tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-170883152010-01-25T14:11:39.769-05:00Films, television, videos, or other visual media that's currently caught my eye ...Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818870159415064833noreply@blogger.comBlogger84125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17088315.post-76192195547998446312010-01-24T20:53:00.005-05:002010-01-25T14:11:40.132-05:00

(I'm going to be as vague as I can with any details on this film, but it's hard not to say anything without treading into *spoiler* territory. You have been warned.)I had no expectations for The Book of Eli, other than I wanted to see it because it starred Denzel Washington, had Gary Oldman, looked to have striking visuals, and was from the guys behind Dead Presidents and Menace II Society.In

Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818870159415064833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17088315.post-21651870043879159382010-01-10T14:00:00.005-05:002010-01-10T14:23:52.755-05:00

I caught a matinee of Daybreakers yesterday at the Alamo Drafthouse Village (avoid the brunch scones), and find it a good, worthwhile film.It's a newish take on vampire lore (not unique to the film, but not as tired as a lot of genre conceits), stylish and at times gritty, and it did a good job of sucking me in (ahem).The basic premise is that it's the future, vampires are the dominant population

Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818870159415064833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17088315.post-41747002690877963872010-01-10T13:28:00.003-05:002010-01-10T13:59:09.839-05:00

I had not scene Tropic Thunder. Last night, I fixed that.It's easy to dismiss films of this genre as low-brow tripe -- and that's partially the fault of how it was marketed -- but it's a good film with solid (and at points amazing) acting.The cast includes Jack Black, Ben Stiller, Steve Coogan, Bill Hader (SNL), Nick Nolte, Christine Taylor, Robert Downey Jr., and Tom Cruise -- the latter two of

Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818870159415064833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17088315.post-3417663199956349662009-10-08T00:26:00.003-04:002009-10-08T01:06:44.069-04:00

So, every once in a while, I watch a move, read a book, play a game, or shoot a film that makes me very, very happy.Zombieland did that to me tonight.In the game space, we talk about "Triple-A" games, where the sum total of the experience is stellar, even if there are minor miss-steps in some of components (graphics, gameplay, design, hook, basics, etc.). And a really amazing AAA game wouldn't

Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818870159415064833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17088315.post-78025516916340380882009-09-20T02:01:00.002-04:002009-09-20T02:04:01.246-04:00

Just finished X-Men Origins: Wolverine.I'm a comic book fan. Look, I know you need to make changes to adapt IP from one medium to another, but why these changes? Not all of them felt necessary or additive.

Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818870159415064833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17088315.post-81146849279272923122009-09-19T21:58:00.001-04:002009-09-19T21:58:29.935-04:00

Escape from New York

Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818870159415064833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17088315.post-72078381681266204492009-09-14T00:35:00.001-04:002009-09-14T00:37:03.850-04:00

Quentin Tarantino pulled off a(nother) good one.I need to write more, but I'll wait until the film's had its run for a while, and see if I come back to it. Don't want to spoil it for anyone.

Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818870159415064833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17088315.post-19330870041243066712009-08-22T20:23:00.008-04:002009-09-12T22:27:05.334-04:00

I've been looking forward to District 9 for a long time.Helmed by director Neill Blomkamp, and produced by Peter Jackson, District 9 9 is the big-screen realization of South African independent director Blomkamp's Alive in Joberg.I've watch Blompkamp for a little while now (though most people seem to know him as the Halo insterstitials director), and I am so stoked his short film has gotten

Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818870159415064833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17088315.post-61948633903909854452009-07-18T13:31:00.003-04:002009-07-18T13:42:16.309-04:00

Saw Brüno last night.Too-short summary: More gratuitous than Borat, with less plot.

Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818870159415064833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17088315.post-6702499923122763902009-06-17T17:02:00.004-04:002009-06-17T17:12:11.664-04:00

I went to see The Hangover as a throw-away evening, and was pleasantly surprised.The movie was funny, fairly intact on the narrative side, and had some laugh-out-loud moments.My only criticism is that while good, actors Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, and Rob Riggle didn't feel like they were acting that much -- or at least acting out of the type they've nailed very well. Maybe Helms was.The same

Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818870159415064833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17088315.post-89928185769582228362009-01-26T10:47:00.005-05:002009-01-26T11:33:50.482-05:00

The new vehicle for one of Marvel Comics's cash cows, the merry mutants that are the X-Men, debuted this weekend.Wolverine and the X-Men is the newest cartoon for the X-Gene challenged, and I find it so far to be a good mix between my beloved 90s series, and X-Men: Evolution (from which it takes some heavy visual cues).The series has some serious talent on the acting side (Nolan North, Liam

Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818870159415064833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17088315.post-84061131357964014782009-01-04T12:31:00.006-05:002009-01-04T13:09:50.831-05:00

I finally got around to watching Prince Caspian on Blu-ray last night.The film does well, even if it isn't the emotional powerhouse of the first Narnia film (nor the commercial one, grossing roughly half of its predecessor's box office earnings).Caspian is a tougher book with which to follow The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but arguably a needed setup for following films.Titular hero Ben

Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818870159415064833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17088315.post-38685765750361446312008-11-24T22:16:00.006-05:002008-12-15T17:12:34.375-05:00

It's saying something that I look forward to Chuck every week, when I no longer look forward to Heroes. Which makes me sad (but I'm behind on the show, so there's hope).If you're missing Chuck's more polished throwback to light-hearted adventure fare, do yourself a favor and pick up season one, and give yourself some time to be entertained.There is some very good acting going on in this flick,

Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818870159415064833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17088315.post-65375207467048181012008-08-10T20:01:00.005-04:002008-08-10T22:36:57.227-04:00

It's been too long since I've posted a micro review of anything on the visual front, but Christopher Nolan's revisited take on Batman has been rattling around my head since opening night, and I need to jot down a few thoughts.My opinion? Not to overstate it, but The Dark Knight is arguably not only the best comic book movie to date, but one of the best movie movies to date.Nolan takes -- and

Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818870159415064833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17088315.post-71337049468329043872008-05-19T21:51:00.002-04:002008-05-19T22:15:17.097-04:00

I so dig Scrubs.There should be more stuff like this with heart and guts brilliant writing and as-brilliant ensemble acting.The beauty of syndication is I watch between one to four episodes a night.Zach Braff? Brilliant and gutsy (my agent used to rep him).John C. McGinley? Something to which to aspire.Favorite episodes? Probably "My Cake", "My Fallen Idol", and all of the Brendan Fraser episodes

Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818870159415064833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17088315.post-59835199099424261202007-12-03T00:43:00.000-05:002007-12-03T00:44:04.756-05:00

I watched the first installment of SciFi's Tin Man (http://www.scifi.com/tinman), and while there's a gap between vision and execution, the vision is grande. It's a mish-mash of Depression-era(ish) steampunk(esque) vibe.Richard Dreyfus rocks. The guy who plays the Tin Man / Kane is pretty solid. Some of the other acting is a bit stilted and feels disconnected (and faking shows), but I'm hoping it

Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818870159415064833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17088315.post-18509952272519187352007-11-18T19:57:00.000-05:002007-11-18T20:47:26.630-05:00

On one hand, I'm at a loss as to what to write about Beowulf, the recent all-CGI film from Robert Zemeckis. But that's not going to stop me from figuring out what to say on the fly.But before I over think it (and take you with me), I genuinely enjoyed it. Overall.And I think it's important for the film to do well.The film is based on the Old English epic poem (author unknown) created sometime

Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818870159415064833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17088315.post-59714703785345323612007-10-22T15:22:00.000-04:002007-10-22T16:01:23.438-04:00

I caught the first showing of 30 Days of Night last week, the vampire flick based on the Steve Niles comic books from IDW Publishing.Like the comic, this is solidly mature fare -- and really well-executed.Great tone, scenes, and characters make the translation from the source material.Writers Niles, Stuart Beattie (Collateral), and Brian Nelson ("Earth: Final Conflict") turned out a solid script,

Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818870159415064833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17088315.post-42164031555627884632007-10-04T02:30:00.000-04:002007-10-04T02:38:51.534-04:00

NBC's Heroes is back for its sophomore season, and I'm pretty stoked.The threads are pretty thick, and they're handling them pretty well, though newcomers may struggle a bit with Peter and Ando's identities in the mix. Hang on for the ride, though -- Heroes tends to mash people's lives together -- super-hero Crash style.Oh, and it's darker. I don't mean in tone. I mean the thing looks like it's

Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818870159415064833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17088315.post-30901096460025421742007-09-08T15:34:00.000-04:002007-09-08T16:03:08.518-04:00

I caught the local matinee premiere of Shoot 'Em Up yesterday, New Line's latest vehicle for Clive Owen.The good is it's actually a great vehicle for Paul Giamatti, who does a phenomenal job as the hitman linchpin who's the foil (and provides the manpower fodder), for Owen's constant bang bang shenanigans. Giamatti is one of my character actor heroes, and I put him up there with John C. Reilly,

Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818870159415064833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17088315.post-74467003270102060902007-08-24T20:56:00.000-04:002007-08-24T22:30:37.215-04:00

I watched War at its local premier today, and to be honest, I liked it. It's more Hard-Boiled than The Transporter, and kudos for them trying a bunch of things in the film.It's a plot-heavy film, and any time you try to mix Chinese Triads and Japanese Yakuza -- and genuinely try to get it right -- you're taking on a lot.There's also a bunch of interpersonal stuff the film works pretty hard to

Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818870159415064833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17088315.post-52269012424305342382007-08-14T13:07:00.000-04:002007-08-14T13:48:48.157-04:00

Kudos to a video like this which reminds me their are good comic book video games out there, feeding two of my passions. Especially since I've had a snarky couple of days.And the games that are left out (Spider-Man 1, X-Men Legends, Rogue Trooper, and others) remind me that there are even more things about which to be grateful.

Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818870159415064833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17088315.post-61119945620065449542007-08-11T23:49:00.000-04:002007-08-14T13:06:31.408-04:00

I'm a big Stan Lee fan. I think he's is responsible for most of the success and positive direction of tights-wearing comic books today. I respect the guy, and look for any opportunity to hear from him and get his insights.And I'm a comic book fan. Wednesday's are special days of the week for me.So I'm watching the second season of Who Wants to Be a Superhero.Sweet mother, I must be a fan.I mean,

Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818870159415064833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17088315.post-41004730265848326512007-07-25T11:12:00.000-04:002007-07-25T11:23:13.795-04:00

I saw Sunshine Monday, and I can't recommend it enough.It's a Danny Boyle film, and it's almost two films -- or two genres (maybe sub-genres) in one.Can't clarify that without giving stuff away, because it's one of those great films to go into not knowing anything about.Acting is solid and not overdone, with good stuff in particular from Cillian Murphy (Capa), Hiroyuki Sanada (Kaneda), way too

Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818870159415064833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17088315.post-88723493245234816202007-07-23T01:20:00.000-04:002007-07-23T01:24:02.686-04:00

Just saw Spider-Man 3.I have lot to say on the pro and con side, but they're pretty specific spoilers, so I'll hold off.I enjoyed it, though I like it least out of the trilogy. But I liked it better than Superman Returns.And I understand now why no has tried to do a musical dance number in the middle of a comic book summer blockbuster film. Everyone else please take note.

Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818870159415064833noreply@blogger.com