By Kevin Kelly
Capcom had thoughtfully set up a multi-station obstacle course for us at Gdc, otherwise known as the Capcom Press Suite, which is parlance for "cramming as many video games as possible into one hotel room." Which is much better than unlimited room service and free pay TV. Scattered around the room in every nook and cranny were Capcom's up and coming titles at hands-on stations ready to be touched and inspected. So without further ado, we're going to run you through the same course, and give you our impressions.
DuckTales: Remastered
As it turns out, life actually is like a Hurricane, right there in Duckburg. The original title "Ducktales" was a big hit for Capcom back in 1989 and 1990, becoming the company's best-selling game on both the Nintendo Entertainment System and the GameBoy. Now nearly 24 years later (eep!) the game is returning at "DuckTales Remastered," and features...
Capcom had thoughtfully set up a multi-station obstacle course for us at Gdc, otherwise known as the Capcom Press Suite, which is parlance for "cramming as many video games as possible into one hotel room." Which is much better than unlimited room service and free pay TV. Scattered around the room in every nook and cranny were Capcom's up and coming titles at hands-on stations ready to be touched and inspected. So without further ado, we're going to run you through the same course, and give you our impressions.
DuckTales: Remastered
As it turns out, life actually is like a Hurricane, right there in Duckburg. The original title "Ducktales" was a big hit for Capcom back in 1989 and 1990, becoming the company's best-selling game on both the Nintendo Entertainment System and the GameBoy. Now nearly 24 years later (eep!) the game is returning at "DuckTales Remastered," and features...
- 4/10/2013
- by kevinkelly
- MTV Multiplayer
By Kevin Kelly
A decade has passed since the third and final game in the Thief series, "Thief: Deadly Shadows," was released, and a new generation of gamers who have been raised on consoles and handhelds have no idea what it was like to slink about in the shadows as a master thief named Garrett. Which of course means that it's time for a reboot, or a sequel where the protagonist has been away for a very long time. Thus enters the upcoming "Thief" from Eidos Montreal and Square Enix, which is a little bit of both.
The original "Thief: The Dark Project" actually began life as different different projects with developer Looking Glass Studios, including "Better Red Than Undead," which would have been a 1950s cold-war game with zombies in the Soviet Union and "Dark Camelot," which would have been a backwards retelling of the Camelot tale, with Arthur...
A decade has passed since the third and final game in the Thief series, "Thief: Deadly Shadows," was released, and a new generation of gamers who have been raised on consoles and handhelds have no idea what it was like to slink about in the shadows as a master thief named Garrett. Which of course means that it's time for a reboot, or a sequel where the protagonist has been away for a very long time. Thus enters the upcoming "Thief" from Eidos Montreal and Square Enix, which is a little bit of both.
The original "Thief: The Dark Project" actually began life as different different projects with developer Looking Glass Studios, including "Better Red Than Undead," which would have been a 1950s cold-war game with zombies in the Soviet Union and "Dark Camelot," which would have been a backwards retelling of the Camelot tale, with Arthur...
- 4/10/2013
- by kevinkelly
- MTV Multiplayer
By Kevin Kelly
While Lego has long conquered the realm of real-world toys, they didn't really make a big dent in the video game arena until "Lego Star Wars: The Video Game" back in 2005. This ushered in an era of minifig-based games featuring licensed properties featuring characters from Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Lord of the Rings, DC Comics, Pirates of the Caribbean, and more, all at the hands of developer Traveller's Tales. Not a bad job of bringing a physical toy to life in a virtual medium that revolves around storytelling.
This trend also shows no signs of slowing down, with Tt having already developed seventeen Lego video game titles, and at Gdc we were treated to a brief demo with the newly-announced "Lego Marvel Super Heroes." While "Lego Batman: The Videogame" was DC's initial entry into the Lego video game arena, the sequel, "Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes...
While Lego has long conquered the realm of real-world toys, they didn't really make a big dent in the video game arena until "Lego Star Wars: The Video Game" back in 2005. This ushered in an era of minifig-based games featuring licensed properties featuring characters from Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Lord of the Rings, DC Comics, Pirates of the Caribbean, and more, all at the hands of developer Traveller's Tales. Not a bad job of bringing a physical toy to life in a virtual medium that revolves around storytelling.
This trend also shows no signs of slowing down, with Tt having already developed seventeen Lego video game titles, and at Gdc we were treated to a brief demo with the newly-announced "Lego Marvel Super Heroes." While "Lego Batman: The Videogame" was DC's initial entry into the Lego video game arena, the sequel, "Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes...
- 4/8/2013
- by kevinkelly
- MTV Multiplayer
The (multiple) DC universe Moba unveils a pair of its melee-focused Champion characters: Amazonian warrior Wonder Woman and a vampiric version of the Batman.
Last week, developer Turbine unveiled "Infinite Crisis" during Gdc, offering a hands-on to attendees (including our own Kevin Kelly). Wonder Woman and Nightmare Batman will join alternate universe takes on Doomsday, Captain Marvel, the Joker, and more in Turbine's effort to allow players to use (some version) of their favorite Dcu character. The Batman on display in the video below would be the "Red Rain" version of the character, from the 1991 Elseworlds story pitting the Dark Knight against Dracula.
"Infinite Crisis" will be available later this year on the PC and beta registration is open now.
Related Posts:
Today, 'Skyrim' Updates to the 1.9 Ver. Patch for Consoles
Gdc 2013: Putting a Match to EA's 'Fuse' with Insomniac President Ted Price
--
Follow @MTVMultiplayer on Twitter and...
Last week, developer Turbine unveiled "Infinite Crisis" during Gdc, offering a hands-on to attendees (including our own Kevin Kelly). Wonder Woman and Nightmare Batman will join alternate universe takes on Doomsday, Captain Marvel, the Joker, and more in Turbine's effort to allow players to use (some version) of their favorite Dcu character. The Batman on display in the video below would be the "Red Rain" version of the character, from the 1991 Elseworlds story pitting the Dark Knight against Dracula.
"Infinite Crisis" will be available later this year on the PC and beta registration is open now.
Related Posts:
Today, 'Skyrim' Updates to the 1.9 Ver. Patch for Consoles
Gdc 2013: Putting a Match to EA's 'Fuse' with Insomniac President Ted Price
--
Follow @MTVMultiplayer on Twitter and...
- 4/8/2013
- by Charles Webb
- MTV Multiplayer
By Kevin Kelly
As a video game journalist, it isn't often that you get to sit down with the head of a studio and co-op through a video game with just the two of you. Often, the events we attend feature a big group of writers, all jockeying for sound bites and hands-on time with games, so imagine our surprise when we stepped into a small meeting room and were presented with two gaming setups, and were introduced to Ted Price, the president and CEO of Insomniac Games. He was there to show off "Fuse," the newest game from his company.
Just in case you didn't know, Insomniac has been a powerhouse development studio for Sony, creating games that turned into franchises like "Spyro the Dragon," "Ratchet & Clank," and "Resistance: Fall of Man." But "Fuse," which was originally introduced as "Overstrike" back in 2010, marks the first time the studio has...
As a video game journalist, it isn't often that you get to sit down with the head of a studio and co-op through a video game with just the two of you. Often, the events we attend feature a big group of writers, all jockeying for sound bites and hands-on time with games, so imagine our surprise when we stepped into a small meeting room and were presented with two gaming setups, and were introduced to Ted Price, the president and CEO of Insomniac Games. He was there to show off "Fuse," the newest game from his company.
Just in case you didn't know, Insomniac has been a powerhouse development studio for Sony, creating games that turned into franchises like "Spyro the Dragon," "Ratchet & Clank," and "Resistance: Fall of Man." But "Fuse," which was originally introduced as "Overstrike" back in 2010, marks the first time the studio has...
- 4/8/2013
- by kevinkelly
- MTV Multiplayer
By Kevin Kelly
Rosa Thomas, a ten-year veteran and Principal Program Manager at Microsoft, spoke at Gdc in San Francisco about the SmartGlass experience that Microsoft has been rolling out slowly on the Xbox 360. First announced at E3 last year, Microsoft rolled out the service with Windows 8 this past October, and plans to ramp up what the experience offers in the coming months.
So what is it? On the basic level, SmartGlass is Microsoft's proprietary Second Screen experience that works (currently) in conjunction with the Xbox 360, offering a second screen full of information and functions on the iOS, Android, Windows 8, and Windows Phone. Right now it only works with a handful of games, including "Halo 4" and "Forza Horizon," some of the Xbox 360 video apps, including HBO Go, and a smattering of newly released movies.
The SmartGlass app, which you launch from your secondary device while running the Xbox 360, provides different functions on the second screen,...
Rosa Thomas, a ten-year veteran and Principal Program Manager at Microsoft, spoke at Gdc in San Francisco about the SmartGlass experience that Microsoft has been rolling out slowly on the Xbox 360. First announced at E3 last year, Microsoft rolled out the service with Windows 8 this past October, and plans to ramp up what the experience offers in the coming months.
So what is it? On the basic level, SmartGlass is Microsoft's proprietary Second Screen experience that works (currently) in conjunction with the Xbox 360, offering a second screen full of information and functions on the iOS, Android, Windows 8, and Windows Phone. Right now it only works with a handful of games, including "Halo 4" and "Forza Horizon," some of the Xbox 360 video apps, including HBO Go, and a smattering of newly released movies.
The SmartGlass app, which you launch from your secondary device while running the Xbox 360, provides different functions on the second screen,...
- 3/27/2013
- by kevinkelly
- MTV Multiplayer
By Kevin Kelly
Since thatgamecompany started in 2006, they have amazed us with three games, “fl0w,” “Flower, “and “Journey.” Each one of them have been very different than the
We see video games as a form of interactive entertainment, but what kind of feeling do they communicate to you? They can hit a wide range on the emotional palette, but one thing they all communicate to you is a sense of accomplishment, which is something that watching a movie doesn’t do. But what about doing that, while also hitting appropriate and new emotional notes?
The reason we founded the company is to push the boundary for emotion in games. The idea for Journey came to Chen originally back in 2006, after a period where he had been playing “World of Warcraft” for three years. But the problem was that all of the players he met in the game only wanted...
Since thatgamecompany started in 2006, they have amazed us with three games, “fl0w,” “Flower, “and “Journey.” Each one of them have been very different than the
We see video games as a form of interactive entertainment, but what kind of feeling do they communicate to you? They can hit a wide range on the emotional palette, but one thing they all communicate to you is a sense of accomplishment, which is something that watching a movie doesn’t do. But what about doing that, while also hitting appropriate and new emotional notes?
The reason we founded the company is to push the boundary for emotion in games. The idea for Journey came to Chen originally back in 2006, after a period where he had been playing “World of Warcraft” for three years. But the problem was that all of the players he met in the game only wanted...
- 2/8/2013
- by kevinkelly
- MTV Multiplayer
By Kevin Kelly
At 57.33 years old, according to him, Warren Spector has seen a lot of chaos in 35 years of video game development, which is was seeking to impart on some of the younger developers at D.I.C.E. Although on looking around when taking the stage, he wondered if he wasn’t seeing them because “they couldn’t afford to come out here.”
But before he began the core of his discussion, he addressed the elephant in the room to a degree. “As many of you may have heard, my studio Junction Point is not around any longer.” He didn’t use this opportunity to lambast Disney, but instead said that he was proud to work with a great team of people, and to be able to visit Disneyland and Walt Disney World as a contributor and not just a spectator, which is the amount of gracious commentary...
At 57.33 years old, according to him, Warren Spector has seen a lot of chaos in 35 years of video game development, which is was seeking to impart on some of the younger developers at D.I.C.E. Although on looking around when taking the stage, he wondered if he wasn’t seeing them because “they couldn’t afford to come out here.”
But before he began the core of his discussion, he addressed the elephant in the room to a degree. “As many of you may have heard, my studio Junction Point is not around any longer.” He didn’t use this opportunity to lambast Disney, but instead said that he was proud to work with a great team of people, and to be able to visit Disneyland and Walt Disney World as a contributor and not just a spectator, which is the amount of gracious commentary...
- 2/7/2013
- by kevinkelly
- MTV Multiplayer
By Kevin Kelly
Gamers know Randy Pitchford as the president of Gearbox Software, but you might not know that he’s also a magician. He used to perform in Hollywood at a place called Wizard at Universal Citywalk, and was a member of the prestigious parlor of prestidigitation known as The Magic Castle … where he actually got married. So forget about experiencing the D.I.C.E. panel, instead we were treated to Randy Pitchford’s Magic Show!
Pitchford, while performing tricks, explained that much of the psychology behind magic tricks is the game psychology that goes into video game development. In the case of magic and the case of video game, you’re encouraging the audience to trust you and come along with you on a journey, and there will be a payoff at the end. With magic, the payoff is seeing something amazing, or impossible, and in video games,...
Gamers know Randy Pitchford as the president of Gearbox Software, but you might not know that he’s also a magician. He used to perform in Hollywood at a place called Wizard at Universal Citywalk, and was a member of the prestigious parlor of prestidigitation known as The Magic Castle … where he actually got married. So forget about experiencing the D.I.C.E. panel, instead we were treated to Randy Pitchford’s Magic Show!
Pitchford, while performing tricks, explained that much of the psychology behind magic tricks is the game psychology that goes into video game development. In the case of magic and the case of video game, you’re encouraging the audience to trust you and come along with you on a journey, and there will be a payoff at the end. With magic, the payoff is seeing something amazing, or impossible, and in video games,...
- 2/7/2013
- by kevinkelly
- MTV Multiplayer
By Kevin Kelly
Kiki Wolfkill, who has one of the coolest names in the video game industry, and Frank O’Connor from 343 Industries took the stage at D.I.C.E. to talk about the challenges of building a brand-new studio, and taking over the massive "Halo" franchise.
O’Connor began by explaining the daunting challenges of building that new studio. The first challenge was to build the studio itself, while the second was to take over a beloved franchise that a lot of people had developed a deep love and appreciation for. That brings a tremendous amount of pressure to a team and a product, when you are expected to create something that the wants to be great right out of the box.
Communicating to the wide "Halo" audience was a new challenge for the company, which really began to stretch its legs when they released the "Halo: The...
Kiki Wolfkill, who has one of the coolest names in the video game industry, and Frank O’Connor from 343 Industries took the stage at D.I.C.E. to talk about the challenges of building a brand-new studio, and taking over the massive "Halo" franchise.
O’Connor began by explaining the daunting challenges of building that new studio. The first challenge was to build the studio itself, while the second was to take over a beloved franchise that a lot of people had developed a deep love and appreciation for. That brings a tremendous amount of pressure to a team and a product, when you are expected to create something that the wants to be great right out of the box.
Communicating to the wide "Halo" audience was a new challenge for the company, which really began to stretch its legs when they released the "Halo: The...
- 2/7/2013
- by kevinkelly
- MTV Multiplayer
By Kevin Kelly
You know it’s a treat when you get to hear the somewhat reclusive Gabe Newell talk two days in a row, and while he was J.J. Abrams-less for his second D.I.C.E. keynote, Newell decided not to focus on talking about sales-oriented things, or announcing new products (damn!). Instead, he talked about two tenets:
• The PC ecosystem is going to expand into the living room. Obviously this is what Valve has been moving towards with their Steam Box system that will attach a gaming PC to your television.
• He thinks there is going to be a fairly significant sea change in what we think a game is. This will expand throughout the video game ecosystem, and will wind up in your living room, and will incorporate people who don’t tend to think of themselves as “gamers.”
“A lot of people have an...
You know it’s a treat when you get to hear the somewhat reclusive Gabe Newell talk two days in a row, and while he was J.J. Abrams-less for his second D.I.C.E. keynote, Newell decided not to focus on talking about sales-oriented things, or announcing new products (damn!). Instead, he talked about two tenets:
• The PC ecosystem is going to expand into the living room. Obviously this is what Valve has been moving towards with their Steam Box system that will attach a gaming PC to your television.
• He thinks there is going to be a fairly significant sea change in what we think a game is. This will expand throughout the video game ecosystem, and will wind up in your living room, and will incorporate people who don’t tend to think of themselves as “gamers.”
“A lot of people have an...
- 2/7/2013
- by kevinkelly
- MTV Multiplayer
By Kevin Kelly
You’ve probably heard something by this point about Ouya, the Kickstarted gaming console coming this year, which also just announced that it will now be carried by major retailers as well.
Julie Uhrman, CEO of the company, took the stage at D.I.C.E. with a montage of clips from famous television stunt “Who Shot J.R.?” from Dallas back in 1980. She has a self-proclaimed love of the television, but points out that most of us don’t admit that we love television in public, because it has become socially unacceptable.
Most people watch an average of 34 hours of television per week (!), but it has been taking a beating lately. It’s central to many of our lives, and often occupies a place that could be construed as the altar of worship in most living rooms. But Uhrman believes it is poised for a comeback,...
You’ve probably heard something by this point about Ouya, the Kickstarted gaming console coming this year, which also just announced that it will now be carried by major retailers as well.
Julie Uhrman, CEO of the company, took the stage at D.I.C.E. with a montage of clips from famous television stunt “Who Shot J.R.?” from Dallas back in 1980. She has a self-proclaimed love of the television, but points out that most of us don’t admit that we love television in public, because it has become socially unacceptable.
Most people watch an average of 34 hours of television per week (!), but it has been taking a beating lately. It’s central to many of our lives, and often occupies a place that could be construed as the altar of worship in most living rooms. But Uhrman believes it is poised for a comeback,...
- 2/7/2013
- by kevinkelly
- MTV Multiplayer
By Kevin Kelly
D.I.C.E. 2013 kicked off with a conversation with J.J. Abrams and Gabe Newell, who Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences President Martin Rae called, “Two incredibly accomplished storytellers who have changed the world of film, television and games.” Abrams started the ball rolling by noting that video games have gone from the days of Pong to today, which has been like going from cave drawings to the Renassaince. Newell interrupted Abrams to dispel the notion that games have been becoming more like the movies by showing a clip from Cloverfield.
“That was pretty good,” quipped Abrams. But Newell came back by remarking “As a gamer, I’m saying ‘Put the f**king camera down and run!’” Abrams then blasted back with a Half-Life 2 clip, where Freeman is playing around with the teleporter, while important story is happening behind him while he goofs off and isn’t driven forward.
D.I.C.E. 2013 kicked off with a conversation with J.J. Abrams and Gabe Newell, who Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences President Martin Rae called, “Two incredibly accomplished storytellers who have changed the world of film, television and games.” Abrams started the ball rolling by noting that video games have gone from the days of Pong to today, which has been like going from cave drawings to the Renassaince. Newell interrupted Abrams to dispel the notion that games have been becoming more like the movies by showing a clip from Cloverfield.
“That was pretty good,” quipped Abrams. But Newell came back by remarking “As a gamer, I’m saying ‘Put the f**king camera down and run!’” Abrams then blasted back with a Half-Life 2 clip, where Freeman is playing around with the teleporter, while important story is happening behind him while he goofs off and isn’t driven forward.
- 2/6/2013
- by kevinkelly
- MTV Multiplayer
You can’t teach just anybody to wrestle. This is a realization WWE are learning from their exploits into the bodybuilding and swimwear model categories in search of ready made good looking talent, in the words of former WWE commentator Kevin Kelly, “the grand experiment is a failure.” If you can’t teach someone to wrestle then the ability to convincingly speak and hold thousands on the edge of your lips is simply a distant imagination. It can be the one trait which makes or breaks a performer, if they obtain the ability of good speech, the sky’s the limit.
Speaking in wrestling is commonly referred to as, “cutting a promo.” Promo is defined as a promotional interview, or a skit where a talent takes time to speak on his characters thoughts, previous or upcoming opponents. This includes skits such as D-Generation X’s infamous press conference, Edge mocking Ric Flair’s DUI incident,...
Speaking in wrestling is commonly referred to as, “cutting a promo.” Promo is defined as a promotional interview, or a skit where a talent takes time to speak on his characters thoughts, previous or upcoming opponents. This includes skits such as D-Generation X’s infamous press conference, Edge mocking Ric Flair’s DUI incident,...
- 1/19/2013
- by Jason Patrick
- Obsessed with Film
Is the chasm between active participation in video games and passive observation in movies too wide to cross? It’s undeniable that the major studios have stumbled a bit when it comes to adapting video games into movies, but are there lessons from the video game industry itself that producers can learn? To answer this question, we turn to movie reviewer, Wizard World managing editor, and producer of Planet of the Apps over at Machinima, Kevin Kelly. Download Episode #148 On This Week’s Anthology Show: Error 37 [The Beginning - 2:30]: One video game lands like a big budget movie complete with anticipation and disappointment. One Up [2:30 - The End]: Kevin Kelly offers 4 lessons movies can learn from video games. Please go rate us on iTunes. Last Time on the Show: The V/H/S Filmmakers on Making Found Footage Fun Again Get In Touch With Us: Call Reject Radio: (512) 212-1301 Email Reject Radio: radio@filmschoolrejects.com...
- 9/6/2012
- by Cole Abaius
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Cannes’ secondary competition – Un Certain Regard – offers attendees the opportunity to see innovative or intriguing projects, deemed of significance by the programme schedulers, and if there is any film in the selection which fits the bill perfectly, it is Benh Zeitlin‘s Beasts of the Southern Wild. As Kevin Kelly stated in his own review of the film, it changes the way you see movies, and Zeitlin’s first feature arrived at the festival buoyed by similarly positive reviews at Sundance. The film takes place in the Bathtub, a Southern American area outside of a government enforced levee where a community of resistant, and spirited residents live in shacks in the ominous shadow cast by global warming. Our hero is Hush Puppy (Quvenzhané Wallis), an extraordinary six year old girl who lives next door to her father Wink (Dwight Henry), living day to day on the bayou, among a colourful cascade of carnival characters, but...
- 5/27/2012
- by Simon Gallagher
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Beasts of the Southern Wild received mostly acclaim from its Sundance debut earlier this year with several critics already calling it the best film of 2012. Our own Kevin Kelly called it “magical and moving” and “utterly amazing” in his review, and that guy’s only occasionally wrong. The film follows a young girl living in a a small, rural community just to the left of reality that receives word of an impending disaster caused by flood-ravaged levees. She sets out an adventure that sees imagination and the real world collide as she tries to save her father and town. And that’s even before the prehistoric porcine creatures arrive on scene. The trailer’s release has reportedly brought some bloggers to tears as they watched the images play across the screen, but while you (and I) may not have the same reaction there’s no denying its visual appeal. Think Spike Lee’s When the Levees Broke meets...
- 5/2/2012
- by Rob Hunter
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
The brilliant minds of Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci that brought us Fringe, 2009’s Star Trek movie, and nearly a television adaptation of Joe Hill’s comic book series Locke and Key have been tasked with remaking two well known titles from Universal’s library.
Deadline reports that Universal Pictures has signed the duo and their K/O Paper Products banner for a two-year deal in which they will begin with remaking The Mummy and Van Helsing. Now, this news follows up our report earlier this month that Universal Pictures had enlisted Prometheus writer Jon Spaihts to take a stab at the script. Kurtzman and Orci will be working with Spaihts and Mummy franchise producer Sean Daniel to remake The Mummy.
The remake of Van Helsing curiously has Tom Cruise attached to it. Cruise? As monster-hunter Van Helsing? Well, he did surprise me with his performance as Lestat so maybe he will do so again.
Deadline reports that Universal Pictures has signed the duo and their K/O Paper Products banner for a two-year deal in which they will begin with remaking The Mummy and Van Helsing. Now, this news follows up our report earlier this month that Universal Pictures had enlisted Prometheus writer Jon Spaihts to take a stab at the script. Kurtzman and Orci will be working with Spaihts and Mummy franchise producer Sean Daniel to remake The Mummy.
The remake of Van Helsing curiously has Tom Cruise attached to it. Cruise? As monster-hunter Van Helsing? Well, he did surprise me with his performance as Lestat so maybe he will do so again.
- 5/2/2012
- by Lillian 'zenbitch' Standefer
- ScifiMafia
Universal Pictures has just locked writers and producers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci into a two year deal in which they will work on developing some of the studio's already existing properties. Specifically, Van Helsing and The Mummy, both of which director Stephen Sommers worked on. I guess the studio saw how much better the big screen sequel to G.I. Joe looked without Sommers at the helm and thought, "damn, I bet we could do better with the films he made for us as well!" So they went out an snatched up a couple talented Hollywood writers with a great track record for developing successful films like Star Trek and Transformers.
The press release below also states that Tom Cruise is attached to star in and produce the Van Helsing film. I can see Cruise taking on the role of Helsing. It will be interesting to see what they plan for this story,...
The press release below also states that Tom Cruise is attached to star in and produce the Van Helsing film. I can see Cruise taking on the role of Helsing. It will be interesting to see what they plan for this story,...
- 5/1/2012
- by Venkman
- GeekTyrant
In what is probably going to be the biggest news of the day, Universal is readying itself to reimagine some of its catalog titles with some huge names attached to do things the right way! Sorry, Stephen Sommers.
From the Press Release
Universal Pictures today announced the studio has signed a two-year first-look production deal with one of the leading writing/producing teams in the entertainment industry, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, and their K/O Paper Products banner. The duo will kick off their new relationship with Universal by reimagining titles from the studio’s library including Van Helsing and The Mummy. The announcement was made by Universal Pictures Chairman Adam Fogelson and Co-Chairman Donna Langley.
Kurtzman and Orci have collaborated with some of the industry’s top creative minds including J.J. Abrams, with whom they wrote the third installment of Mission: Impossible, which grossed nearly $400 million at the worldwide box office.
From the Press Release
Universal Pictures today announced the studio has signed a two-year first-look production deal with one of the leading writing/producing teams in the entertainment industry, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, and their K/O Paper Products banner. The duo will kick off their new relationship with Universal by reimagining titles from the studio’s library including Van Helsing and The Mummy. The announcement was made by Universal Pictures Chairman Adam Fogelson and Co-Chairman Donna Langley.
Kurtzman and Orci have collaborated with some of the industry’s top creative minds including J.J. Abrams, with whom they wrote the third installment of Mission: Impossible, which grossed nearly $400 million at the worldwide box office.
- 5/1/2012
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
We first reported on a reboot of The Mummy last month. Now it has officially been announced that Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci have signed a production deal with Universal Pictures, which includes a modern day retelling of The Mummy and a reboot of Van Helsing starring Tom Cruise:
Universal City, CA, May 1, 2011—Universal Pictures today announced the studio has signed a two-year first-look production deal with one of the leading writing/producing teams in the entertainment industry, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, and their K/O Paper Products banner. The duo will kick off their new relationship with Universal by reimagining titles from the studio’s library including Van Helsing and The Mummy. The announcement was made by Universal Pictures Chairman, Adam Fogelson and Co-Chairman, Donna Langley.
Kurtzman and Orci have collaborated with some of the industry’s top creative minds including J.J. Abrams, with whom they wrote...
Universal City, CA, May 1, 2011—Universal Pictures today announced the studio has signed a two-year first-look production deal with one of the leading writing/producing teams in the entertainment industry, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, and their K/O Paper Products banner. The duo will kick off their new relationship with Universal by reimagining titles from the studio’s library including Van Helsing and The Mummy. The announcement was made by Universal Pictures Chairman, Adam Fogelson and Co-Chairman, Donna Langley.
Kurtzman and Orci have collaborated with some of the industry’s top creative minds including J.J. Abrams, with whom they wrote...
- 5/1/2012
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Prototype 2 leads the pack, while The Walking Dead shambles its way onto consoles and PC in this week's batch of new releases.
Title: Prototype 2
Platform(s): PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Because of a mixture of skepticism and laziness, I didn't link to this piece from a couple of weeks back citing an analyst claiming that Prototype 2 would struggle to crack 500k copies sold. Because the game had yet to crack the Amazon Top 100 preorders, finacial analyst Doug Creutz of Cowen and Company believes that Prototype 2 isn't connecting with gamers. Did the first game leave that bad a taste in the mouths of general audiences? I remember Radical's first game in the series definitely having some polish issues but not enough so that it'd make me reject a sequel outright.
You can check out our preview from February here, where our own Kevin Kelly had some very good things to say about the sequel.
Title: Prototype 2
Platform(s): PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Because of a mixture of skepticism and laziness, I didn't link to this piece from a couple of weeks back citing an analyst claiming that Prototype 2 would struggle to crack 500k copies sold. Because the game had yet to crack the Amazon Top 100 preorders, finacial analyst Doug Creutz of Cowen and Company believes that Prototype 2 isn't connecting with gamers. Did the first game leave that bad a taste in the mouths of general audiences? I remember Radical's first game in the series definitely having some polish issues but not enough so that it'd make me reject a sequel outright.
You can check out our preview from February here, where our own Kevin Kelly had some very good things to say about the sequel.
- 4/24/2012
- by Charles Webb
- MTV Multiplayer
By Kevin Kelly
Gearbox and Sega recently invited us to Dallas, Texas to check out the progress on their upcoming Aliens: Colonial Marines title, and we weren’t sure what to expect. But, our expectations were raised pretty high when we got to the venue which was accessed by a creaky cargo elevator (shades of Ripley fleeing from the Alien Queen) and dense fog covering the ground, only to be brought up face to face with the actual Alien Queen from the film, which was on loan for the event by 20th Century Fox.
Announced several years ago, and finally seen at last year’s E3, Aliens: Colonial Marines looked fairly impressive, but it was hard to ignore the gaping maw of suck that has claimed nearly every other video game adaptation of a movie. With a franchise this iconic that has hardcore fans, Gearbox was walking on...
Gearbox and Sega recently invited us to Dallas, Texas to check out the progress on their upcoming Aliens: Colonial Marines title, and we weren’t sure what to expect. But, our expectations were raised pretty high when we got to the venue which was accessed by a creaky cargo elevator (shades of Ripley fleeing from the Alien Queen) and dense fog covering the ground, only to be brought up face to face with the actual Alien Queen from the film, which was on loan for the event by 20th Century Fox.
Announced several years ago, and finally seen at last year’s E3, Aliens: Colonial Marines looked fairly impressive, but it was hard to ignore the gaping maw of suck that has claimed nearly every other video game adaptation of a movie. With a franchise this iconic that has hardcore fans, Gearbox was walking on...
- 4/4/2012
- by kevinkelly
- MTV Multiplayer
In video form, Activision and developer Radical Entertainment would like to enumerate the reasons why you should pick up their gory, superpowered action game next month.
Activision's video is essentially a bloody highlight reel of (some of) the many types of kills your mutated super soldier can use in Prototype 2. According to our own Kevin Kelly during his hands-on preview at Dice, the sequel is shaping up nicely with refinements and additions to the overall experience from the first game.
And in case that video didn't give you much of a hint of Prototype 2's story, here's the synopsis:
The sequel to Radical Entertainment's best-selling open-world action game of 2009, Prototype 2 takes the unsurpassed carnage of the original Prototype and continues the experience of becoming the ultimate shape-shifting weapon. As the game's all-new infected protagonist, Sgt. James Heller, players will cut a bloody swathe through the wastelands of post-viral New York Zero with unparalleled locomotion,...
Activision's video is essentially a bloody highlight reel of (some of) the many types of kills your mutated super soldier can use in Prototype 2. According to our own Kevin Kelly during his hands-on preview at Dice, the sequel is shaping up nicely with refinements and additions to the overall experience from the first game.
And in case that video didn't give you much of a hint of Prototype 2's story, here's the synopsis:
The sequel to Radical Entertainment's best-selling open-world action game of 2009, Prototype 2 takes the unsurpassed carnage of the original Prototype and continues the experience of becoming the ultimate shape-shifting weapon. As the game's all-new infected protagonist, Sgt. James Heller, players will cut a bloody swathe through the wastelands of post-viral New York Zero with unparalleled locomotion,...
- 3/22/2012
- by Charles Webb
- MTV Multiplayer
File this under unexpected but cool: the San Francisco Film Society has announced that author Jonathan Lethem will deliver the ninth annual State of Cinema address at this year's San Francisco International Film Festival. Lethem's talk will investigate the "ecstasies of influence" in cinema and discuss how cultural movements like Occupy Wall Street, new media like YouTube and grassroots arts movements have the capacity to affect film culture. Previous speakers include Christine Vachon, film editor Walter Murch, Wired publisher Kevin Kelly, actress Tilda Swinton, writer/director Brad Bird and cultural commentator B. Ruby Rich. "Jonathan Lethem is the perfect person to explore current social and cultural movements and their possible aesthetic, political and commercial influences," said Film Society director of programming Rachel Rosen. "An insightful thinker and an enormous movie fan, Lethem is sure to deliver a lively and...
- 2/29/2012
- by Devin Lee Fuller
- Indiewire
There is no question that Benh Zeitlin‘s Beasts of the Southern Wild was the darling of this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Before Team Rejects even hit the ground in Park City, the word was out on the film – this was the film to see this year, an absolute can’t-miss. Our own Kevin Kelly crowned it a Sundance stand-out and “utterly amazing” in his review (read it Here). The film capitalized on all that good buzz with sold out screenings, the Dramatic Grand Jury Prize from the festival, and a swift pick-up from Fox Searchlight. But just when would the studio release this complicated and potentially hard to market independent film? Turns out, soon – very soon. Box Office Mojo reports that the film will have a limited release on June 29 of this year, a date that will pit it next to Take This Waltz, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, and Magic Mike. So...
- 2/22/2012
- by Kate Erbland
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
By Kevin Kelly
Mad Catz wants to claw its way into your gamespace again, this time bringing with it a pro controller, new fight sticks, and a mouse that will make Mmo players drool.
First up is the Mlg Pro Circuit Controller, with "tournament grade components" that let you customize the entire look and feel of the controller. You can change the side, the thumbsticks, the d-pad and more, giving you a custom look and feel to what you bring to the game. Available for both the PS3 and the Xbox 360, it comes in a custom carrying case that also holds the additional parts. It's like bringing your own customized pool cue to the tournament and intimidating everyone. That is, if you play pool.
“The Mlg Pro Circuit Controller with its tournament grade components and ProModule system has been very well received by the pro gaming community.” said Darren Richardson,...
Mad Catz wants to claw its way into your gamespace again, this time bringing with it a pro controller, new fight sticks, and a mouse that will make Mmo players drool.
First up is the Mlg Pro Circuit Controller, with "tournament grade components" that let you customize the entire look and feel of the controller. You can change the side, the thumbsticks, the d-pad and more, giving you a custom look and feel to what you bring to the game. Available for both the PS3 and the Xbox 360, it comes in a custom carrying case that also holds the additional parts. It's like bringing your own customized pool cue to the tournament and intimidating everyone. That is, if you play pool.
“The Mlg Pro Circuit Controller with its tournament grade components and ProModule system has been very well received by the pro gaming community.” said Darren Richardson,...
- 1/27/2012
- by admin
- MTV Multiplayer
The 3rd annual Strange Beauty Film Festival unspools on Feb. 16-18 with three nights, and one afternoon, of great underground short films from all over the world. The fest screens at the Man Bites Dog Theater in Durham, Nc.
First, Strange Beauty’s home state of North Carolina is properly represented with several short films, such as Jim Kellough’s Red Rocks, Josh Gibson’s Kudzu Vine, Heather D. Freeman’s Pennipotens, Charlotte Taylor’s The Edge of Summer and several more.
Plus, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada is heavily represented by Leslie Supnet‘s Spectroscopy, Kevin Kelly’s 367 Years in Montreal, Aaron Zegher has two films in the fest: I See a Light and The Story of Thomas Edison; and Winnipeg expat Clint Enns will screen Connecting With Nature. However, most exciting on the Winnipeg front is a screening of Jaimz Asmundson‘s thoroughly amazing The Magus, which was the 2nd...
First, Strange Beauty’s home state of North Carolina is properly represented with several short films, such as Jim Kellough’s Red Rocks, Josh Gibson’s Kudzu Vine, Heather D. Freeman’s Pennipotens, Charlotte Taylor’s The Edge of Summer and several more.
Plus, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada is heavily represented by Leslie Supnet‘s Spectroscopy, Kevin Kelly’s 367 Years in Montreal, Aaron Zegher has two films in the fest: I See a Light and The Story of Thomas Edison; and Winnipeg expat Clint Enns will screen Connecting With Nature. However, most exciting on the Winnipeg front is a screening of Jaimz Asmundson‘s thoroughly amazing The Magus, which was the 2nd...
- 1/24/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
By Kevin Kelly
Sundance has long been known for its artsy films. That's all fine and dandy, but what about the geek side of movies? Where is the spirit of independent filmmaking when it comes to our world?
Thankfully, Sundance has been slowing addressing that problem. Over the years they have premiered films like "Primer," "Moon," "Splice," and "Another Earth," that scratched a bit of that itch. The demanding film buff wants more genre out of this snowbound film festival, and Sundance is finally starting to deliver. The 2012 Sundance Film Festival has a lot to offer in science fiction, horror, and beyond.
Check out our genre highlights.
»Beasts of the Southern Wild
The Story: A six-year-old girl named Hushpuppy prepares the for the departure of her father. When he falls ills, the world literally does too. Prehistoric animals appear, and the climate changes.
Why We're Excited: "Beasts of the Southern Wild" has its own universe,...
Sundance has long been known for its artsy films. That's all fine and dandy, but what about the geek side of movies? Where is the spirit of independent filmmaking when it comes to our world?
Thankfully, Sundance has been slowing addressing that problem. Over the years they have premiered films like "Primer," "Moon," "Splice," and "Another Earth," that scratched a bit of that itch. The demanding film buff wants more genre out of this snowbound film festival, and Sundance is finally starting to deliver. The 2012 Sundance Film Festival has a lot to offer in science fiction, horror, and beyond.
Check out our genre highlights.
»Beasts of the Southern Wild
The Story: A six-year-old girl named Hushpuppy prepares the for the departure of her father. When he falls ills, the world literally does too. Prehistoric animals appear, and the climate changes.
Why We're Excited: "Beasts of the Southern Wild" has its own universe,...
- 1/20/2012
- by MTV Movies Team
- MTV Movies Blog
By Kevin Kelly
Mass Effect 3 features both the end of a trilogy, and "the end of a galaxy at war" according to Bioware. It won't be the closing chapter in the entire Mass Effect franchise, but it is the end of an era, and while we're unsure if it will close the book on Commander Shepard, it will be the end of the story as we know it so far. With each game, Bioware has upped the ante by including new gameplay mechanics for players, but when Mass Effect 3 comes out on the Xbox 360, the Kinect voice control really changes how you play.
Thankfully, Bioware hasn't tried to integrate motion control in the game to have you fake-firing an air gun at the screen. Instead, they're using the Kinect microphones to pick up your voice and issue commands to your squadmates, to interact with the environment, to swap weapons, and even to save the game.
Mass Effect 3 features both the end of a trilogy, and "the end of a galaxy at war" according to Bioware. It won't be the closing chapter in the entire Mass Effect franchise, but it is the end of an era, and while we're unsure if it will close the book on Commander Shepard, it will be the end of the story as we know it so far. With each game, Bioware has upped the ante by including new gameplay mechanics for players, but when Mass Effect 3 comes out on the Xbox 360, the Kinect voice control really changes how you play.
Thankfully, Bioware hasn't tried to integrate motion control in the game to have you fake-firing an air gun at the screen. Instead, they're using the Kinect microphones to pick up your voice and issue commands to your squadmates, to interact with the environment, to swap weapons, and even to save the game.
- 1/18/2012
- by admin
- MTV Multiplayer
A terse SEC filing on Friday has led to headlines all over comics: Gareb Shamus has resigned as CEO, President and Director of Wizard World, Inc., the convention-running entity of the Wizard empire. Seeing as how Shamus is the owner and founder of the company it came as a shock. But what does it really mean? Has Shamus really been ousted from his own company — or is it just a filing to reflect some internal resource shuffling?
The latest iteration of the shrinking of the Wizard brand began about a year ago when Shamus announced that the magazine would return as a downloadable Pdf. As we noted at the time, Shamus seemed almost eerily focused on this new outing, promising an audience of millions and the ability to break new comics. “We can make things cool,” he told us at the time, a perhaps distant echo of Wizard’s one...
The latest iteration of the shrinking of the Wizard brand began about a year ago when Shamus announced that the magazine would return as a downloadable Pdf. As we noted at the time, Shamus seemed almost eerily focused on this new outing, promising an audience of millions and the ability to break new comics. “We can make things cool,” he told us at the time, a perhaps distant echo of Wizard’s one...
- 12/6/2011
- by Heidi MacDonald
- Comicmix.com
Before the opening titles we get a recap of last weeks Proving Ground between new comers Caprice Colman and Cedric Alexander against Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team, which admittedly is well worth watching again, and the post match promo from Dem Boys, the Briscos.
There are some subtle tweaks to the set up they have at the Davis Arena in Louisville, Kentucky which gives Roh a more professional look.
This week’s main event is the American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) against the House Of Truth (Mike Elgin and Roderick Strong)
This weeks opening match has a tag team debuting. They are known as the Bravado brothers and they look like extras from The Brady Bunch. They face The Young Bucks, formerly known as Generation Me in Tna Wrestling. It’s good to see them back even if they are still dressed in what Alex Shelly once called “Hardy...
There are some subtle tweaks to the set up they have at the Davis Arena in Louisville, Kentucky which gives Roh a more professional look.
This week’s main event is the American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) against the House Of Truth (Mike Elgin and Roderick Strong)
This weeks opening match has a tag team debuting. They are known as the Bravado brothers and they look like extras from The Brady Bunch. They face The Young Bucks, formerly known as Generation Me in Tna Wrestling. It’s good to see them back even if they are still dressed in what Alex Shelly once called “Hardy...
- 11/17/2011
- by Alex McKay
- Obsessed with Film
(Note: These are “catch up” reviews due to other commitments making me unable to watch either episode until now, as such they will be a brief summary rather than play by play recap)
29/10/11
We get a brief recap on last episode’s main event and its time limit finish, then the intro.
This episode was recorded in Louisville, Kentucky
We get a continuation of Roderick Strong’s campaign against Davey Richards, with a prelim video with Strong and his opponent for match one, Kyle O’Riley. O’Riley says hes being disrespectful, Strong says Team Richards goes from town to town not getting laid and that’s pathetic. Nice.
Match One: Roderick Strong w/ Truth Martini def. Kyle O’Riley
Before the match Martini makes the announcer introduce him as Strong’s “Life Intervention Expert, The Founder And Leader Of The House Of Truth, The TV, Super Duper, King Kong,...
29/10/11
We get a brief recap on last episode’s main event and its time limit finish, then the intro.
This episode was recorded in Louisville, Kentucky
We get a continuation of Roderick Strong’s campaign against Davey Richards, with a prelim video with Strong and his opponent for match one, Kyle O’Riley. O’Riley says hes being disrespectful, Strong says Team Richards goes from town to town not getting laid and that’s pathetic. Nice.
Match One: Roderick Strong w/ Truth Martini def. Kyle O’Riley
Before the match Martini makes the announcer introduce him as Strong’s “Life Intervention Expert, The Founder And Leader Of The House Of Truth, The TV, Super Duper, King Kong,...
- 11/11/2011
- by Alex McKay
- Obsessed with Film
Cities get faster and more productive as they get bigger and last forever. Companies get slower and more boring, and then they go out of business. Can companies change that model?
Ecologically, cities are what humans do--just as bacteria create biofilms and trees make stable soil communities, Homo sapiens has evolved to generate metropolitan areas. So argues physicist Geoffrey West. Our cities obey the laws that govern ecosystems; generally speaking, they grow in stability and creativity as they increase in diversity and size. Another striking facet of the nature of cities is that they don't die. Companies, by contrast, act like organisms, getting slower as they get bigger, and then growing old and fading away.
If you think that sounds a touch grandiose, then you probably haven't watched West's recent Ted talk or given a listen to his even more recent talk at the Long Now Foundation. West is a...
Ecologically, cities are what humans do--just as bacteria create biofilms and trees make stable soil communities, Homo sapiens has evolved to generate metropolitan areas. So argues physicist Geoffrey West. Our cities obey the laws that govern ecosystems; generally speaking, they grow in stability and creativity as they increase in diversity and size. Another striking facet of the nature of cities is that they don't die. Companies, by contrast, act like organisms, getting slower as they get bigger, and then growing old and fading away.
If you think that sounds a touch grandiose, then you probably haven't watched West's recent Ted talk or given a listen to his even more recent talk at the Long Now Foundation. West is a...
- 8/2/2011
- by Matthew Battles
- Fast Company
The timepiece has been a prototype for the last decade and a half. It's now ready to be placed in a cave and turned on, to tick for the next 10 millennia and teach us lessons about our perceptions of the future--and the past.
Although a mere blink in the geologic timescales on which his imagination operates, it's been 15 long years since inventor and computer scientist Danny Hillis founded the Long Now Foundation with a group of entrepreneurs, artists, and visionaries that included electronic music pioneer Brian Eno, digital-age savant Esther Dyson, and Whole-Earth impresario Stewart Brand. And now the group's work has taken a big tick forward with the breaking of ground for a "monument-scale" version of its central project, the 10,000 Year Clock--a timekeeping device, an engineering masterpiece, and a kind of shrine--on a remote piece of mountaintop property owned by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in western Texas.
If it fulfills its promise,...
Although a mere blink in the geologic timescales on which his imagination operates, it's been 15 long years since inventor and computer scientist Danny Hillis founded the Long Now Foundation with a group of entrepreneurs, artists, and visionaries that included electronic music pioneer Brian Eno, digital-age savant Esther Dyson, and Whole-Earth impresario Stewart Brand. And now the group's work has taken a big tick forward with the breaking of ground for a "monument-scale" version of its central project, the 10,000 Year Clock--a timekeeping device, an engineering masterpiece, and a kind of shrine--on a remote piece of mountaintop property owned by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in western Texas.
If it fulfills its promise,...
- 6/22/2011
- by Matthew Battles
- Fast Company
Filed under: Reviews, Cinematical
We don't often get new releases on a Saturday, but Christmas sort of creates its own rules. Here's a quick and handy guide to what's coming out in theaters this weekend, courtesy of the insatiable film junkies here at Cinematical. Happy Holidays!
'True Grit' -- "Ultimately, though, if your biggest gripe about a flick is that you wish it was longer, then that's probably a darn good film. 'True Grit' might not go down as one of the Coen's most "unique" experiments, but it sure might be recalled as one of their coolest." -- Erik Davis (full review)
'Blue Valentine' (pictured) -- "With each flashback, we see a couple falling in love, and a couple falling out of love, creating a dual-sided love story and a tragedy at the same time. But where you know the ending of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet,...
We don't often get new releases on a Saturday, but Christmas sort of creates its own rules. Here's a quick and handy guide to what's coming out in theaters this weekend, courtesy of the insatiable film junkies here at Cinematical. Happy Holidays!
'True Grit' -- "Ultimately, though, if your biggest gripe about a flick is that you wish it was longer, then that's probably a darn good film. 'True Grit' might not go down as one of the Coen's most "unique" experiments, but it sure might be recalled as one of their coolest." -- Erik Davis (full review)
'Blue Valentine' (pictured) -- "With each flashback, we see a couple falling in love, and a couple falling out of love, creating a dual-sided love story and a tragedy at the same time. But where you know the ending of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet,...
- 12/26/2010
- by Scott Weinberg
- Moviefone
Filed under: Reviews, Cinematical
We don't often get new releases on a Saturday, but Christmas sort of creates its own rules. Here's a quick and handy guide to what's coming out in theaters this weekend, courtesy of the insatiable film junkies here at Cinematical. Happy Holidays!
'True Grit' -- "Ultimately, though, if your biggest gripe about a flick is that you wish it was longer, then that's probably a darn good film. 'True Grit' might not go down as one of the Coen's most "unique" experiments, but it sure might be recalled as one of their coolest." -- Erik Davis (full review)
'Blue Valentine' (pictured) -- "With each flashback, we see a couple falling in love, and a couple falling out of love, creating a dual-sided love story and a tragedy at the same time. But where you know the ending of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet,...
We don't often get new releases on a Saturday, but Christmas sort of creates its own rules. Here's a quick and handy guide to what's coming out in theaters this weekend, courtesy of the insatiable film junkies here at Cinematical. Happy Holidays!
'True Grit' -- "Ultimately, though, if your biggest gripe about a flick is that you wish it was longer, then that's probably a darn good film. 'True Grit' might not go down as one of the Coen's most "unique" experiments, but it sure might be recalled as one of their coolest." -- Erik Davis (full review)
'Blue Valentine' (pictured) -- "With each flashback, we see a couple falling in love, and a couple falling out of love, creating a dual-sided love story and a tragedy at the same time. But where you know the ending of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet,...
- 12/26/2010
- by Scott Weinberg
- Cinematical
Over the last five years, it’s nice to have watched the Wndx Festival of Film and Video Art in Winnipeg grow into such a terrific powerhouse of showcasing the best Canadian avant-garde and experimental media. It’s fifth killer edition will run on Sept. 30 — Oct. 3.
There’s one great non-Canadian exception this year, though. Wndx honors the life and work of the legendary Brooklyn-bred underground filmmaker George Kuchar. There will be three retrospectives of his films, chronicling his career from his early ’60s Hollywood-inspired pastiches to his more recent autobiographical videos.
Also screening as part of the Kuchar celebration will be Jennifer M. Kroot’s hit documentary It Came From Kuchar about George and his twin filmmaking brother Mike. Of course, George will be there in person attending the festival and on Sunday, Oct. 3, he will join Winnipeg filmmaker Guy Maddin for a panel discussion that’s not to be missed.
There’s one great non-Canadian exception this year, though. Wndx honors the life and work of the legendary Brooklyn-bred underground filmmaker George Kuchar. There will be three retrospectives of his films, chronicling his career from his early ’60s Hollywood-inspired pastiches to his more recent autobiographical videos.
Also screening as part of the Kuchar celebration will be Jennifer M. Kroot’s hit documentary It Came From Kuchar about George and his twin filmmaking brother Mike. Of course, George will be there in person attending the festival and on Sunday, Oct. 3, he will join Winnipeg filmmaker Guy Maddin for a panel discussion that’s not to be missed.
- 9/23/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning can't quite capture the onstage verve of the 70s teenage girl band who blazed a trail and then imploded in a haze of drug-taking and jealousy
The basics
The Runaways is the feisty, underwritten tale of the all-girl teenage rock band who changed the face of rock history in the late 1970s before imploding in a haze of drug-taking, jealousy and inter-band recrimination. Written and shot by Italian-Canadian music video director Floria Sigismondi, here making her feature debut, the film features Twilight's Kristen Stewart as singer-guitarist Joan Jett, who would go on to international fame with her own band, the Blackhearts, and Dakota Fanning as lead singer Cherie Currie, whose eventual departure led to the group's split.
The stakes
If Sigismondi is hoping to ape film-makers such as Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry and Zack Snyder by making the jump from music videos to film, The Runaways...
The basics
The Runaways is the feisty, underwritten tale of the all-girl teenage rock band who changed the face of rock history in the late 1970s before imploding in a haze of drug-taking, jealousy and inter-band recrimination. Written and shot by Italian-Canadian music video director Floria Sigismondi, here making her feature debut, the film features Twilight's Kristen Stewart as singer-guitarist Joan Jett, who would go on to international fame with her own band, the Blackhearts, and Dakota Fanning as lead singer Cherie Currie, whose eventual departure led to the group's split.
The stakes
If Sigismondi is hoping to ape film-makers such as Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry and Zack Snyder by making the jump from music videos to film, The Runaways...
- 9/13/2010
- by Ben Child
- The Guardian - Film News
Photograph Courtesy of Ted, by Marla Aufmuth, James Duncan Davidson, Andrew Heavens, Robert Leslie, Asa Mathat
Chris Anderson: The entrepreneur bought Ted in 2001. "It felt like something you could devote your life to," he says. | Photograph Courtesy of Ted
Inside the World's Most Exclusive (and Most Accessible) Club with Special Guests including
Elizabeth Gilbert • Richard Branson • Jamie Oliver • Malcolm Gladwell • Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala • Barry Schwartz • Ken Robinson • Sarah Silverman • Bill Clinton • David Byrne • Bill Gates • Craig VenterJill • Bolte Taylor • Dave Eggers • Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy • Sunitha Krishnan • Tony Robbins • Julia Sweeney • Isabel Allende • E.O. Wilson • and the chief himself, Chris Anderson!
The other day, I got an email from a new friend. The subject line read "Are you a Ted talk person?" It linked to an 18-minute video of MIT behavioral economist Dan Ariely talking about the bugs in our moral codes. Other friends have sent me videos of Eat, Pray, Love...
Chris Anderson: The entrepreneur bought Ted in 2001. "It felt like something you could devote your life to," he says. | Photograph Courtesy of Ted
Inside the World's Most Exclusive (and Most Accessible) Club with Special Guests including
Elizabeth Gilbert • Richard Branson • Jamie Oliver • Malcolm Gladwell • Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala • Barry Schwartz • Ken Robinson • Sarah Silverman • Bill Clinton • David Byrne • Bill Gates • Craig VenterJill • Bolte Taylor • Dave Eggers • Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy • Sunitha Krishnan • Tony Robbins • Julia Sweeney • Isabel Allende • E.O. Wilson • and the chief himself, Chris Anderson!
The other day, I got an email from a new friend. The subject line read "Are you a Ted talk person?" It linked to an 18-minute video of MIT behavioral economist Dan Ariely talking about the bugs in our moral codes. Other friends have sent me videos of Eat, Pray, Love...
- 8/23/2010
- by Anya Kamenetz
- Fast Company
By Kevin Kelly (reprinted from 2/12/10 -- Sundance Film Festival)
Poor Joel Schumacher. It just seems that no matter what happens with the rest of his career, he's never going to live down the bat-nipples incident. Sometimes when Schumacher works with relatively much smaller budgets (Phone Booth, Tigerland) he tends to shine brightly enough to wash any taste of Batman & Robin out of our mouths. I mean, this is the guy who directed The Lost Boys, and Flatliners, and wrote the screenplay for The Wiz. Which is why when we heard he had a film coming to Sundance, we began to pep up. After all, that meant it would be a low budget, and a return to Schumacher of days past, right?
Wrong. Instead we were given Twelve, a movie that closed the Sundance Film Festival, and our interest in future Schumacher movies. The film is based on the novel of...
Poor Joel Schumacher. It just seems that no matter what happens with the rest of his career, he's never going to live down the bat-nipples incident. Sometimes when Schumacher works with relatively much smaller budgets (Phone Booth, Tigerland) he tends to shine brightly enough to wash any taste of Batman & Robin out of our mouths. I mean, this is the guy who directed The Lost Boys, and Flatliners, and wrote the screenplay for The Wiz. Which is why when we heard he had a film coming to Sundance, we began to pep up. After all, that meant it would be a low budget, and a return to Schumacher of days past, right?
Wrong. Instead we were given Twelve, a movie that closed the Sundance Film Festival, and our interest in future Schumacher movies. The film is based on the novel of...
- 8/6/2010
- by Cinematical staff
- Cinematical
Complete with some idiot in the audience with a vuvuzela, Warner Bros. showcased three upcoming new films in this Hall H presentation.
Green Lantern-- Ryan Reynolds (Hal Jordan/Green Lantern), Blake Lively (Carol Ferris), Peter Sarsgaard (Dr. Hector Hammond), Mark Strong (Sinestro), director Martin Campbell (Casino Royale, The Mask of Zorro) screenwriter Gerg Berlanti, and Geoff Johns (DC Chief Creative Officer and Green Lantern comic writer) all took a break from filming to show up and talk about the film, on a panel moderated by Geoff Boucher of the La Times. A preview was shown, with Reynolds reciting the oath and the audience going nuts over it.
Reynolds was wearing a ring of his own, which he presented to an audience member. When asked about if it's tough being married to a Marvel character (have they forgotten about Hannibal King and Deadpool? Maybe he converted...) he replied that "we...
Green Lantern-- Ryan Reynolds (Hal Jordan/Green Lantern), Blake Lively (Carol Ferris), Peter Sarsgaard (Dr. Hector Hammond), Mark Strong (Sinestro), director Martin Campbell (Casino Royale, The Mask of Zorro) screenwriter Gerg Berlanti, and Geoff Johns (DC Chief Creative Officer and Green Lantern comic writer) all took a break from filming to show up and talk about the film, on a panel moderated by Geoff Boucher of the La Times. A preview was shown, with Reynolds reciting the oath and the audience going nuts over it.
Reynolds was wearing a ring of his own, which he presented to an audience member. When asked about if it's tough being married to a Marvel character (have they forgotten about Hannibal King and Deadpool? Maybe he converted...) he replied that "we...
- 7/24/2010
- by Glenn Hauman
- Comicmix.com
The Runaways
Since it's based on Cherie Currie's memoir, this isn't so much a rock band bio, but a look into the world of Currie and The Runaways most famous lady -- Joan Jett. Nevertheless, it's a wildly fun flick fueled by catchy tunes like "Cherry Bomb." In his review, Kevin Kelly rightly noted: "Although he's not given as much screen time as Fanning and Stewart, Michael Shannon takes this movie, straps it to his back, and walks away with it completely." As a fun, rock bio-meets-music video, Buy it on DVD or Blu-ray.
Add to Netflix queue | Buy at Amazon
The Losers
A team of mercenaries are double-crossed and left to die in the Bolivian jungle after big villain Max (Jason Patric) takes out a helicopter full of kids. Now they want revenge. In his review, William Goss wrote that Patric is "most emblematic of the impish charm...
Since it's based on Cherie Currie's memoir, this isn't so much a rock band bio, but a look into the world of Currie and The Runaways most famous lady -- Joan Jett. Nevertheless, it's a wildly fun flick fueled by catchy tunes like "Cherry Bomb." In his review, Kevin Kelly rightly noted: "Although he's not given as much screen time as Fanning and Stewart, Michael Shannon takes this movie, straps it to his back, and walks away with it completely." As a fun, rock bio-meets-music video, Buy it on DVD or Blu-ray.
Add to Netflix queue | Buy at Amazon
The Losers
A team of mercenaries are double-crossed and left to die in the Bolivian jungle after big villain Max (Jason Patric) takes out a helicopter full of kids. Now they want revenge. In his review, William Goss wrote that Patric is "most emblematic of the impish charm...
- 7/20/2010
- by Monika Bartyzel
- Cinematical
It was not my intention to post on Bastille Day a column on films that will make you want to start a revolution. It did not even occur to me that by watching Chris Smith's Collapse, which has just arrived on DVD, that I might be inspired to then finally check out both Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story and Philippe Diaz' The End of Poverty?, each of which I figured alone would make me angry about the state of the world and so had been avoiding for the betterment of my mental health.
In actuality, though, I have no greater desire to round up a rebel communist army now than ever, and in fact I am instead more aware that it would do no good. Thanks to Collapse I realize that we as a species are just completely doomed. There is nothing we can do about it.
In actuality, though, I have no greater desire to round up a rebel communist army now than ever, and in fact I am instead more aware that it would do no good. Thanks to Collapse I realize that we as a species are just completely doomed. There is nothing we can do about it.
- 7/17/2010
- by Christopher Campbell
- Cinematical
By: Kevin Kelly, reprinted from the Sundance Film Festival 2/4/10
No, The Kids Are All Right is not that documentary about The Who, as the name might have you thinking. That would be The Kids Are Alright from back in 1979. One look at the photo above will dispel any of those notions. Instead, this is a light drama that could have been called My Two Moms. Plus it left us with a much better impression of Mark Ruffalo than he'd left us with his Sundance directorial debut,Sympathy For Delicious. Here, he turns in a solid performance, along with some powerful acting from Julianne Moore and Annette Bening who shine as the two halves of a couple whose world is shaken when their kids meet their biological father.
Joni (Mia Wasikowska of the upcoming Alice in Wonderland) is 18 years old, and therefore old enough to find out who her biological sperm-donor father is.
No, The Kids Are All Right is not that documentary about The Who, as the name might have you thinking. That would be The Kids Are Alright from back in 1979. One look at the photo above will dispel any of those notions. Instead, this is a light drama that could have been called My Two Moms. Plus it left us with a much better impression of Mark Ruffalo than he'd left us with his Sundance directorial debut,Sympathy For Delicious. Here, he turns in a solid performance, along with some powerful acting from Julianne Moore and Annette Bening who shine as the two halves of a couple whose world is shaken when their kids meet their biological father.
Joni (Mia Wasikowska of the upcoming Alice in Wonderland) is 18 years old, and therefore old enough to find out who her biological sperm-donor father is.
- 7/9/2010
- by Cinematical staff
- Cinematical
By: Kevin Kelly, reposted from the Sundance Film Festival, 1/29/10
Brothers Mark Duplass and Jay Duplass are responsible for movies like The Puffy Chair, and Baghead, and they're back at Sundance with their new film Cyrus. However, they're also here as producers on The Freebie (directed by Mark's wife Katie Aselton), on Bass Ackwards, and on Lovers of Hate, directed by their friend Brian Poyser. So they've virtually transformed themselves into a mini-major on their own, directing their own films and helping others get theirs made.
But it hasn't gone to their heads. Which is very lucky, because it means they're still fans of Cinematical. Once you get to superstar Scorsese-level, who has time for film blogs? We talked to Mark & Jay at Sundance, and you can watch the video interview after the jump. They talk about Jonah Hill (who is impressive in this movie, which has as much drama as...
Brothers Mark Duplass and Jay Duplass are responsible for movies like The Puffy Chair, and Baghead, and they're back at Sundance with their new film Cyrus. However, they're also here as producers on The Freebie (directed by Mark's wife Katie Aselton), on Bass Ackwards, and on Lovers of Hate, directed by their friend Brian Poyser. So they've virtually transformed themselves into a mini-major on their own, directing their own films and helping others get theirs made.
But it hasn't gone to their heads. Which is very lucky, because it means they're still fans of Cinematical. Once you get to superstar Scorsese-level, who has time for film blogs? We talked to Mark & Jay at Sundance, and you can watch the video interview after the jump. They talk about Jonah Hill (who is impressive in this movie, which has as much drama as...
- 6/19/2010
- by Cinematical staff
- Cinematical
By Kevin Kelly (reprinted from 2/2/2010 -- Sundance Film Festival)
"Redneck" or "country noir" isn't anything new. Just look at Blood Simple and No Country For Old Men as examples. But when you replace the grizzled detective or outdated lawman with a 17-year-old girl trying to take care of her family, that's where things swing wildly off course in Winter's Bone. Jennifer Lawrence previously impressed in Lori Petty's autobiographical film The Poker House, and she turns in an incredibly powerful performance in this movie, directed by Debra Granik and based on Daniel Woodrell's novel of the same name, that explores the dark nature of family and secrets in the Ozark Mountains. It won both the Grand Jury Prize in the U.S. Dramatic category and the Waldo Salt screenwriting award, and is well-deserving of both.
Ree Dolly (Lawrence) is busy trying to take care of her younger brother and sister,...
"Redneck" or "country noir" isn't anything new. Just look at Blood Simple and No Country For Old Men as examples. But when you replace the grizzled detective or outdated lawman with a 17-year-old girl trying to take care of her family, that's where things swing wildly off course in Winter's Bone. Jennifer Lawrence previously impressed in Lori Petty's autobiographical film The Poker House, and she turns in an incredibly powerful performance in this movie, directed by Debra Granik and based on Daniel Woodrell's novel of the same name, that explores the dark nature of family and secrets in the Ozark Mountains. It won both the Grand Jury Prize in the U.S. Dramatic category and the Waldo Salt screenwriting award, and is well-deserving of both.
Ree Dolly (Lawrence) is busy trying to take care of her younger brother and sister,...
- 6/11/2010
- by Cinematical staff
- Cinematical
There are many great reasons to see Vincenzo Natali's Splice this weekend. First of all, it is an awesome movie, and I mean that in the most literal sense. My jaw dropped a number of times while I was watching Splice. It's visually stunning, eerie, extremely well written, and very, very smart. It's not just about a monster. It's about the humanity of this creature Dren, and, in turn, how she brings out the monstrous in her human creators. There's a reason Guillermo del Toro is on board as a producer, and it's because, as in all of his own films, the humans turn out to be as dangerous and unpredictable as their magnificent chimera.
In those jaw-dropping moments, I thought to myself, "Oh, they're not going to go there. They can't. This is a big studio movie. No way." But then it went there again and again and again.
In those jaw-dropping moments, I thought to myself, "Oh, they're not going to go there. They can't. This is a big studio movie. No way." But then it went there again and again and again.
- 6/5/2010
- by Jenni Miller
- Cinematical
By: Kevin Kelly, reposted from the Sundance Film Festival 1/27/10
These days, movies about geeks have to accomplish a lot to pass muster, because ever since the nerds and geeks were let out of the closet, they've invaded every facet of our existence, including people who write about movies. This is probably why I enjoyed Splice so much, although in the effort of full disclosure, I was biased going in because I'm a big fan of director Vincenzo Natali's other films, which include Cube, Cypher, and Nothing. Cube became a bit of a cult hit on DVD, but Cypher only appeared briefly in theaters here, and Nothing had an even smaller release.
It's a shame because Natali is a great visual storyteller, and Splice shows just how much he's matured as a director, and this movie also has the added boost of being executive produced by Guillermo del Toro. It's...
These days, movies about geeks have to accomplish a lot to pass muster, because ever since the nerds and geeks were let out of the closet, they've invaded every facet of our existence, including people who write about movies. This is probably why I enjoyed Splice so much, although in the effort of full disclosure, I was biased going in because I'm a big fan of director Vincenzo Natali's other films, which include Cube, Cypher, and Nothing. Cube became a bit of a cult hit on DVD, but Cypher only appeared briefly in theaters here, and Nothing had an even smaller release.
It's a shame because Natali is a great visual storyteller, and Splice shows just how much he's matured as a director, and this movie also has the added boost of being executive produced by Guillermo del Toro. It's...
- 6/4/2010
- by Cinematical staff
- Cinematical
When you're used to plunging into film festivals at the 5-movie-a-day pace I try to maintain at SXSW, Telluride, and (when I'm lucky enough to go) Toronto, taking it easy at your hometown fest seems a little like dereliction of duty. It is also, in some ways, more rewarding: without constantly having to rush to the next show, I had some time to digest and reflect (as well as eat lunch and dinner which, unless you're at SXSW where the theaters feed you, is a festival luxury).
The best of the eight films I saw was Maren Ade's Everyone Else, which I reviewed here -- it won't likely come to your hometown, but you should look for it on DVD; it's a lock for my year-end top ten list. The second best was Vincenzo Natali's Splice, which our Kevin Kelly reviewed at Sundance. I could go on at...
The best of the eight films I saw was Maren Ade's Everyone Else, which I reviewed here -- it won't likely come to your hometown, but you should look for it on DVD; it's a lock for my year-end top ten list. The second best was Vincenzo Natali's Splice, which our Kevin Kelly reviewed at Sundance. I could go on at...
- 5/10/2010
- by Eugene Novikov
- Cinematical
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.