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What did technologist, Casey Pugh, get when he asked fans to recreate fifteen second slices of Star Wars and then stitched them all together into a director's cut? You get Star Wars Uncut: Director's Cut, two hours worth of awesome, collaborative creativity.
So if you have the time to spare, kick back and relax as you see a galaxy far, far away unfold in bizarre, and hilarious, ways. Now what would the Godfather be like...
So if you have the time to spare, kick back and relax as you see a galaxy far, far away unfold in bizarre, and hilarious, ways. Now what would the Godfather be like...
Here's the trailer for Marvel Comics' and Paramount Pictures' film version of the Avengers, which is scheduled to be released in May:
The Tech-Out critique: Movie trailer editors really need to figure out a way to build the audience's interest without relying on the same old tricks. The first few seconds of this trailer seems to be the same as the trailer for every other action movie in the last five years. Start out slow and scary, give the impression of some kind of sinister threat and have a loud sound effect on each cut.
On the positive side, Robert Downey Jr. is playing Tony Stark again. Downey's portrayal of Stark as a fast-talking narcissist with a reluctant conscience in the first "Iron Movie" is probably the best acting in any superhero flick.
The Tech-Out critique: Movie trailer editors really need to figure out a way to build the audience's interest without relying on the same old tricks. The first few seconds of this trailer seems to be the same as the trailer for every other action movie in the last five years. Start out slow and scary, give the impression of some kind of sinister threat and have a loud sound effect on each cut.
On the positive side, Robert Downey Jr. is playing Tony Stark again. Downey's portrayal of Stark as a fast-talking narcissist with a reluctant conscience in the first "Iron Movie" is probably the best acting in any superhero flick.
Netflix made a lot of people angry this summer when the company announced a price hike for its DVD-by-mail and video streaming services. The price change split the DVD-by-mail and streaming services into two separate options, when previously they were bundled.
Price hikes are never popular, but the complaining and media coverage of said complaining may have gone too far.
The split between the DVD-by-mail and streaming services became more pronounced today, when Netflix CEO Reed Hastings announced in a letter to subscribers (who include this blogger) that Netflix will continue to stream video, but its DVD-by-mail option will be carried out under the guise of a new company called Qwikster.
The switch, to happen in a matter of weeks, will mean that customers who have streaming and mail services will have to manage two separate accounts. Qwikster customers will also be able to rent video games by mail if they pay an additional premium, but Hastings tells customers there will be no further price changes.
Got that? No? Maybe? Is Netflix crazy like a fox?
My initial reaction is that Netflix's impending split makes no sense at all, but maybe the company's executives know more than I do. Nonetheless, Qwikster strikes me as a terrible name. The name "Netflix" tells me that I can watch movies, or, "flicks" on the Internet. The word "Qwikster" tells me something is quick, but I have no idea what.
Netflix announced lowered subscriber estimates but the company also reported that executives stuck by their new pricing plan. But splitting the service makes it easier for customers to leave at least half of their plan, and the competition seems to be tougher in the streaming services that Netflix pioneered.
If I want to watch a movie that Netflix doesn't stream, it's easy under the company's current structure to request the DVD and have it in a couple of days. If another company has a better streaming option, which Hulu Plus may have with its addition of the Criterion Collection, I may end up choosing to leave Netflix and maybe keep Qwikster. Or maybe I just support my local video store, depending on which is a better value for my dollar.
Reactions from around the web after the jump:
Price hikes are never popular, but the complaining and media coverage of said complaining may have gone too far.
The split between the DVD-by-mail and streaming services became more pronounced today, when Netflix CEO Reed Hastings announced in a letter to subscribers (who include this blogger) that Netflix will continue to stream video, but its DVD-by-mail option will be carried out under the guise of a new company called Qwikster.
The switch, to happen in a matter of weeks, will mean that customers who have streaming and mail services will have to manage two separate accounts. Qwikster customers will also be able to rent video games by mail if they pay an additional premium, but Hastings tells customers there will be no further price changes.
Got that? No? Maybe? Is Netflix crazy like a fox?
My initial reaction is that Netflix's impending split makes no sense at all, but maybe the company's executives know more than I do. Nonetheless, Qwikster strikes me as a terrible name. The name "Netflix" tells me that I can watch movies, or, "flicks" on the Internet. The word "Qwikster" tells me something is quick, but I have no idea what.
Netflix announced lowered subscriber estimates but the company also reported that executives stuck by their new pricing plan. But splitting the service makes it easier for customers to leave at least half of their plan, and the competition seems to be tougher in the streaming services that Netflix pioneered.
If I want to watch a movie that Netflix doesn't stream, it's easy under the company's current structure to request the DVD and have it in a couple of days. If another company has a better streaming option, which Hulu Plus may have with its addition of the Criterion Collection, I may end up choosing to leave Netflix and maybe keep Qwikster. Or maybe I just support my local video store, depending on which is a better value for my dollar.
Reactions from around the web after the jump:
Continue reading The Netflix split. Why, Netflix? Why?.
America - and the rest of the world - owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to George Lucas. The man who created the Star Wars movies is now doing his utmost to cure fans of their excessive devotion to the series.
Since releasing Star Wars in 1977, Lucas has earned countless billions (I could probably look up the number, but don't feel like it right now) from the series. Movie tickets. Toys. T-shirts. Toys. Home video. Toys that are slightly different than the last series of toys. Star Wars has been cocaine for nerds, and George Lucas has been its Tony Montana.
But what if Tony Montana developed a conscience? What if he survived rival drug lord Alejandro Sosa's assault - and that instead of being the basis for a video game I never had any inclination to play - his hypothetical survival became the basis for a new life? A new life devoted to freeing Miami's cocaine addicts from their crippling chemical dependency.
Thus, the only explanation for Lucas' decision to make the following change (confirmed in the New York Times) to Return of the Jedi is that series' own creator has decided people like Star Wars movies too much and need to find something new to do with their lives.
Since releasing Star Wars in 1977, Lucas has earned countless billions (I could probably look up the number, but don't feel like it right now) from the series. Movie tickets. Toys. T-shirts. Toys. Home video. Toys that are slightly different than the last series of toys. Star Wars has been cocaine for nerds, and George Lucas has been its Tony Montana.
But what if Tony Montana developed a conscience? What if he survived rival drug lord Alejandro Sosa's assault - and that instead of being the basis for a video game I never had any inclination to play - his hypothetical survival became the basis for a new life? A new life devoted to freeing Miami's cocaine addicts from their crippling chemical dependency.
Thus, the only explanation for Lucas' decision to make the following change (confirmed in the New York Times) to Return of the Jedi is that series' own creator has decided people like Star Wars movies too much and need to find something new to do with their lives.
Continue reading Lucas to fans: "Just say no.".
Check out this new trailer for The Dark Knight Rises, if you like Batman movies.
The official site links to the movie's Facebook page, but it looks like you can watch it without having to "Like" like it.
The trailer, as befits a teaser trailer, doesn't show much. You get to see some shots from "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight," Gary Oldman portraying a seemingly injured or infirm Commissioner Gordon and Batman getting ready to fight Bane.
Bane as a nemesis seems like a bold choice, given the last time the villain appeared in a Batman movie, it was in the laughable "Batman and Robin." He's also a villain that a lot of casual viewers probably won't recognize, but director Christopher Nolan also made Batman Begins work with Ra's al Ghul work as the main villain before bringing in the Joker for The Dark Knight.
H/t to io9.
The official site links to the movie's Facebook page, but it looks like you can watch it without having to "Like" like it.
The trailer, as befits a teaser trailer, doesn't show much. You get to see some shots from "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight," Gary Oldman portraying a seemingly injured or infirm Commissioner Gordon and Batman getting ready to fight Bane.
Bane as a nemesis seems like a bold choice, given the last time the villain appeared in a Batman movie, it was in the laughable "Batman and Robin." He's also a villain that a lot of casual viewers probably won't recognize, but director Christopher Nolan also made Batman Begins work with Ra's al Ghul work as the main villain before bringing in the Joker for The Dark Knight.
H/t to io9.
Intelligence reports from the A.V. Club have it that MGM and Sony Pictures will have the next installment of the James Bond franchise in theaters by Nov. 9, 2012.
The good news here is another outing for Daniel Craig as James Bond, a role the actor played very well in "Casino Royale." Its follow-up "Quantum of Solace," was OK, but I share the opinion of many that it suffered a bit from the filmmakers apparent attempts to ape "The Bourne Identity" franchise's shaky-cam aesthetic.
(For whatever it's worth, my Top Five movies in the Bond franchise are "From Russia With Love," "On Her Majesty's Secret Service," "Casino Royale," "Goldfinger" and "For Your Eyes Only." "Eyes" was my first Bond flick, and "Tomorrow Never Dies" gets an honorable mention for featuring a newspaper magnate as its supervillain.)
The weird (?) news is that "American Beauty" and "Away We Go" director Sam Mendes is still attached to direct the next Bond movie, which will be the series' 23rd installment. Mendes' closest venture to somewhere near Bond territory was probably "Road to Perdition," which starred Tom Hanks as an old-time gangster raising his son while on the run.
This is on the Internet, so I am obligated to make a snarky comment about Mendes - who has made his ideas on suburban ennui a major part of his oeuvre - directing a Bond film. Here it goes. Instead of a typical Bond story about spies and sexy women with funny names, Bond 23 will tell the story of a conflicted Bond, who while spending a break from duty in his lovely Notting Hill home, realizes that Moneypenny is the only woman who he has ever truly loved and wrestles with his inability to commit to her and live a quiet suburban life with a desk job for MI-6.
The good news here is another outing for Daniel Craig as James Bond, a role the actor played very well in "Casino Royale." Its follow-up "Quantum of Solace," was OK, but I share the opinion of many that it suffered a bit from the filmmakers apparent attempts to ape "The Bourne Identity" franchise's shaky-cam aesthetic.
(For whatever it's worth, my Top Five movies in the Bond franchise are "From Russia With Love," "On Her Majesty's Secret Service," "Casino Royale," "Goldfinger" and "For Your Eyes Only." "Eyes" was my first Bond flick, and "Tomorrow Never Dies" gets an honorable mention for featuring a newspaper magnate as its supervillain.)
The weird (?) news is that "American Beauty" and "Away We Go" director Sam Mendes is still attached to direct the next Bond movie, which will be the series' 23rd installment. Mendes' closest venture to somewhere near Bond territory was probably "Road to Perdition," which starred Tom Hanks as an old-time gangster raising his son while on the run.
This is on the Internet, so I am obligated to make a snarky comment about Mendes - who has made his ideas on suburban ennui a major part of his oeuvre - directing a Bond film. Here it goes. Instead of a typical Bond story about spies and sexy women with funny names, Bond 23 will tell the story of a conflicted Bond, who while spending a break from duty in his lovely Notting Hill home, realizes that Moneypenny is the only woman who he has ever truly loved and wrestles with his inability to commit to her and live a quiet suburban life with a desk job for MI-6.
Mass Effect series developers BioWare and anime distributors FUNimation Entertainment announced a deal to produce a feature-length anime based on the Mass Effect series.
Tokyo-based T.O. Entertainment will co-produce the film, according to a press release. Mass Effect executive producer Casey Hudson is set to executive produce the anime with
FUNimation CEO Gen Fukunaga, Director of Original Entertainment Chris Moujaes and T.O Entertainment's CEO Takeichi Honda and Yui Shibata.
Filmmakers have already started production and digital and video releases are scheduled for summer 2012.
Tokyo-based T.O. Entertainment will co-produce the film, according to a press release. Mass Effect executive producer Casey Hudson is set to executive produce the anime with
FUNimation CEO Gen Fukunaga, Director of Original Entertainment Chris Moujaes and T.O Entertainment's CEO Takeichi Honda and Yui Shibata.
Filmmakers have already started production and digital and video releases are scheduled for summer 2012.
Production of the Mass Effect anime movie has already begun. Digital and home video releases are scheduled for the summer of 2012.
