The Ultimate Nerd Guide To New York City.

Posted on October 10, 2011 by jlmicek

Via BuzzFeed, and just in time for ComicCon.

Will be using this the next time I travel to NYC.

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Qwikster, RIP.

Posted on October 10, 2011 by jlmicek

Troubled Netflix has killed its DVD-only service Qwikster before it’s even launched, The Huffington Post reports this morning. Guess that’s what merciless ribbing on Saturday Night Live — and tumbling stock prices and honked-off customers will do for you.

The company made the announcement in a blog post this morning:

“It is clear that for many of our members two websites would make things more difficult, so we are going to keep Netflix as one place to go for streaming and DVDs.

This means no change: one website, one account, one password… in other words, no Qwikster.

While the July price change was necessary, we are now done with price changes.

We’re constantly improving our streaming selection. We’ve recently added hundreds of movies from Paramount, Sony, Universal, Fox, Warner Bros., Lionsgate, MGM and Miramax. Plus, in the last couple of weeks alone, we’ve added over 3,500 TV episodes from ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS, USA, E!, Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, ABC Family, Discovery Channel, TLC, SyFy, A&E, History, and PBS.

We value our members, and we are committed to making Netflix the best place to get movies & TV shows.

Thank you.

-Reed”

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Weekend Box Office And The Monday Must-Read.

Posted on October 10, 2011 by jlmicek

The “Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots” rip “Real Steel” managed to fend off George Clooney’s political thriller “The Ides of March,” to win this weekend’s box office battle. Here’s the take, by the numbers, courtesy of Box Office Mojo:

TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count /Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week #
1 N Real Steel BV $27,300,000 – 3,440 – $7,936 $27,300,000 – 1
2 N The Ides of March Sony $10,400,000 – 2,199 – $4,729 $10,400,000 – 1
3 1 Dolphin Tale WB $9,160,000 -34.2% 3,478 -37 $2,634 $49,070,000 $37 3
4 2 Moneyball Sony $7,500,000 -37.7% 3,018 +25 $2,485 $49,253,000 $50 3
5 5 50/50 Sum. $5,500,000 -36.4% 2,479 +21 $2,219 $17,300,000 $8 2
6 4 Courageous TriS $4,600,000 -49.5% 1,161 – $3,962 $15,892,000 $2 2
7 3 The Lion King (in 3D) BV $4,552,000 -57.1% 2,267 -73 $2,008 $85,962,000 – 4
8 6 Dream House Uni. $4,500,000 -44.6% 2,664 +3 $1,689 $14,500,000 $50 2
9 8 What’s Your Number? Fox $3,050,000 -43.7% 3,011 +9 $1,013 $10,306,000 $20 2
10 7 Abduction LGF $2,900,000 -48.3% 2,591 -527 $1,119 $23,369,000 $35 3

The New York Times takes a look at Soviet-era cinema and the wonders that directors such as Sergei Eisenstein worked with access to only a very limited visual palette. Eisenstein’s “Alexander Nevsky” is a long-time favorite of mine.

Here’s the nut graf:

“Part of the folklore of Soviet montage is that it was invented by the idealistic filmmakers of a newborn nation as a way of converting imported American movies from capitalist pettifoggery into proletarian uplift by rearranging sequences and redefining characters. Alas, none of these Leninist mash-ups has ever surfaced, but as Kuleshov and Eisenstein both happily admitted, their inspiration was the American director D. W. Griffith, who had elevated editing to new expressive heights in his short films and early features.

The earliest film in this collection, Kuleshov’s 1924 comedy “The Extraordinary Adventures of Mr. West in the Land of the Bolsheviks,” invokes the American friend in the person of the title character (Porfiri Podobed), a high-ranking official of the Y.M.C.A. who has come to savage Russia to witness the atrocities of the bloodthirsty Bolsheviks for himself. But as much as Mr. West is ridiculed for his naïveté, the film pays tribute to American action films and slapstick comedies with its strong, simple compositions and dynamically edited nonstop action.”

Read the full story here.

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The Daily Dark Knight: A Detailed Look At The Batwing.

Posted on October 10, 2011 by jlmicek

You’ve seen it in grainy videos. Now here’s your first look at the crazy flying machine “The Batwing” from the upcoming “The Dark Knight Rises” (h/t ComicBookMovie)

And here’s a few set videos from Los Angeles of The Batwing swooping over the city.

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Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast Homecoming.

Posted on October 9, 2011 by jlmicek

Kenneth Branagh, photo from The Observer of London.

The Observer’s Elizabeth Day …
… speaks with the director and filmmaker upon his return to his home turf in Northern Ireland. It’s a fascinating read about a very talented artist and actor.

Here’s the nut graf:

“Branagh’s return to Belfast has been poignant for many reasons. There is the sense of homecoming, of reconciling himself to the things that have changed and the boyhood he left behind. When the Branaghs left for England in 1970, the Troubles were just starting; a year previously, the battle of the Bogside between Catholic residents and loyalist marchers in Derry had been quelled by the British army. Now, four decades on, the province is at peace, more or less, and Branagh has come back to a very different homeland.

“There’s a much stronger sense that Northern Ireland is more part of the world now,” he says. “I used to get the sense that there was a kind of slight siege mentality for whatever reason, a slightly chippy thing going on sometimes. But it feels there’s a very, very positive energy about the place.”

Having turned 50 last December, he is at a particularly contemplative stage in his life. “You’re looking in two directions. I feel as young as I’ve ever felt but at the same time, I’ve got a 30-year career now and I’m looking back across that and one sees… one just wants, very much, to make the most of things whether it is that bun” – he gestures at an enormous raspberry and white chocolate scone on the table – “or the show or whatever it is.”

Read the full story here.

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The Daily Dark Knight: Los Angeles Chase Scene.

Posted on October 9, 2011 by jlmicek

From the good folks at Batman-News:
Here’s video of a chase scene from the film’s Los Angeles filming:

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The Raven: Official Trailer Released.

Posted on October 9, 2011 by jlmicek

Here’s the new trailer for the flick about of the late Edgar Allen Poe. John Cusack stars as the American author. John McTeague directs.

The film finds Poe (Cusack) on the trail of a serial killer inspired by his work. Alice Eve and Luke Evans co-star.

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Is Clint Eastwood Intent On Outing J. Edgar Hoover?

Posted on October 9, 2011 by jlmicek

That’s the rather provocative question posed by The Independent of London today as it previews Eastwood’s upcoming biopic “J.Edgar” which stars Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role.

The newspaper reports that the film has prompted unease in America’s top law enforcement agency because of “growing signs that the film will focus intently on suggestions that its supposedly conservative subject was in fact a closet gay.”

As ever, here’s the nut graf:

“Behind the scenes, the forthcoming film appears to be the subject of growing controversy among the FBI rank and file. “There is no basis in fact for such a portrayal of Mr Hoover,” William Branon, chairman of the J Edgar Hoover Foundation, is reported to have written in a letter to Eastwood: “It would be a grave injustice and monumental distortion to proceed with such a depiction, based on a completely unfounded and spurious assertion.”

The Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI fired off a similar letter, according to USA Today, which first reported the controversy. That note said a “rumoured kissing scene”, involving the actors portraying Hoover and Tolson, had “caused us to reassess our tacit approval of your film”.

Eastwood replied in a joint letter with his producer Robert Lorenz. He said their film would give no “credence to cross-dressing allegations” and would not suggest that they were involved in an “open homosexual relationship”.

However, it did not address the issue of whether the film would portray a closet homosexual relationship.”

The movie also stars Judi Dench and Naomi Watts and is set to be released next month.

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Rosamund Pike: Former Bond Girl Makes With The Funny.

Posted on October 9, 2011 by jlmicek

20111008-220544.jpg

If American Audiences …
… think about her at all, the chances are pretty good that they remember British actress Rosamund Pike from her turn as the comely fencer Miranda Frost in the 2002 James Bond vehicle “Die Another Day.”

Pike’s appearance opposite Pierce Brosnan’s suave super-spy turned her into a very English sort of pin-up, a very crisp beauty suggesting sunny spring days with just a hint of snap in the air.

But as The Guardian’s Laura Barton writes, Pike has recently reinvented herself as a top-shelf comedic actress. It’s a transformation that finds full flowering in the new Rowan Atkinsion film “Johnny English Reborn.”

There is no small irony, of course, that the Atkinson comedy features Mr. Bean his ownself as a spectacularly inept secret agent. But no matter.

As ever, here’s the nut graf:

“The transformation of Rosamund Pike, in fact, began two years ago, with her role as the beautiful-but-dim Helen in An Education. It was a supporting role, yet it revealed her as a consummate comic actor. “My agents were actually quite surprised that I wanted to do it, because it just seemed to them, on paper, a kind of small part. And I thought, no, this girl could be really funny, and I was proved right in the end, I think.”

In fact, that performance led to the Johnny English Reborn part. “I was at the British independent film awards and someone from Working Title came up and said, ‘Rowan Atkinson really loved you in An Education’,” she recalls. “I was very surprised by that – I was amazed that Rowan Atkinson even knew who I was.” The role also suited Pike’s new-found desire to challenge people’s perceptions. “I’m kind of desperately looking for those things that will … you know, sort of show my wilder side, in a way, my much more irreverent, badly behaved side.'”

“Johnny English, Reborn,” starring Rowan Atkinson, Gillian Anderson and Rosamund Pike opens in the U.S. on Oct. 21.

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“Green Lantern” Blu-Ray DVD Highlights Special Effects.

Posted on October 8, 2011 by jlmicek

Ever Wonder How …
… they did the special effects for last summer’s “Green Lantern” flick? The good folks at Comic Book Movie have an exclusive clip of the features on the soon-to-be released Blu-ray DVD that should sate your curiosity:

The DVD drops on Oct. 14.

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