Kevin's Korner, Week 3 is up!

Check it out, everyone. This week has news on Twilight, Kevin Smith, Benecio Del Toro's Wolfman, and a couple of great videos.

http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/dailyloaf/2009/07/31/kevins-korner-week-3-harry-vs-rodents-twilight-bryce-dallas-howard-and-more/#more-26785

Iron Man 2 viral marketing starts up

I am a huge fan of what has become known as viral marketing. The creativity of some of these campaigns is often better than the films themselves. My favorite example is of Cloverfield. All over the net, they had news reports about companies and environmentalists going at it, they had fake CNN newsreports that most people didn't know where fake, and they had Myspace accounts for all the characters in the movie, and all the accounts became inactive as of January 18, the date of the 'event.' This was something that really worked on me, and me me want to see the movie even more than just a great trailer.

So, with that in mind, check out the first hints of some Iron Man 2 viral marketing, it cracked me up!

Kevin Pollack as the Enterprise crew

Thank you to ScreenRant for digging this old video of a classic standup with Kevin Pollock doing the original series crew of Star Trek. This is by far, the best James T. Kirk impression I have ever seen. To be honest, I never knew Pollock did standup before this.

Bonus points to anyone who can identify the all the actors he's imitating.

Doin' the Happy Dance

So, it was announced today by the wonderful people at Spoilertv.com that Burn Notice and Royal Pains were both renewed for a second season!

That's right, your doing the happy dance too, aren't you? Burn Notice, starring Jeffrey Donovan, Gabriel Anwar and Bruce Friggin Campbell is one of my favorite shows on TV, I just wish they would give each season a few more episodes to truly get my Burn Notice fix.

Royal Pains has started off really slow, and has just been one of those shows that is on, not one that I change plans around for, but the show has just recently started to explore some really great storylines and getting into the depth of the characters they created, and could be really interesting, although, not one of the interesting characters is the lead, Hank Lawson.

1954 Ghostbusters

Check out this video for what it would be like to make a Ghostbusters movie back in the day.
I loved this video, the cuts were excellent. Bonus points to anyone who can reckognize what any of the scenes are from!

Inspector Gadget: Book of Shadows

Attack of the Shows Kevin Perrara stars in this trailer about the darker side of Inspector Gadget.

This is a must-see. The part with the umbrella nearly made me spit out my coffee. Check it out!

Video Games - E3 2009 - Attack of the Show

AOTS interviews Iron Man director Jon Favreu

Check out this video of G4's Olivia Munn interviewing Jon Favreu.
Ya know, if there is one director I would love to sit down with and have a beer, it seems to be Jon Favreu. He truly seems like he not only has a handle on his movie, but the franchise, and Marvel, too, which is a very rare and valuable quality; that, and he was Bateman from Replacements!

So, here is the video, enjoy!

Video Game - E3 2009 - Attack of the Show

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Pics

Check out the pics for the new Prince of Persia Movie:

http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/dailyloaf/2009/07/28/prince-of-persia-sands-of-time-pictures-are-here/

This looks pretty promising, and I'm actually getting kind of excited. I need to keep reminding myself this is based off a video game, and we all know what that means!

Fast & Furious DVD review

So, I did my first official DVD review and it came out today.
The movie was only OK at best, as was the DVD, but I enjoyed it and plan to do a few more.
As always, let me know what you think!

http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/dailyloaf/2009/07/28/dvd-review-fast-and-furious-vin-diesel/

Is Anakin a looker or what?!?

So, in case you haven't heard, Jake Lloyd has resurfaced after 10 years in obscurity. For those of you who need IMDB to find out who he is, Lloyd is the kid that played the 10 year old Anakin in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. If you ask most Star Wars fans, they will tell you, next to Jar-Jar Binks, he is the reason for the downfall of Star Wars as the greatest franchise of all time. My personal feelings are a bit different.

I watched this video of a sarcastic, squirming young Anakin who seems a bit bitter, and oh, did I mention he looks the exact same as he used to, only...well, uglier? I mean, look at this picture!

In the video, he brings up an interesting point about the movies being geared toward a new, young generation, but I don't think I've ever heard a youngster say they liked this movie.

If you want to see the really, really awkward video, check it out:

A Sam Axe TV Movie?

One of the many rumors that came out of Comic Con this year was at the Burn Notice Panel. There were some ideas that were tossed around that Sam Axe, played by Bruce Friggin Campbell (no, really, that's his middle name, "Friggin") would get a made for TV movie that would explain the back story.

Now, this is just an idea, and there is nothing remotely concrete about it, but what do you guys think?

For me, I love Bruce Campbell, I think he is the man, and every moment with him on Burn Notice is a great moment. That being said, I don't think this move is neccesary. I think the natural progression of the story fills in some of the gaps nicely. So, put him in Spiderman 4, let him play some level 104 wizard in the new World of Warcraft movie and call it a day.

How to see Kevin Mark Out in 1 easy step:

The answer is to post a picture of a great poster, tossed back to the days of yore for CHUCK! I know, I know, I'm totally geeking out here, but I love Chuck for many different reasons, the main one being Yvonne Strahovski, but there are many more, and reminding me of that gets the old blood a pumpin' on Monday.

Check it out:

The new Tron Legacy teaser trailer

It's here, and it is amazing. I loved Tron from back in the day, and the special effects were pretty special, but the movie has not aged well, so I can't wait to see what the rest of the movie will be like. So, check it out!!!

Kevin's Korner Wk. 2 is up!

They even put me on the Creative Loafings Homepage!

I am going to try to improve this column each week. I'm trying to make it more and more exciting to read, so, if you have any ideas, I would love to hear them.

Here is the link:

http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/dailyloaf/2009/07/24/kevins-korner-comic-con-alice-in-wonderland-and-iron-man-2/

a Back to the Future Geek-tastic video

Anyone who has read Kevin's Movie Blog will know that I am a huge Back to the Future fan, like my father before me, err...whatever. Anyway, if you've seen the movies, you'll notice the second two movies have a different Jennifer (Marty's girlfriend) which actually made them re-shoot the final scene from the first movie to use in the second. Did you ever wonder how close they got it from the first (no? Oh, well, I did, so, whatever).

Check out the video comparing the two scenes.

Reason # 1 to not go to ComicCon

Check this picture of the insane Twilight fans, waiting for a 30 minute press conference. This just backs up my idea that Twilight Fans are crazier than Trekkies.

Here is a status update

Happy Friday, everyone!

Well, to kind of bring you up to speed as to what is going on, I am still not posting on here as much as I would like, but I will try to get better.
I have a few columns coming out shortly on Creative Loafing. The ones on their way are ones I worked quite a bit on, there is Harry Potter Vs. Star Wars, and let me just say I was very surprised as to the winner. The other one is the weekly news column, Kevin's Korner, which, hopefully will be bigger and better than ever.

I hope to bring out my first official DVD review this weekend for Fast & Furious, the fourth installment in the Point Break ripoff series.

After that, I'm scratching my head a bit, but, with everything that is happening at ComicCon this weekend, I'm sure a plethora of movie news will be at my disposal.

So, I hope everyone has a great weekend, and when the articles get posted, I will link to them here. And, hopefully, I can think of some more stuff to write about for next week.

Best Twilight picture Ever!

This just cracked me up, and I had to share it. Sorry to all you Twilight fans out there, but even you have to admit, this is funny!

Kung-Fu Panda

I finally sat down and watched a movie that was nominate for Best Animated Film last year. The movie is Kung-Fu Panda, starring the voice of Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, and Lucy Lu, amongst others. I have to admit, I'm a sucker for animation, but I wasn't in the best of moods last night, so it kinda balanced out.


The movie is about a fat Panda (Jack Black) who always dreamed of being a Kung-Fu master, like the 5 masters, the Tiger, Crane, Praying Mantis, Snake, and Monkey, tough by Dustin Hoffman. Unfortunately for Poe, he is stuck working as a noodle guy, until some crazy, random happenstance has Poe named "The Dragon Warrior," foretold to protect the city from Ian McShane's tiger and bring balance to the force, err, Kung-Fu midicloriens, or whatever.


Jack Black is perfect in this role, as is Dustin Hoffman, and, for that matter, the rest of the voice work. Sometimes, when a famous voice is used, all you see is that actor, but in this case, they were counting on that, because the Panda was eerily similar to Blacks ... physique.


I absolutely loved the animation, as the movie had the look and fell of a classic Kung-Fu movie, with some great angles. The animation was brilliant, and beautiful and still had a classic feel, which made this seem more like a Kung-Fu movie than your run of the mill animated movie.


There were plenty of plot holes, and plots that were never touched on, such as Angelina Jolie's Tiger, and her always trying to impress her master, but in the end, it was a great movie, meant for kids, but easy for the adults to enjoy as well.


Overall, I give this a 7 Pinkie moves out of 10.


FUN FACT: The scene where Po enters the Jade palace, where he is amazed by all the relics, is based on the director's first experience entering the Skywalker Ranch, where all the props from the Star Wars movies can be found.

Futurama is back, but without Fry, Lela and the rest

Last month, I reported here that Futurama was coming back to cable TV after several years on hiatus. I also reported, that thanks to great DVD sales, Cartoon Network was bringing everyone back for a 26 episode season. Obviously, the world was jumping up and down in excitement.


That is, until today, when we find out that the original voice actors on the show refused to take the modest increase in pay from last time and have bailed out, leaving the network with a show, but no voice.


So, now, we have Fry, the Professor, Lela, Bender and the rest, but for all we know, Michael Clarke Duncan could be the voice of Fry (he isn't, I just whipped that name outta my...head).


So, what do you think, will you watch this new Futurama without the voicework?

A preview for this week.

So, I was thinking about doing a Harry Potter Vs. Star Wars column.
At first, its like "how do you compare them?" But, after looking at the movies, there are a lot of similarities. So, I am going to break down the series, both, currently at 6 movies and look at the strengths and weeknesses and come up with a champion.

Does anyone have any input as to which you think is the greater series?

Leverage

So, the second season of Leverage started on Wednesday with a bang. I almost forgot how much fun this show really is. The chemistry, I was sure would be less than stellar after the incredible season finale in the first season. Fortunetly, I was wrong, and it seems the chemistry is even better than before, the writing is even crisper, and the actors have really setteled into their roles.

If you haven't seen Leverage, its basically a weekly Ocean's Eleven, with all the charm, wit, and over-elaborate heists each week. The good part, however, is the larger story-arch of the evolution of these characters from complete loaners to a united team. Obviously, its still like a wild dog, where you are not sure if they will turn around and bite you, which is the best part.

So, I can't wait for some more Leverage this week. It's just amazing how witty this show is.

Star Trek has a DVD release date!

November 17, 2009 is the magical day you can own a legal copy of one of the greatest movies of the year, and by far, the greatest Star Trek movie of all time.

Are you excited? Of course you are!

Kevin's Movie Blog comes to Creative Loafing

So, everyone who reads this blog knows I am now contributing to Creative Loafings Website.
So, in an attempt to bring a bit of Kevin's Movie Blog to Creative Loafing, I created a column called Kevin's Korner.

I figured that brings the essence of this blog to Loafing. I mean, it's got...well, its got Kevin...and its got bad spelling...oh, and there will be movie news, trailers, and box office reports, and maybe an extra goodie or two. So, I would apprecaite it if you check it out, and let me know what else I could put in there, and anything else you'd like to see.

http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/dailyloaf/2009/07/17/kevins-korner-movie-news-trailers-and-scarlett-johansson-in-iron-man-2/

Harry Potter pulls in $22.2 million at midnight alone!

Thats right, Harry Potter just smashed the midnight record for most bones, at $22.2 mill. But, is anyone really surprised? I mean, we were all looking for a good summer blockbuster movie, and since Transformers was panned by critics, along with Wolverine and Terminator, we have been wanting something ever since Star Trek. It looks like we finally have it, so expect Harry Potter to blow away The Dark Knights first week sales.

One thing, though, stop the Oscar talk. Look, I loved this movie, and the chemistry and acting were spot on, but don't kid yourself and think you'll see Daniel Radcliff and Emma Watson leading the Academy charge for best actors. Whether they deserve it or not, they won't be picked, so don't set yourself up for failure.

Great to see a good movie raking in the dough, and I think this is the first report of many that Harry Potter got stupid amounts of money.

Harry Potter and the invisible notebook

So, as you probably know by now, I joined other movie critics from around the area for the prescreening of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. The entire experience was great, but there was something before the movie even started that caught my attention, and wouldn't let go, not even Dumbledore could shake it loose. As I sit in the critics section, I notice many notable critics with a notebook, opened and ready to go. As I sat there, listening to how I better have my cell phone off, or I die, I wondered, where was my notebook?

I have a real problem with these notebooks, and I see this as one of the reasons I find several movie critics to lack enthusiasm and write about the movie experience. I don't know how you can stay in the world the movie has created for you when you are too busy taking notes on a bit of dialogue, or commentating on a scene.

I had a movie professor that said all movies must be watched in a theater, for that is where the director had envisioned the film to be shown, it was the perfect experience for movie going. When you add this additional element, making it a job, you lose that experience, and you add an element of work.

So, I say, forget the notebooks...or do I owe them an apology?

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

There are now 6 movies, and I have enjoyed all 6. The movies have their flaws, they switched directors several times, but the main part that was always stellar was the casting, and special effects, while adapting a novel that had to avoid the stigma of a kids movie.

So, last night, I had my second prescreening, which went much better than the last one. They were like "oh, Kevin, it is good to see you sir, we have the best seat for you, is there anything we can do for you, is there anything you need?" Ok, it wasn't quite that good, but it was really easy, which makes for a more stress free movie experience. The results are a more positive opinion of the movie, although, nothing could have ruined the experience I had, so, check out the movie review I prepared, and of course, let me know what you think.

http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/dailyloaf/2009/07/14/harry-potter-and-the-half-blood-prince-strike-back/

The Green Lantern announced

Monday came the announcement over who the new Green Lantern is. The results were more than a little shocking. I wrote a column for Creative Loafing about the announcement, including who I would have chosen instead of the sellout-esque move.
Check it out: http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/dailyloaf/2009/07/12/dc-announces-ryan-renyolds-star-green-lantern-actor/

Cemetery Junction Teaser

Alright, so this teaser trailer from the brilliant Ricky Gervais is something different than the usual teaser. Here, we see a hilarious Gervais, making fun of Voldemort, I mean, how much cooler can it possibly get? More you say? Well, they mention Schindler's List, is that enough for you? Yeah, darn right it is. Check it out, and prepare to laugh out loud (lol).

Jennifer's Body Red-band trailer

Another trailer to make your Wednesday more better.
A Red-Band trailer is usually not suitable for PG audiances, generally due to bad language, or inappropriate content. This trailer has a bit of all of that, but really sets up what looks to be a pretty good flick.

Here is the link: Check it out! http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/dailyloaf/2009/07/06/red-band-trailer-for-megan-foxs-jennifers-body-nsfw-video/

District 9 trailer

District 9 has been employing some great viral marketing with signs saying "no aliens," and "humans only" all over the place, from bus stops, to websites, to conventions and film festivals. There has been some guerilla-style videos popping up, looking like a news report, with footage from the movie, but this is the first actual trailer from what looks to be an amazing movie.

So, check it out, and be on the lookout for some of these signs.

Happy 4th

I hope everyone is having a happy, safe Fourth of July.
With that in mind, I have a video to wish everyone a Happy Fourth, Kevin's Movie Blog Way!

Star Wars Dead?

Well, as many of you know, I'm a huge Sci-Fi geek. In fact, I just recently counted down the top 15 of the genre, and loved every second of it. When you look at my list, you will see every Star Wars movie from the original trilogy, so you might say I am a huge Star Wars fan.

So, that being said, I read some great news on /Film's website today, saying that Lucas is continuing to move forward on a live action television series that he describes a cross between the Sopranos and Deadwood, and plans to shoot 100 episodes, back to back and then shop for a network to air it. Now, I was trying to hold in that little girl squeal, but as I read the comments section, it seemed I was the only one. There wasn't a single little girl peep from anyone, even after it was announced they had hired some great writers, and were even to look at casting very shortly, which means things are moving along.

This lack of enthusiasm for anything Star Wars got me wondering if the franchise had become too jaded by the Jar Jar Binks's, the crappy animated movie (despite the show being all kinds of awesome), bad script writing, and seventy-two versions of the original trilogy. How can the greatest Sci-Fi trilogy of all time not muster any sort of excitement for a continuation of a story?

My first inclination was to find someone to blame, and order a hit on their life. I realized that wasn't the best course of action, so, I started wondering if it was because of the lack of quality, the fact there is Star Wars stuff everywhere, leaving the market over saturated, or if the Sci-Fi loving generation simply died out.

So, since I can't understand the lack of enthusiasm over a new story, set a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, maybe you guys can. What do you think the problem is, and is there a solution, or has Star Wars gone the way of Star Trek, needing a rebirth? Call J.J. right now!

Star Trek..err, Wars...err, whatever

A new video from Collegehumor.com had me rolling today. It has Kirk Skywalker talking command of the Enterprise, and mixes up Star Wars and Star Trek.

This video cracked me up. It's a must watch for everyone! I know I have posted a lot of video's lately, but I promise they're all worth the view, and don't worry, some real, mediocre writing is just around the corner!

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Invention of Lying trailer

I think Ricky Gervais is horribly underrated, and every time he's on screen, its pure comedy gold. This new trailer for a movie he wrote, looks great.

The cast includes an amazingly hot Jennifer Garner, Ricky Gervais, Rob Lowe, Jonas Hill and Tina Fey in a movie about a guy who discovers how to lie in a world that doesn't know how. Absolutley brilliant.

Wow, please insert joke here

Alright, so, I love Cinematical, too. They have a great picture up of the new marketing scheme for G.I. Joe, a slupree straw with the characters on them. That is right, they took a movie that is supposed to ... ... well, suck, and put the characters on a straw, of all things. You can't get any more clear than that!

So, check out the pic, and let the jokes come!

Jeff Goldbloom has died, and here is the proof!

It has been confirmed by Stephen Colbert, and the Colbert Nation and by actor Jeff Goldbloom himself, that Jeff Goldbloom has fallen to his death in New Zealand.
Check out the video below if you don't believe me!

This is hilarious and it's just proof, on a more serious note (if I could be serious for a moment.. ha!) that news sources need to actualy confirm stuff before reporting stupid crap like that.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Jeff Goldblum Will Be Missed
http://www.colbertnation.com/
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Jeff Goldblum

A new look at the Ewoks

For those of you who don't know, I am a huge fan of The Movie Blog. So, when a video post came up on that site entitled "Screw You, I love the Ewoks" my interest had already gone off the scale.
In the video below, John talks about how people look down on the third movie in the original Star Wars trilogy as a bit weaker due to the Ewoks. The video is hilarious, and a must see, but I would say the Ewoks were a good bit of balance in the trilogy.

After the ending of Empire, things are on a down-note. Han is frozen in Carbonite, and taken to Jabba; Luke found out he is a bastard child to a robot in a cape; Leiah loves Han, a known Nerf-Herder that is pretty scruffy lookin', and also realized she kissed her brother, who is now a one-handed handicapp, and to make matters worse, the Rebellion is getting its butt kicked. Clearly a dark ending, and a low point for the characters in the trilogy.

After such an ending, the characters, writers, directors and producers all wanted to find a bit of balance. So, how do you balance out something like that? You add cute little teddy bears to kick the crap outta the Empire. Granted, it sounds kinda silly, but overall, it didn't take anything away from the story, and added some good, lite action before a serious, dark, dramatic space battle and a great, dramatic lightsaber battle.

Overall, I like the question of which of the original trilogy you like more, because its not an easy question, considering all were awesome, and all were a bit different. The answer could tell you a lot about the person answering the question!

So, check out this video, and prepare to laugh, because its brilliant!

The Informer trailer

Alright, so after hearing the true story behind the book, it was only a matter of time before the movie was made. In the credits, it says "from the director of Ocean's Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen," you had me at Eleven.

So, the movie is based off a book about a guy who helped take down a big corporation. Afterwards, it was discovered that he also stole an insane amount of money from the corporation. He was caught, and sent to jail for more time than the people he helped catch.

All I have is two words for a story like that "freakin' brilliant!"

So, check out Matt Damon looking very different from Matt Damon, and one of my favorites, Scott Bakula in a movie that should come out the beginning of October!