These Star Wars Bookends($55) let you use the iconic Star Wars logo to support your favorite tomes or DVDs, be they Rebel or Imperial, Jedi, or Sith.
Archive for the ‘MOVIES’ Category
Star Wars Bookends
On August - 24 - 2010
Tron Legacy Theatrical
On July - 26 - 2010
This was one of our fave movies as a kid and when we found out this was being remade we got juiced!! We cant wait to see this in 3D on the big screen we got 6 more months ,watch the old one if you can get your hands on it.
Back to the Future 25th Anniversary Trilogy
On July - 19 - 2010
A must have for the real heads!!
It seems a little hard to believe, but everyone’s favorite 1980s time traveling adventure was released 25 years ago, and now it’s coming back… to the future on Blu-ray. The Back to the Future 25th Anniversary Trilogy ($35-$56) features all three of Marty and Doc’s adventures spread across multiple discs, restored for the Silver Jubilee, along with tons of bonus content — over two hours of it — including an all-new, six-part retrospective documentary with never-before-seen interviews with the cast, crew and filmmakers. [Thanks, Brad]
The First Avenger: Captain America
On July - 18 - 2010
The casting of Evans completed an extensive and well-publicised search to find an actor to wield the shield. It was also the last main piece in the jigsaw of Marvel’s current superhero masterplan.
After seeing Robert Downey Jr reprise his role in Iron Man 2 and next year brings us Chris Hemsworth in May’s Thor film and then Evans in The First Avenger: Captain America in July.
All three will then be brought together by Samuel L Jackson’s agent Nick Fury to form The Avengers, to be released in 2012. Joining them will probably be Edward Norton’s Hulk, Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow (who makes her debut in Iron Man 2) and maybe others such as Hawkeye, Wasp, Ant-Man and Scarlet Witch.
Green Lantern: FIRST LOOK
On July - 16 - 2010
So much for a black Green Lantern, owell I’m not and never been a DC fan,I’m a Marvel kid all day. I do like Super man & Batman but not much more then that. Congrats to Mr Reynolds this dude is all over the F*^%#&*! place!! from Marvel now to DC make up your mind man, he better not f%#$ this up. i would have been way more into this if Green Lantern was black. I should have known that they wouldn’t let a black man star in a super hero movies unless hes a “Monster” like Blade.
How the lil guys did it Big Using Energy-Saving Technology
On July - 10 - 2010
Traditionally, only the mammoth Hollywood studios could afford to work with 3D—it’s too expensive to build the necessary, air-conditioned 24 hours a day, server farms. The company behind Despicable Me decided to try something new, and cut the AC.
Illumination Entertainment, the company behind Despicable Me, decided to try something new. Instead of using air-conditioned server farms to render images, the company asked IBM to built a customized server farm using the iDataPlex system, a processing system that cuts down on energy use by 40% compared to traditional server farms.
The iDataPlex has two key advantages: a flexible configuration that doubles the amount of systems that can run in a single IBM rack and the ability to run an ambient temperature room (no costly air-conditioning required). The system has been on the market for over a year, but Illumination is the first studio to use it for animated film.
This doesn’t mean that any scrappy studio with a dream can now produce a high-end 3-D animated film. Illumination used a 330-person team of artists, producers, and support staff to produce 142 terabytes of data. And the rendering farm, which processed up to 500,000 frames per week, was built in conjunction with Mac Guff Ligne, a French digital production studio.
But the iDataPlex gives Illumination a leg up in the graphics rendering process. Illumination Entertainment’s server farm, for example, is the size of four parking spots. That’s half the amount of space the company initially allotted to the farm. “Oftentimes a small studio like Illumination really wants to put their energy behind creating as compelling of content as possible,” explains Steve Canepa, Vice President, Media & Entertainment Industry at IBM. “By minimizing the technological issues associated with building and managing the [rendering] environment, we allow studios to reduce the amount of time, energy, and resources necessary to create an underlying technological platform.”
It’s a compelling idea for studios—even major ones—that want to cut costs and look environmentally conscious at the same time. IBM is already working with a number of other studios to implement similar solutions. Canepa concedes that studios could build similar systems by purchasing off-the-shelf racks and processors, but the iDataPlex’s unique configuration of servers packs a lot of processing power into a small space—and that’s not easy to replicate. Don’t expect these rigs to be appearing in suburban garages anytime soon.
via Gizmodo
What the Last Airbender TV series has that the movie doesn’t
On July - 7 - 2010
With over 20 episodes in Avatar: The Last Airbender’s first season, we knew M. Night Shyamalan would have to cut a lot to adapt it. But what ended up on the cutting room floor could have really helped this film.
We’ve written a lot about the problematic casting in this film, making the cartoon’s main Asian characters white, and we still think that was a huge mistake. But here are some of the other changes from the cartoon that, in retrospect, really didn’t work out.
As silly-angry as we can get about non-canon moments in The Last Airbender, like showing the Fire Lords face so early in the game, they’re not as important as other things that Shyamalan cut out — or didn’t consider including at all.
The War
Taking a page right out of Star Wars, Airbender opens with scrolling titles that explain everything that happened before we meet Sokka and Katara. One could argue that this was very similar to the cartoon, which barely showed the great war that the Fire Nation started. But the original does show it, if only for a few seconds in the intro. And that image of the organized and aggressive Fire Nation quickly sets a tone for the cartoon’s “bad guys.” Right after the Fire Nation’s appearance in the intro, Roku is seen commanding all the elements — bam. That’s what an Avatar is, done. Had they actually shown Roku in the beginning, kicking a little elemental butt, it might have given all his copious other mentions, statue zoom-ins, and Fang the Dragon spirit-world sessions some weight. It might have even helped explain why the Avatar was so important. And why everyone was so sad/doomed when he disappeared and Aang ran off.
The only reason I can imagine why this wasn’t included is because it would mean showing and not telling. And telling instead of showing was something Airbender took great pleasure in doing countless times. Plus, almost three years ago process M. Night stated that he wanted this to be the new Star Wars, so I guess it’s only natural that it have long and confusing titles with little-to-no explanation, Phantom Menace style.
Either way, it’s sad that the cartoon could establish the general grasp of the mythology in five seconds while the live action film never really established Airbender’s ideas with the audience up until the final battle scene, when it showed the actual war.
The War’s Aftermath
The war itself, and its effects on the characters, were both pretty glossed over from the beginning. Sokka is the last man in the Southern Water Tribe. In the cartoon, he’s seen constantly struggling with this issue, especially when he’s left with a gaggle of pre-teens to build an army with. But when the Fire Nation comes, he utilizes them as a part of his tribe’s defenses. He has no other choice. What might be casually tossed away as a “silly cartoon moment,” what with the potty breaks jokes and all, is actually terribly sad. And explains a lot of who these children are and why it’s so important for them to set the balance back in their world.
In the film, Sokka and Katara talk sadly about their long-lost parents, but never defend themselves. In fact, when the Fire Nation comes to their village for Aang, they stand by, frustrated but defeated. Little things like the absence of the Southern tribes baby brigade really start to add up. And the movie becomes less about the conscious choices the characters make, and more about moving the plot along.
Great Side Characters Like Jet, The Deserter
Jet is another character who was sadly cut from the film. We can see how it would be hard to include him in this two-hour movie. But his character’s drive to kill all members of the Fire Nation, loyal to the Fire Lord or not, help perpetuate the feeling that this world is in a war. Plus the Deserter helps reinforce that not everyone under Fire Nation rule was evil. M. Night didn’t speak as to why Jet was cut but he did explain, a few months back in a private roundtable, why he couldn’t fit in the Deserter and characters like him, such as Jet and the Bounty Hunter. They both have that episodic feel in the first season.
Appa and Momo’s Personalities
The saddest cut by far was watching Appa and Momo’s personalities disappear. Their endearing charm and heart warmed up this series. I think we heard “Yip Yip” one single and lonely time throughout the entire film. When Momo was fiddling with the Moon and Ocean fish spirits in the Northern Water Tribe, I’d all but forgotten he was there, and by that might have been the first time anyone even spoke his name out loud. Sure, neither of them are massive parts of the first season, but they are other-worldly beings that make up a big part of this magical fantasy land that we’ve never seen before. The chair I was sitting in the theater had more character than these creatures. And if you’re going to cut the platypus-bear and whiskered penguins from the South, the film could have rewarded fans just a little with Appa eating hay or sneezing, just something that was “classic Appa.”
Via Gizmodo
Is “ The last Airbender” White Washing Cartoon Characters Of Color?
On July - 4 - 2010
I love this show and was so happy to find out that they had made it into a movie. but then i find out that all the cast members had been changed to white kids. I didn’t know how to feel and was wondering if i was the only one the felt this way so I looked around on the net to see what i could find..
From Splinter End
By openly preferring Caucasian actors over Asian actors in an open casting call, Paramount demonstrated their innate racist assumptions – that a no name White actor was more capable of increasing box office numbers and (perhaps) “acting” than an equivalent Asian actor regardless of the Eastern-based characters in the series. Additionally, by casting Asian actors as secondary or supporting characters, Paramount clearly wished to create an “authentically diverse” universe, one that is distinctly Eastern and non-Western in its roots.
This purports my conceit that Paramount blatantly reinforces racism at the institutional level, driven by innately racist assumptions and an ethnocentric desire to bundle Eastern culture – rich in history and human stories – into a big old Yellowface bowtie. Make it as pretty and shiny and “Asian-y” as you want – in the end, this movie is racist and a disrespectful slap in the face of the Eastern heritage it so wishes to profit off of. The studios underlying assumption about marketability and acting capability of White over Asian actors is insulting, and to claim that their production is “diverse” because they cast Asians as secondary and supporting characters ignores the bigger issue at hand – the starring, main Asian characters are portrayed by White actors instead of Asian actors.
From Boston.com
Movie critics delivered a withering verdict on his new film, “The Last Airbender,’’ heaping words like “laughable,’’ “flat,’’ and “fiasco’’ on the director’s latest effort to deliver on the promise he showed with 1999’s “The Sixth Sense.’’ But even before the reviews came in, Shyamalan was on the defensive, caught in the crossfire of a debate over ethnicity and authenticity that has implications beyond the fate of any individual movie.
At issue was Shyamalan’s decision to cast three of the four principal roles in “The Last Airbender’’ with Caucasian actors, even though the anime-style TV series that inspired the film featured lead characters who appeared to be East Asian or Native American. Furious at what they saw as the latest entry in an ignoble Hollywood tradition of “whitewashing,’’ or casting white performers in roles that cried out for minority actors, Asian-American activists launched a boycott of “The Last Airbender,’’ staged demonstrations, and mobilized opposition on Facebook.
“This was a great opportunity to create new Asian-American stars,’’ fumed Guy Aoki, founding president of the Los Angeles-based Media Action Network for Asian-Americans, which urged a movie boycott for the first time in the organization’s 18-year existence. “When you have ready-made material that has Asian or Asian-American people in it, and they still cast white people in it, that’s the last straw.’’
The movie industry has a checkered history, to say the least, on the issue of ethnic sensitivity, from the infamous practice of blackface, in which black characters were played by whites in dark makeup, to such dubious recent decisions as the casting of Jake Gyllenhaal to play the heir to the throne of Persia (now Iran) in this summer’s “Prince of Persia.’’
Asian-American moviegoers have long had to absorb slights, oversights, and worse at the hands of Hollywood. The Charlie Chan movies of the 1930s and ’40s starred white actors as the Chinese-American detective with great powers of deduction but faulty powers of enunciation. In a cringe-inducing portrayal in 1961’s “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,’’ Mickey Rooney donned buck teeth and thick-rimmed glasses to portray Mr. Yunioshi, Audrey Hepburn’s excitable Japanese neighbor. In 2008’s “21,’’ based on a controversial book about MIT students who outwitted Las Vegas casinos, most of the students in the movie were white, even though in real life they were mostly Asian-American. And in one of the most nuanced cases of tone deafness, 2005’s big-screen adaptation of “Memoirs of a Geisha’’ cast Chinese actresses as the Japanese leads.
Now comes “The Last Airbender,’’ which raises a number of questions, including a simple, heartfelt one posed by Tak Toyoshima, the Japanese-American creator and illustrator of “Secret Asian Man’’ comics and the creative director of the Weekly Dig. “The hero that saves the day, why couldn’t he be an Asian kid?’’ said Toyoshima, 39, of Dorchester. “There are plenty of Asian actors out there who could do the same thing.’’
Street Fighter: Legacy
On May - 8 - 2010
This is way better then the bs street fighter movies Hollywood put out
Hubble 3D Review:
On March - 15 - 2010
Hubble 3D was shot over several years by three different NASA flight crews, documenting both the launch and subsequent repairs of the Hubble Space Telescope. The repair footage is interesting, especially to a space geek, but it’s not anything you haven’t seen before. (Albeit not on a six-story IMAX screen and in 3D.) But it serves as a framework for two rendered space sequences that are stunning—they brought tears to my eyes more than once.
VIA GIZMODO
Alice in Wonderland x Medicom Toy Cheshire Cat Bearbrick 400%
On February - 7 - 2010
With the release of Tim Burton’s adaptation of Alice in Wonderland set to release next month, Medicom Toy teams up with the film to produce a Cheshire Cat, reflective of the character version from the new motion picture. The cat, produced in Bearbrick form, is seen in a 400% format and is just a small dose of the complete collaboration with Alice in Wonderland. A release is slated for February 13th through Medicom Toy accounts.
VIA HYPEBEAST
Giant Robot Invasion:
On January - 23 - 2010
This special F/X-laden five-minute robot invasion flick is about giant robots “coming to destroy my small city.
By Fede Alvarez. The director Fede says:
“It took US$300 to shoot the live action, and then maybe a year to complete the 90 vfx shots (during very interrupted periods…) I used Premiere, After, Photoshop, 3dMax, Boujou, Glu3d, and FumeFx. The modeling, mapping and rigging of the Robots, fighters and planes was made by Mauro Rondan.
Iron Man 2 Poster: Its war
On December - 17 - 2009
Ho. Lee. Crap. The first (real) teaser trailer’s coming in December, but after seeing this poster, I don’t know if I can’t wait that long.
Film: Richard Aoki Documentary 11/12
On November - 12 - 2009
space & djln got there tickets over a week ago.. they are super juiced 4 tomorrows showing. the grand lake is plush!! 
Revolutionary, scholar and Black Panther Richard Aoki is a mysterious figure for most people. Outside of revolutionary circles little said in the mainstream media about this legendary man. Finally a documentary is about to drop next week at Oakland’s most prestigious theater the Grand Lake! I recommend going out and swooping tickets for this event asap at Aokifilm.com. Support and learn about a giant in the revolutionary community, who’s contributions which may have been imperceptible to you in his life, now will be brought to your attention in death. Rest in Peace. (Check his memorial blog for thoughts and reactions from his
Revolutionary, scholar and Black Panther Richard Aoki is a mysterious figure for most people. Outside of revolutionary circles little said in the mainstream media about this legendary man. Finally a documentary is about to drop next week at Oakland’s most prestigious theater the Grand Lake! I recommend going out and swooping tickets for this event asap at Aokifilm.com. Support and learn about a giant in the revolutionary community, who’s contributions which may have been imperceptible to you in his life, now will be brought to your attention in death. Rest in Peace. (Check his memorial blog for thoughts and reactions from hisfollowers)
via 24KT
Hieroglyphics Emporium
On October - 27 - 2009
FOR THE CAT NOT KNOWING THESE GUYS JUST RE-RELEASED THE CLASSIC HIERO T’S
I GOT A CHANCE TO PEEP THEM OUT IN PERSON AND THEY R ILLY.. THE STORE JUST LAUNCHED TO HEAD OF AND PICK SOME UP. THE WORD ON THE STREET IN THAT THESE CATS R GOING TO BE HITTING IT HARD. STAY ON THE LOOKOUT FOR PEP LOVE NEW ISH “RE CONSTRUCTION” COMING SOON
Tron Legacy:
On July - 26 - 2009
AS A KID GROWING UP IN THE NEW TECH WORLD TRON WAS ONE OF A FEW MOVIES THAT GAVE ME A GLIMPSE OF WHAT THE FUTURE MAY LOOK LIKE. SPARKING
A LOVE FOR ALL THINGS TECH.. CANT WAIT TO SEE THIS ONE..
Tron Legacy is a 3D high-tech adventure set in a digital world that’s unlike anything ever captured on the big screen. Sam Flynn, the tech-savvy 27-year-old son of Kevin Flynn, looks into his father’s disappearance and finds himself pulled into the same world of fierce programs and gladiatorial games where his father has been living for 25 years. Along with Kevin’s loyal confidant, father and son embark on a life-and-death journey across a visually-stunning cyber universe that has become far more advanced and exceedingly dangerous. The official trailer can be seen above, recently premiering at the San Diego Comic Con. With Daft Punk creating the sound track for this movie, TRON Legacy will be a movie not to miss out on.
