Oh my god you guys, oh my god. How it took me this long to finally talk about this movie I will never know, but believe me the wait for this post on this particular movie is something to truly treasure. From 1994, a time when shitty martial arts movies are churned out like cheap knock-off goods, we got Cynthia Rothrock, the female action star of her time, in a movie that is so wildly bad and entertaining that you would think this is what Tommy Wiseau had directed an action flick. This is just one of the most insanely, poorly acted movies with fight scenes that are just unbelievable. This is Undefeatable.
It’s Arnold Schwarzenegger in his first movie ever! Yes the multi-award winning Mr. Olympia finally gets to have his day on film with one of the dumbest and amazing, best worst movie ever. Yes, Hercules in New York or as it is also known as, Hercules goes Bananas, has the giant muscled Austrian being typecast as a muscle bound Hercules who is cast out of Mount Olympus and runs amok in New York with some of the cheesiest fight scenes and atrocious dialogue ever. Every actor has to start somewhere and for Arnold, this is where it all began.
Tonight the Alamo Drafthouse Mainstreet is going to be hosting the Tribute to Tomas Young, by showcasing this incredibly compelling documentary about his war to end the war in Iraq. A veteran and casualty of the war, his condition puts him into the frontline of being the voice to end the war and stop the violence overseas. The documentary, regardless of the stance you have with the war or what is going on, is a heartbreaking and uplifting look into the struggles of those that come back from war and what they are doing to try and stop those same soldiers from being killed in a senseless war. I don’t have much else to say on this subject matter other than this is a documentary you should see, if only because of the center figure, Tomas Young, a fellow Kansas City native and his war to end the violence.
One of these things is not like the other…I think you can guess which.
Joking aside, Side by Side is a carefully created and narrated documentary about the state of the digital transformation of filmmaking with the people who are at the forefront of the technology. The answer is George Lucas folks…ZING!
Join Keanu Reeves on a tour of the past and the future of filmmaking in Side by Side. Since the invention of cinema, the standard format for recording moving images has been film. Over the past two decades, a new form of digital filmmaking has emerged, creating a groundbreaking evolution in the medium. Reeves explores the development of cinema and the impact of digital filmmaking via in-depth interviews with Hollywood masters, such as James Cameron, David Fincher, David Lynch, Martin Scorsese, Steven Soderbergh, and many more. — (C) Tribeca
Do you think that people, and by people I mean teens, young people, will remember what film actually looks like anymore? Film camera’s have been replaced with digital cameras, to the point where Kodak filed for bankruptcy. Will they get to know the care, detail, the know how of what film did for the medium? Even movies are slowly being muscled into the digital era, the fact that 16mm, 35mm and even 70mm film is going bye. No longer will the flicker of the bulb, the hum of the 35mm projector or the that sound of film prints being rolled past the bulb and onto the screen. No, computers and digital projection are the rage because the medium of actual film is being changed to a digital format. A format that actually will usher out the old art and bring in a new path for film to follow. I am both sadden and excited about the prospect of the new digital age in filmmaking.
The documentary is a lovely one, narrated very well by Keanu Reeves as he sits down with prominent filmmakers as they talk about the new digital age of filmmaking. Some are apprehensive, refusing to cast aside the tools of their craft while others manage to see beyond the curve and embrace it. It’s a narrative that is strung together by each director, talking about the possibilities and consequences of using this medium but it’s something wholly interesting that you must watch if you are a film fan. Seeing their eyes light up discussing filmmaking, either traditional or digital, realizing that the digital age to help achieve more in filmmaking, making it easier for anyone to try and make a movie.
Side by Side is a solid documentary that looks at both sides of the digital age of filmmaking. From the new director perspective in cutting down the barrier to entry to the established directors having to embrace a changing landscape. Well worth the look into the industry and fantastic insight into some of the best directors out there.
If you would have told me about four years ago that Star Trek was going to become one of the biggest franchises again, I would have laughed it off. I mean the franchise itself, in film form, has existed since 1979 with “Star Trek: The Motion Picture”, which was just basically money shots of the Enterprise and some deep insight into the existence of life while battling a giant space cloud. But decades later and many more Star Trek films, either TOS or TNG (The Original Series or The Next Generation), the luster of the Enterprise needed a new, shinier coat for audiences that weren’t just fans of the series. J.J. Abrams undertook a massive attempt with his reboot of the long running franchise in 2009 with “Star Trek”. A lens flare filled visual spectacle that essentially made Star Trek cool to like, at the behest of nerds around the world. It made the series popular once again and was a critical success. So the rollicking, humor, action oriented Star Trek had a lot to live up to with a sequel that was 4 years in the making. “Star Trek Into Darkness” boldly promises to take us into darker territories with its foreboding title and higher stakes, a promise it fully delivers with warp speed.
Oh yes, the latest Star Trek is coming out this evening I will be there, clad in a red shirt cause you need expendables there to protect the captain. So in order to properly convey my excitement for the latest lens flared installment from J.J. Abrams, I guess it is time to pay tribute to the best Star Trek movie ever. It’s time folks….KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!
Have you ever wanted to see Bruce Lee battle the likes of James Bond, The Man with No Name and Dracula all in one epic movie. Well folks, you are in luck since the death of Bruce Lee spawned a subgenre of exploitation movies called Bruceploitation and the movie studios just couldn’t stop capitalizing off the fame of Bruce Lee. RIP Bruce, your legend will live on as will these horribly amazing movies. It’s time for The Dragon Lives Again.
