Isaac Schrödinger

A Topsy-turvy World

Classical Liberal provides this link in a previous post:

The trailer for 2012 plays like a highlight reel of civilization falling apart all over the world, but it's religion that gets the brunt of Emmerich's digital pounding: A Buddhist temple gets hit by a tidal wave. The Sistine Chapel crumbles to pieces as a split tears right down the middle of Michelangeo's painting of God touching Adam's finger. St. Peter's Basilica rolls over onto a crowd of devoted worshipers. Rio de Janeiro's iconic Christ the Reedemer statue falls to earth as its wracked by shockwaves. The White House is even crushed by, of all things, an aircraft carrier. But eagle eyed fans of watching organized religion get its disaster porn comeuppance will have noticed that there are no Islamic landmarks on the CGI chopping block.

Westerners won't even show a CGI Kaaba going down in flames -- which alone would be worth the price of the ticket -- and yet vast majorities of Muslims in Arabia and Pakistan celebrated when iconic buildings were annihilated and thousands of souls extinguished on that day in 2001. One side doesn't even want to offend the other while the other seeks joy in the slaughter of its opponent.

Hollywood Alienates Fans

A horrible headline at The Scorecard Review: Robert Rodriguez’s Predator remake to star Adrien Brody and Topher Grace.

What the hell is wrong with Hollywood!?

You could tape Adrien Brody and Topher Grace together and you still wouldn’t get one Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Hell, taping two Adrien Brodys and Topher Graces together won't equal one mean Dutch.

The Outsider

This reminds me of the cute Pixar short: For The Birds.

The Master

I consider David Lean to be the greatest director to ever come out of Hollywood. The Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago should be seen by every student of cinema.

The flickering myth has posted a profile of this craftsman. Click to visit Parts One, Two, and Three.

Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun and Atom Egoyan's The Sweet Hereafter come closest to showcasing the gift of photography which Lean possessed.

Bowing Before Hurley

Sometimes Muslims like to leave comments here. A recent one:

just wait n watch u sick devil worshiper :@

That's patently untrue.

I'm not sick.

It's a Bug?

Back when I was attending a boarding high school in the US, one of my friends asked me if I liked music by this certain band. I had never heard of them. He was stunned. He, then, proceeded to play their songs on his laptop and asked me which mp3s I would like. "Uh, I wouldn't really listen to that," was my straightforward response. He was shocked! He had bought tons of their CDs and I was rejecting their free music. He shook his head.

It was The Beatles.

Odd Avatar

The Fuhrer on the recently released Avatar trailer. The best line: "Who the hell thinks of Sam Worthington as a leading man?"

Girlfriend of a God

There is a special place in Valhalla for the casting genius who got her.

Trust Me

Glenn Reynolds:

I just finished P.W. Singer’s Wired for War, which discusses this topic at considerable length. But everybody invokes the Terminator robots — why isn’t there more discussion of the far-more-ethical Bolos?

Terminator robots!?

No, no, no. They're cyborgs: Living tissue over metal endoskeleton.

Looks Good

Daily Dose of Imagery:

I like this because it looks like a frame from a movie.

He looks like a badass Bernie Mac.

Hans!

The funniest video I've seen this year.

Nearing the End

The fourth trailer is out for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Watch it in HD if you can. I especially like the part where Gollum's cousins come out of the water.

The 2nd is the Key

The Trilogy Meter. I would have put Kal-El's debut a lot higher.

The main reason the Lord of the Rings works is because it was shot all at once. Of course, Tolkien's writing doesn't hurt either.

Link via David Thompson.

The Mozart of Madras

I didn't watch the Oscars but I wanted to know if a certain fellow won an award or not.

He won two.

That would be A. R. Rahman -- the best Indian music composer of the modern age. In less than 20 years, he has already sold over 300 million albums.

If my music was restricted to one artist, it would be him.

Not That Jon

Ann Althouse: Admit it! You're jealous of Jon Favreau!

Upon reading that title, I thought, "Yeah, that Iron Man dude does have a cool life now."

Doh!

Link via Instapundit.

God-like

IGN on the best comic book movie poster:

We feel a sense of imprisonment and limitation because an unseen force binds us to the planet's surface. The insignia, the blur, the clouds, all represent total freedom from our Earthly constraints.

Indeed.

Spot the Theme

They all have wonder woman in them?

Hope Changes to Fear

This reminds me of the scarecrow visions from Batman Begins.

All we have to fear is fear itself!

Bringing the Ghost to Hollywood

IGN:

"Recently we did a deal for Ghost in the Shell. And we're going to do it with Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks. We're now in the process of working with the writer [Jamie Moss] and putting the story together. It's a complicated film, for those who know the property, and we have a big challenge ahead of us," Paul said.

Indeed.

Where's the Force?

The Dark Knight pushed past the original Star Wars Saturday for No. 2 among Hollywood's all-time money-making champs.

Such records are eventually broken.

What's really embarrassing is that Star Wars: The Clone Wars opened in third place behind the The Dark Knight which is in its fifth week!

Ouch.

No Joke

Soon The Dark Knight shall topple Star Wars:

The latest haul by the film, which was directed by Christopher Nolan, also means it has now grossed a total of $441.5m (£232m) in the US, putting it behind only Titanic - $601m (£316m) - and the original Star Wars - $461m (£242m) - in the US all-time top ten.

By the way, if the movie was too dark for you, then you might want to check out this, er, lighter trailer.

Oh, You Wouldn't Be Interested in That

Wonder what mileage it gets.

The Epic Knight

E Online:

Eighteen days.

That's all it took for The Dark Knight to break $400 million.

The previous record:

The "old" record, set back in 2004, was held by Shrek 2, which reached $400 million in a then-swift—and still impressive—43 days.

The Dark Knight will soon become only the second movie to cross the $500 million mark. The other is, of course, Titanic.

The Old Suit

Neck movement is limited.

The Dark Knight

I'll be watching it soon on an IMAX screen.

Update
I waited this long so as to avoid large crowds in the theater. I got to the place 50 minutes before the start. There was already a huge lineup of folks waiting! On a Thursday afternoon! 14 days after the release!

Still, I got a good seat.

The experience was stunning. The screenplay, the direction by Christopher Nolan and the acting -- especially by Heath Ledger -- was sublime. The power of The Dark Knight lies in its brutal unpredictability.

In the previous movie, Batman was presented situations where the choice was between something right and something easy. Here, he's given bad and worse options. The prequel was relatively slow-paced and it set up the characters in a timely and proper manner. Here, we jump right in and the movie gallops throughout. It's, without a doubt, the most ambitious and epic comics-based sequel of all time. It packs a lot for 2 hours and 25 minutes.

The most riveting scenes have the Joker in the frame. There's a classic scene where Batman is merely asking a major thug about the whereabouts of the Joker. The manner and the content of the reply leaves Batman stunned and speechless.

James Berardinelli:

Often in superhero movies, there's a sense that, no matter what challenges the protagonist must face, all will be right in the end. That certainty is missing here, and its absence may represent Nolan's most impressive accomplishment.

This is the major reason for the unpredictable nature of the film. Batman is human; he has no superpowers. Nolan puts him in situations that can truly exist in the modern world. Batman can only use his mortal, human resources to fight back. Thus, one can be completely ignorant about comics and still enjoy the movie as is.

About the Joker: what a psychotic, forceful, evil villain. He is a man with no rules in a world with rules. He understands the thin, fragile nature of civilization and plans to shatter it. To do so, he must bring Batman to his knees -- and he almost does. I can't think of any other superhero movie where the main character suffers so much physical and emotional pain and yet survives.

In the end, we fully comprehend the tragic nature of the title.

One more thing: Hollywood ought to make more movies like this. It isn't marketed as such but The Dark Knight is a great counterpoint to all the America Is Ultimately Evil garbage that Hollywood produces and loses money on.

More:
My favorite, spoiler-free!, review.
Praise to the max:

Evaluated just as a superhero movie, it surpasses all its contemporaries —simply put, it very well might be the best movie of its genre.

Ever.

Comedy Gold

For those who know who Kal-El is, this will be a blast:

"On his new planet, Kal-Al's Earth physiology will react to the radiation of a differently colored sun, causing him to develop abilities far beyond those of mortal men," political analyst Sig Schuster said. "He will be faster than a speeding Prius, stronger than the existing Superfund program, and able to leap mountains of red tape in a single bound. These superpowers will sustain him in his never-ending battle against conservatives, wealthy industrialists, and other environmental supervillains."

The very last line is a killer.

The Red Pill?

The second conversation could be from a movie trailer. I liked this part:

TS: [with a distinct tone of distaste] Are you a Democrat?
YC: No, I'm a Curmudgeon.

Unfortunately no one can tell you what a curmudgeon is.

You have to see it for yourself.

Jaws!

This photo reminded me of that.

On Obama

"The Gilderoy Lockhart of candidates?"

Ouch!

Update
Obama drops the bomb.

Evil Returns

For some reason Voldemort comes to mind.

Showcasing War

OPFOR: Top 10 War Movies.

The second entry on the list is technically not a movie. Still, Band of Brothers deserves a viewing -- for the first few minutes of the second episode alone.

A Stranger Passing By

Izzy Mo:

300 was awful. I just had to say that. The film 300 was terrible. I couldn’t get through 30 minutes without pointing out the historical and cultural inaccuracies. I just couldn’t do it.

Poor soul.

Why are all the bad guys non Caucasian? So the all white, oops I mean, Spartan army is good but the multi-culti Persian army of Indians, Africans, Arabs and Persians is bad?

Yeah, it would have been certainly historical to have a multi-racial Spartan army.

This asinine critique always amuses me. Reverse the situation. Imagine a movie about the Germans losses in North Africa and a reviewer who complains that the movie made the white guys look bad and that the multi-culti army of Brits, South Africans, Indians and Australians were made to look good.

As though it would have been prudent or historically accurate to add a little color to the Wehrmacht. You know, just so that whites don't feel bad.

To Be a Hero

A review of The Dark Knight:

It isn't an overstatement to call The Dark Knight the most sophisticated and ambitious work of its kind. Superior to all three Spider-Man installments and even its amazing predecessor in terms of conceptualization, writing, acting, and direction, Nolan's follow-up to Batman Begins is a dark, complex and disturbing film, not the least of which because it grafts its heroics onto the blueprint of actual reality rather than that of spandex-clad supermen. And while such a distinction may make little difference to those already eagerly anticipating the return of the caped crusader, suffice it to say that The Dark Knight qualifies as the first official comic book adaptation that truly succeeds in being a great artistic achievement in its own right.

That's just the first paragraph.

I'm planning to watch it on IMAX.

Sluts and the City

The comments here are gold.

Exhibit A by Mommynator:

Yes - let’s go watch a movie based on a TV show about four selfish, clueless, promiscuous women who wouldn’t know true love if it walked up and smacked them upside the head.

They can’t find true love? Maybe it’s because they’ve been so busy seeking cheap neurological thrills through sex and shopping that they can’t see men as other than objects to be - well, you know - instead of as fellow human beings, one of which to accompany on life’s journey.

Count this 52-year old, 30-years married woman out of this nauseafest.

Indiana Jones Will Never Die

The Fire Ant Gazette on the new Indiana Jones movie:

If you think Bruce Willis survived some unbelievable things in Live Free or Die Harder, you ain't seen nothing yet.

At least supersonic jets aren't involved (I hope).

Experts to the Rescue

Schmucks:

Though he preaches research and good science in the classroom, the world's most famous archaeologist often is an acquisitive tomb raider in the field with a scorched-earth policy about what he leaves behind. While actual archaeologists like the guy and his movies, they wouldn't necessarily want to work alongside him on a dig.

I think they secretly envy him.

Link via Anwyn.

So Lean

This photo reminded me of Doctor Zhivago.

The Party is Downstairs

A most unusual post at Winds of Change:

The creators of hit comedy show South Park have made every episode available online - for free, with ad support, as a joint venture with Comedy Central. These episodes were already wildly popular online as shared clips; all this does it ensure that the creators pick up revenue from the naturally viral nature of their show.

Upon trying to watch a video, I get this:

This. Means. War.

Oxen Craig

This shot reminds me of Sergio Leone.

Become Who You Are Born To Be

It is his destiny.

Top of the World

Pakistanis are good at two things. Cricket and Terrorism. Recently, they've been sucking at cricket but in the let's-get-those-non-existent-virgins mania, they've become number one!

Somehow, I don't think that Vital Signs had this in mind when they sang, "Hum hain Pakistani, hum to jeetain gay haan jeetain gay." [We are Pakistanis and we will win, yes, we will win!]

A Chilling Line

IGN:

"I believe whatever doesn't kill you simply makes you stranger," Heath Ledger's Joker says during the dramatic bank robbery scene that kicks off the film.

John Connor, Get Ready

Judgment Day is coming this year:

Obama 'Frightens Me'. The Bible has warned us that 'A man will come from the East that will be charismatic in nature and have proposed solutions for all our problems and his rhetoric will attract many supporters!'

But Barack seems to be such a nice guy!? Hmm, I think he fooled us all!

Link via The Sandmonkey.

"Don't Talk Back to Darth Vader."

A condensed version of the Star Wars saga.

Opening Credits of Star Wars

Like you've never seen them before.

Link via David Thompson.

Meow!

This photo reminds me of Michelle Pfeiffer.

Cloning Star Wars

It's so dang profitable:

The Clone Wars deal is part of a new partnership between Lucasfilm, Warner Bros. Pictures and Turner Broadcasting System Inc. Also announced as an important facet of this partnership was confirmation that The Clone Wars will first be seen by audiences as a theatrical film (reportedly collecting the first three episodes), which will be released by Warner Bros. in North American theaters on Friday, August 15th.

Hmm.

The announcement gives an overview of the series, saying "On the front lines of an intergalactic struggle between good and evil, fans young and old will join such favorite characters as Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Padmé Amidala, along with brand-new heroes like Anakin's padawan learner, Ahsoka.

It's releasing on the Independence Day of India and the padawan of Anakin has a name that closely resembles Ashoka -- the greatest Emperor of India. I'm likely reading too much into it.

Thou Shall Not Pass

So says Magneto, er, I'm getting my characters confused.

Another One Falls

Bart Simpson goes over to the Dark Side.

The Morbid Joker

IGN:

Heath Ledger, the actor best known for his turns in Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain and the upcoming Batman film, The Dark Knight, was found dead this afternoon according to NYTimes.com.