Joined: 14 Feb 2009 Posts: 6884 Location: Syracuse, NY Country:
Posted: Thu Aug 19, 2010 6:19 am Post subject:
Infernal Affairs 1 & 3, #2 actually precedes the first one. The word classic gets thrown around too easily, but that first one is without a doubt, may have seen it close to 20 times now, somehow seems to get just a tad better every time. _________________
Infernal Affairs 1 & 3, #2 actually precedes the first one. The word classic gets thrown around too easily, but that first one is without a doubt, may have seen it close to 20 times now, somehow seems to get just a tad better every time.
AMAZING movies!!!!
On Topic: On the plane I watched Date Night, which was hilarious but not as funny as I thought it would be; 300, which was fun but I fell asleep twice while watching it; and Iron Man 2. Looks like they'll be making a third with Thor! _________________
Joined: 15 Jun 2004 Posts: 46182 Location: Los Skandolous, California Country:
Posted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 3:27 am Post subject:
Ken Watanabe: Samurai of the silver screen
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* Japanese actor is one of the stars of summer blockbuster "Inception"
* Recovered from leukemia to continue acting and make a number of Hollywood films
* Career began in theatre before film and TV roles often as enigmatic warriors
(CNN) -- One of the stars of this summer's Hollywood hit, "Inception", Ken Watanabe has fought his way to the top of his profession.
He started out as a theatrical actor in Japan in the 1980s, later finding fame in his homeland through TV and film roles often playing noble warriors in historical dramas or enigmatic tough guys.
His biggest challenge came away from the lights and cameras when he was diagnosed with leukemia when he was 29. Fortunately he was able to continue acting while visiting hospital for treatment. However a return of the cancer five years later had an even more profound affect on him.
"When I got relapse, I thought my life would be meaningless if I did not make a comeback as an actor. It was a kind of sense of duty. That's how I faced [it]," he told CNN.
"One good thing was that it gave me a time to reflect on my way of life, to think how I had connected myself to society. I had very vague image about the work of acting until then... We could connect to society because there are audiences who watch our performance."
Making a connection to a worldwide audience came with his role alongside Tom Cruise in 2003 film "The Last Samurai". It also helped Watanabe expand his own horizons.
"It was good that after growing in my career and seeing kind of a limit in myself, in a way Hollywood told me that it was not a limit at all... It opened me up to go as far as I can," he said.
Now 50, Watanabe has continued to make movies in Japan after his Oscar nominated performance in "The Last Samurai" but has maintained his Hollywood credentials with roles in Clint Eastwood's "Letters from Iwo Jima" and "Batman Begins".
His global profile is also growing, but he has the new battle of avoiding being typecast.
"As a Japanese actor, I really want to work with a lot of actors and actresses in the world and many directors who have many different kinds of talents. I feel like nationally doesn't matter at all."
I've never though much about a team of superheroes in comic book or movie form: it's always a battle for screen time... The X-Men movies are a prime example: the writers have to give each character their allotment of time through the course of the movie. It's makes the movie long and thins out the story.
The same goes for villains.
If it's just one superhero and one villain, you can really flesh out both characters.
I've never though much about a team of superheroes in comic book or movie form: it's always a battle for screen time... The X-Men movies are a prime example: the writers have to give each character their allotment of time through the course of the movie. It's makes the movie long and thins out the story.
The same goes for villains.
If it's just one superhero and one villain, you can really flesh out both characters.
Yea, I would have to agree here. I also find I like the solo acts best (ie Spider-Man, Batman, Hulk, etc.) _________________
Though, from a live-action standpoint, I wouldn't include the Hulk.
I LUFFED the first Hulk, even though it didn't have the action people wanted. It was still true to the comic Hulk, and that's what I like. _________________
I LUFFED the first Hulk, even though it didn't have the action people wanted. It was still true to the comic Hulk, and that's what I like.
Really?
Actually, I don't think any of the live action comics are completely true to their roots... I'm still bugged that Peter Parker wasn't allowed to design and make his web shooters...
Actually, I don't think any of the live action comics are completely true to their roots... I'm still bugged that Peter Parker wasn't allowed to design and make his web shooters...
But those are details that directors can take creative freedom with. I meant the core story. Like the origin of a character. I like the stories to match. _________________
But those are details that directors can take creative freedom with.
That particular detail has always peeved me about the live action Spider-Man: Peter Parker is an ingenious, smart boy in the comics, but the live action plays that down and plays up the sad, almost pathetic part of his life.
And regarding Iron Man, why does he reveal his identity?? That's too much creative freedom, IMO... A poor twist to the story.
Quote:
I meant the core story. Like the origin of a character. I like the stories to match.
Ah, okay... All the origins are fundamentally the same.
Joined: 13 Apr 2007 Posts: 12123 Location: It was fun while it lasted. Country:
Posted: Sat Sep 11, 2010 8:37 pm Post subject:
Geezer wrote:
And then there was Jack Soo, another of my favorite comics. You might remember him from Barney Miller. He was from Oakland California.
Okay, a little bit late on this, but last month they had a screening of You Don't Know Jack: The Jack Soo Story over at the Japanese American National Museum.
Pretty good little documentary. Don't know when/if it will be playing your neck of the woods, but here's the website:http://jacksoo.com/
They had a Q & A with the director afterwards, he said he's trying to get it out on DVD but hasn't got a firm commit on that yet.
Star Wars saga to get 3-D makeover, starting with 'Phantom Menace' in 2012
George Lucas just can�ft stop tinkering with the Star Wars movies, and now he�fs poised to unleash his latest retooling of that saga from a long time ago in a galaxy �\ a 3-D galaxy, this time �\ far, far away. Unfortunately, the original and perhaps best of the Star Wars epics won�ft be the first to make the 3-D leap.
Nope, expect "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace" to be the first of the classic six-movie series to go the 3-D way, according to a post on the official Star Wars website. The 3-D "Phantom Menace" is slated to arrive on an undetermined date in 2012, with the Hollywood Reporter chiming in that the rest of the saga will follow in chronological order on an annual basis, "depending on how the first re-release does."
"Phantom Menace" was, of course, the film that introduced the universally despised Jar Jar Binks to a legion of appalled Star Wars fans. OK, maybe that�fs not fair �\ I do have one friend who claims to love Jar Jar (you know who you are). Let�fs just call him "widely" despised, and move on.
Lucasfilm hasn�ft officially stated whether it�fll be the original Star Wars movies or the "special edition" versions �\ think Greedo shooting first �\ but given the fact that the upcoming Blu-ray versions of Star Wars will be the special editions, and only the special editions, I wouldn�ft count on seeing Han Solo taking a 3D-enhanced preemptive shot at Greedo anytime soon.
The 3-D conversion process will be "a matter of taking the time and getting it right," said Industrial Light & Magic�fs John Knoll in the official website's post. "It takes a critical and artistic eye along with an incredible attention to detail to be successful. It is not something that you can rush if you want to expect good results."
Well, it may indeed be awhile before we see the original "Star Wars" in 3D �\ perhaps as long as five years, if the movies are in fact released annually and in order starting in 2012.
Of course, one advantage of waiting so long for the best Star Wars films (well, the best as far as I�fm concerned, anyway) is that there will be more 3-D movie screens available, as the Hollywood Reporter points out. As of now, only about 2,500 3-D screens are available in U.S. movie theaters, according to the online trade journal, but that number is reportedly rising by 500 a month.
But by the time, say, "The Empire Strikes Back" (my personal favorite) rolls around in 3-D �\ presumably in 2016, at the earliest �\ will the 3-D craze (or this latest 3-D craze, I should say) have long since died out? After all, releasing a movie in 3-D doesn�ft make for a guaranteed hit anymore, and moviegoers (including me) are rapidly tiring of jacked-up 3-D ticket prices.
Then again, maybe we�fll make an exception for Luke, Han, Leia and Darth. But are Jar Jar and Qui-Gon Jinn (who?) really worth the $15-plus price of a 3-D movie ticket?
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