super-sweet looking film about a video game villain, Ralph, who decides he no longer wants to be the “bad guy”, and ventures into other games in hopes of becoming a “hero”. This trailer premiered on MSN so have a look at it as well as an intro from Ralph himself, John C. Reilly… Directing this delightful looking animated throwback film is “Futurama” and “The Simpsons” alum Rich Moore.Yes, Brave looks really good but Wreck-It Ralph is the animated…
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Ohhh, Look…First Look At 'Wreck-It Ralph' Characters – UPDATED
Last week we got a look at Ralph, from Pixar’s upcoming Wreck-It Ralph. It wasn’t much but it did have that old school, side-of-an-arcade-game look/feel to it. But this morning, USA Today has 4 exclusive images from the feature. In the film about a vintage 8-bit brute, Ralph (voiced by John C. Reilly) has been bashing buildings for 30 years as the well-mannered hero Fix-It Felix, Jr. (30 Rock’s Jack McBrayer) has constantly repaired all his demolition handiwork. Ralph decides he no longer wants to be the “bad guy”, but in his attempts to change his ways he unleashes a deadly enemy who threatens to destroy every game in the arcade. Behold, some…
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Off the Shelf…'John Carter'
Watching Andrew Stanton’s adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ seminal science fiction pulp novel, A Princess of Mars– here blandly labeled John Carter– is equivalent to a genre-fueled out of body experience. You’ve seen this film before. You’ve seen it in Star Wars (both the original trilogy and the prequel films), you’ve seen it in Avatar, you’ve seen it in Superman. John Carter‘s influences read so blatantly that watching the film feels akin to playing a movie association game in which elements from its plot and narrative are connected to those of other essential sci-fi blockbusters. What we’re really watching, of course, is the big-screen arrival of the story that informed each of those aforementioned properties and more;…
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Pixar Family Favorites Returning To AMC THEATRES For Memorial Day Weekend
With the summer movie season heating up, four popular Disney•Pixar movies are returning exclusively to AMC Theatres for the Memorial Day holiday weekend. From May 25 through May 28, Toy Story 3, Ratatouille, Up and WALL•E will be featured at AMC locations around the country. Theater goers will get a special treat for coming out to the cinema. Each film will be accompanied by a classic Pixar short film and an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the upcoming movie, Brave. Sounds good to me! “There are some great films coming out Memorial Day weekend but nothing specifically for families and young children,” said Sun Dee Larson, vice president of Film Marketing at AMC. “We’re…
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G-S-T Review…The Avengers
After leaving The Avengers, the first thought likely to come to mind is wow, wow and more WOW. That’s right comic friends, Joss Whedon isn’t joking around with this one. He delivers the comic book experience fans have been anticipating since Stan Lee co-created these iconic heroes decades ago. In what is the most ambitious and large scale comic film to date, there is no shortage of spectacle, excitement and near-epic story all rolled into one 142 minute feature. Whedon is known for being a fan boy at heart and as such delivers this film with such respect to not only the comics but also, and maybe more importantly, the fans. Nothing…
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G-S-T Review…Chimpanzee
Chimpanzee is a heartwarming documentary filmed by the dedicated crew of Disneynature, an independent film label of The Walt Disney Company. The film was co-produced by Disneynature and the Jane Goodall Institute, directed by Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield and narrated by Tim Allen. It is the fourth original film from Disneynature. The film was shot over three years in the tropical jungles of the Ivory Coast and Uganda. During the filming process the unimaginable happens…Oscar loses his mother and is eventually “adopted” by a fully-grown male chimpanzee. Most people would see the trailer or poster for this movie and skip right over it. It’s unfortunate, because this really is…
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The Avengers: Minimalist Posters & Fictitious Apple Products
The world is getting amped for The Avengers movie and if you hadn’t been keeping up, it opens in theaters exactly one month from today. The hype machine is high gear and we’ve seen trailers, TV spots, posters as well as behind the scenes featurettes/images. They’re all highly sylized and compelling but as minimalist posters are still kind of the “in” thing I thought I’d throw my hat in the ring this one time. Below are some very simple Avengers character posters and a team poster I designed in sort of a 60’s/retro motif. Again very simple (like 12 minutes to make simple), they’re even minimal for minimalist standards but…
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Older Disney Titles Coming to Blu-Ray In 2012
Blu-Ray fans have I got some news for you. Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment will release more than 30 catalog titles for the first time on Blu-ray Disc in 2012 the studio announced March 16, with some titles celebrating 10th, 15th and 20th anniversaries. That’s pretty awesome news for those who have been patiently waiting for much needed updated to older and lesser quality DVD versions. Lori MacPherson, EVP of product management for The Walt Disney Studios has heard fan’s cries. “We receive many requests and comments from consumers seeking specific titles they’d like to own on Blu-ray and, as such, we carefully selected a number of popular films that will…
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Ohhh, Look…Sound and Scoring Featurette for 'John Carter'
Andrew Stanton’s first foray into live action filmmaking hit theaters hard this weekend (but not enough to take the top spot at the box office). While the visuals transported us to an otherworldly epic so too did the sound and music of John Carter. In this featurette, Oscar-winning film composer Michael Giacchino and Supervising Sound Editor Jonathan Null of Skywalker Sound briefly discuss their process and give us a glimpse into the scoring and sound design for John Carter. Have a look and thanks /Film for the heads up. Enjoy! Sound and music are always underrated so it’s neat to see it highlighted or appreciated even in a video as short as this. How many…
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G-S-T Review…John Carter
Today’s science fiction has a debt to Edgar Rice Burroughs. The man created what is widely considered one of the first alien worlds that leaved and breathed outside of our own realm. He gave them their own language, religion, culture, and feuds. And he did all of this with the first appearance of John Carter in 1912. Before Star Wars, before Avatar, before Star Trek, there was the Barsoom (what we call Mars) adventures and it was pulpy, light, fantastic fare. They inspired hundreds, if not thousands, of writers to dream big. Now, 100 years later, a big budget film version finally exists and I think it’s a worthy showcase…
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Ohhh, Look…First Shot of Disney's 'Lone Ranger'
Today we get our first glimpse at Gore Verbinski’s Lone Ranger starring Armie Hammer as the titular hero and Johnny Depp as Tonto. After so many production delays/budget problems it looks like the Lone Ranger will finally get to ride. Hi Ho Silver! Have a look at the first shot of Hammer and Depp from Jerry Bruckheimer’s Twitter account. Since this has stopped and started so many times you might have forgotten what this is all about. If so, here’s the official synopsis: The Lone Ranger is a thrilling adventure infused with action and humor, in which the famed masked hero is brought to life through new eyes. Native American spirit warrior Tonto (Johnny…
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Sweet (Teaser) Trailer…'Frankenweenie'
Looks like trailer week continues as today we’re treated to the teaser for Tim Burton’s long awaited Frankenweenie. This animated feature, expanded from his short from 1984, is about a boy who brings his dead dog back to life. Similarly styled and stop-motion animated like A Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride, this should hit home for those die-hard Burton fans out there. I’m not the biggest Nightmare Before Christmas fan but this does look pretty cute. Have a look… Originally when Burton created the short film in ’84 Disney fired him for making something that was apparently too scary for family audiences. This feature length film has certainly been a long time coming…