Iron Sky just appeared on my radar about a week ago and it has peaked my interest. The basic premise is that the Nazis at the end of the war retreat unknown to the rest of the world to the dark side of the moon. Fast forward 70 years and there back and apparently pissed off and turbo charged with new technology. Ok having written it all out it seems pretty silly but the trailer really drives it home and I for one am looking forward to film.
So like lots of other people I sat down and strapped on a pair of Darth Maul 3D glasses and settled in to watch a movie I had seen at least a dozen times. To be honest like a lot of Star Wars fans this is my least favorite out of the 6 films. Jar Jar annoys me but for the most part it is Jake Lloyd’s performance as Anakin that ruins this movie for me. But this is not a review on the movie but rather on the adaptation to 3D.
As I expected like all mixed live and CGI footage movies the 3D on the CGI is night and day better. This creates a problem for Star Wars as the contrast between 3D CGI and live 3D was a bit disjointing. At times I felt like I was looking at a popup book and the live action characters were the static background and the CGI were all the pop ups. The colors on the non-rendered sets appeared washed out and somewhat dull. Which stood in stark contrast with the crisp clean look of the recently released Blu Ray editions, no matter your feelings on the changes Lucas made you have to admit the they were shiny (yes I am huge Firefly Fan). I am not sure if it was just my viewing but the 3D seemed to cause parts of the movie to be blurry and slightly out of focus. I am hoping it is my theater and not the print itself.
Over all I think there was some enhancement to the Star Wars viewing experience in the 3D conversion, if nothing else to satisfy my curiosity on what a good space flight battle would look like in 3D. For me my money is on Blu Ray for best quality viewing and for the most authentic to the original the Laser Disc versions of IV,V and VI which offer the ultimate in original unchanged Star Wars.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gC6w15OwK08&hd=1
Alright I am not one to get all excited over a 3D movies but this is Star Wars and in 3D. For me any chance to see a Star Wars movie on the big screen is epic even if it is the lesser of the 6 films. I think I am looking forward to seeing the pod race which I would assume would be a great place to showcase this in 3D. What I am most excited about is finally seeing a lightsaber in 3D esspecially Darth Maul’s double bladed saber. Check back on Monday for my review on Lucas’s attempt at more money.
So I started watching Alcatraz and I have to say I am hooked in fact I was up late last night trying to get caught up it is that good. The premise is when they closed Alcatraz in the sixties and transferred all the inmates they actually did something else to a group of them. Of course this being a JJ Abrams production I am 4 episodes deep and still have no idea what is really going on. Although it almost feels like a Lost spinoff with Jorge Garcia and bright golden lights behind doors. The premise in a nut shell is that these prisoners are coming back to present time without aging and they have an agenda which they achieve by continuing there baddie ways. Each episode focuses on catching one of the 69s which is what they are called in the show and moving the main story line forward. The story centers on Doctor Diego Soto (Jorge Garcia from Lost) and Detective Rebecca Madsen (Sarah Jones). These two are an unlikely pair, a young not by the book detective and Doctor Diego a criminologist who wrote a detailed book on the inmates of Alcatraz. The book is a plot device they use to fill in the blanks where there would be a complete dead end in the investigations. They have an FBI handler named Emerson Hauser who has a secret that they have not yet revealed played by one of my favorite actors Sam Neill.
I am really looking forward to seeing where this story takes us, so if your a Nielson rating person remember to tune and get this excellent show some ratings.
We are two months into 2012 and several months away from the world ending. All jokes aside this is a big year for movies and I want to know what your top five movies are for this year and why if your so inclined.
I know I have probably missed some really critical movies for this upcoming year so I leave it to you to fill in the blanks.
So I got this idea to see if people actually read this. If your first to post a comment on this thread you can pick the next movie I review. Please no pornography or really hard to find movies.
I recently stumbled onto this show looking for something different from my typical syfy shows. I had recently watched a few hours of the Kennedy’s with Jeffery Donovan playing Bobby Kennedy and liked his character acting skills. The basic premise for Burn Notice is Jeffery Donovan plays Michael Westen a spy who got put on a Burn Notice. Basically they took all the spy resources away and dumped him in his home town Miami. He survives by doing impossible jobs for desperate people in Miami with a team of misfits.
Jeffery Donovan as Michael Westen a burned spy working to get back in while being a help for hire to the people of Miami.
Gabrielle Anwar as Fiona Glenanne, Michael’s ex sometimes not so ex girlfriend who happens to be a gunrunner\Explosive Expert.
Bruce Campbell as Sam Axe, Michael’s buddy who is a retired spook and former Navy Seal who used to inform on Michael to the FBI..
Sharon Gless as Madeline Westen, she is Michael’s mom.
Coby Bell as Jesse Porter a counter intelligence spy Michael inadvertently burned.
The show is made up of relatively unknowns except for Bruce Campbell who plays Sam Axe and Sharon Gless who plays Michael’s mom Madeline. These veteran actors add weight to this show that without them might be a little thin on the familiar face category. Don’t confuse “unknown” with “untalented”. Jeffery Donovan is a fantastic actor who can really play any character with depth. In Burn Notice because he goes undercover so often in the show you get to see him play lots of different types of characters. The incomparable Bruce Campbell who to be honest is a horrible actor but his charm and charisma wins you over making it easy to overlook his acting. I would say the jewel of this show is Madeline Westen played by Sharon Gless who is as incredibly talented actress. The relationships the writers provide her with are some of the best moments in this show.
Every episode has two story arcs the short story arc which is typically resolved in one or 2 episodes these are referred to in the show as “jobs” and they come from every member of the team. They involve tasks from rescuing kidnapped children to toppling drug kingpins. It is hear that we see a lot of character acting ranging from a good ole boy wheel man to a psycho hitman. Then there is the long story arc which has evolved from getting unburned to saving the people that burned him and more. This arc is moved along in small bits each episode following a discovery and revealed type format.
For my money I could not get enough of this show and managed to watch the first 4 seasons in a little over a month. I love the relationships between the team and how Michael has a set of rules which are revealed as a clever running commentary as a voice over during each episode. The special effect budget for this show must be pretty high as there are always blowing things up and showing off all sorts of weapons.
