Tag Archives: Scott Pilgrim Vs The World

MOV014: “I’m just a little bi-furious!”

Evangelion 1.11: You Are (Not) Alone, Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, RED, and much discussion on Star Wars coming to Blu-Ray

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News:

The Past: Evangelion 1.11: You Are (Not) Alone

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Director: Hideake Anno (supervising)

Staring: Megumi Ogata/ Spike Spencer (Shinji), Megumi Hayashibara/Brina Palencia (Rei), Kotono Mitsuishi / Allison Keith(Misato)

Trivia:

  • Based of the Series Neon Genesis Evangelion – Which ran in Japan for 26 episodes from 1995 to 1996 in Japan – and has grossed over 150 billion yen.
  • As an April Fools joke for 2009, USA and Canada distributor FUNimation Entertainment released a bogus but well known cast list for the main characters, in the vein of the success of the Hollywood cast in Afro Samurai: Resurrection (2009). It included Shia LaBeouf as Shinji Ikari, Lindsay Lohan as Rei Ayanami, Miley Cyrus as Asuka Langley Sohryu, Angelina Jolie as Misato Katsuragi, Samuel L. Jackson as Gendou Ikari, and Sean Penn as Pen Pen.
  • In the Japanese version – The Character Shinji Icari is played by a girl and the Voice Actress who plays Rei Ayinami refuses to voice any other characters in Japanese anime other than Rei and Pikachu
  • Studio basically stopped paying its taxes to have the money to fund this and the second movie of the planned Tetraology – has since gotten the ok from the studio for and “Unlimited” budget and “Unlimited” Timeframe to work on the remaining two films.
  • The DVD Release featured over 266 shots that received minor enhancements from the theatrical release.
  • A real version of the cellphone used by Misato was released by Sharp – The limited edition phone sold for $900 US and easily goes for over $1000 on ebay, all 20,000k phones available for pre-order sold out in 5 minutes.

Talking Points:

  • English or Japanese – How did you watch it?
  • The Differences between American and Japanese perceptions of Animation (for kids / for adults)
  • Live action Evangelion Movie “In Development Hell” would it work?
  • There is much debate as to if this movie is a re-telling of the original series, or a sequel to the series – How does this movie stand up to viewing if you have never seen the original series

What We’ve Learned:

  • In Japan – Everything Explodes!
  • Japanese Cities are amazingly resistant to everything that explodes!
  • Extremely complicated artificial beings are amazingly easy to operate with very little training
  • Whiny insecure emotionally neurotic children make the best mecha pilots
  • Warm Water Penguins can read the newspaper
  • You Mustn’t run away.
  • Misato Did Indeed Change the Carpet (inside joke to EVA fans)

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: Amazing! Anime fan, buy it. Not an Anime fan, rent it.
Ray: Check it out, If you dig it, check out the series and two original movies then come back and watch this movie again.
Steve: Great story, visually appealing. As a fan of Robotech, I approve as an upgrade.

The Present: Scott Pilgrim Vs The World

Director: Edgar Wright

Staring: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin, Ellen Wong, Anna Kendrick, Alison Pill, Mark Webber & Johnny Simmons

Trivia:

  • In 2009 Edgar Wright started a year long photo blog where he would take at least one picture every day and post it on his website. Much of the cast and crew appeared in this daily photo blog while they were shooting, most of the time with no direct credit given and their faces partially obscured in some way.
  • One of the evil exes that Scott (Michael Cera) must defeat is Roxy Richter (Mae Whitman) who previously played Cera’s character’s girlfriend in “Arrested Development” (2003).
  • During the editing process, Edgar Wright showed filmmakers Quentin Tarantino, Jason Reitman, and Kevin Smith a rough cut of the film, to which they responded positively.
  • Edgar Wright thought of casting Michael Cera as the titular character after watching episodes of Arrested Development (2003) during the writing of Hot Fuzz (2007).
  • The stunt doubles of Lucas Lee are actually the stunt doubles for Chris Evans. Only a quarter of the doubles resemble Evans.
  • Edgar Wright obtained permission to use the famous theme song from the NES title, The Legend of Zelda (1986), by writing a letter to Nintendo, saying that it is considered to be “the nursery rhyme of this generation”. He was also allowed to use the “Seinfeld” (1990) theme song for a sitcom-style sequence.
  • The wide open eyes of Knives Chau was not created with any practical or CGI effects. Ellen Wong, who plays Chau, did it herself.
  • Although Anna Kendrick (cast as Stacey Pilgrim, age 18) plays the younger sister to Michael Cera’s character (Scott Pilgrim, age 22), in real life Kendrick is nearly 3 years older than Cera.

Talking Points:

  • Did you have any sort of emotional connection with the main characters?
  • This movie didn’t do so hot its opening weekend, why? surprised?
  • Some of the best Fight Choreography Ive seen, Very little use of the ADHD Handheld shakey cam editing technique! Thank god!

What We’ve Learned:

  • Everyone has Baggage.. some peoples baggage can be fatal
  • It snows a lot in April In toronto
  • Orgasms can be fatal

Trailer:

Recommendations:

Jeff: AMAZING!
Ray: Highly Entertaining, visually Striking, Story is a little hollow.
Steve: Very entertaining, kept my attention, big fan of the quips that make you think

The Future: RED

Starring: Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren, John Malkovich, Mary Louise Parker

Trivia:

  • Based on The Graphic Novel from DC comics
  • John C. Reilly was set to be in the movie but dropped out and was replaced by John Malkovich.
  • While filming in Toronto, the police received several phone calls reporting machine gun fire after local residents mistook the movie’s gunshot effects for the real thing.

Talking Points:
This looks like a whole lot of fun! story looks a little played out (retired spy/secret agent forced back into service)

Summary:
Frank (Bruce Willis), Joe (Morgan Freeman), Marvin (John Malkovich) and Victoria (Helen Mirren) used to be the CIAs top agents but the secrets they know just made them the Agencys top targets. Now framed for assassination, they must use all of their collective cunning, experience and teamwork to stay one step ahead of their deadly pursuers and stay alive. To stop the operation, the team embarks on an impossible, cross-country mission to break into the top-secret CIA headquarters, where they will uncover one of the biggest conspiracies and cover-ups in government history.

Trailer:

Excitement:
Jeff: Very excited despite the fact that John Malkovich is in it.
Ray: Ill see this Just for Helen Mirren
Steve: Helen Mirren as a contract killer/CIA agent? I’m in!

Coming Attractions

The Past: The Craft
The Present: The Expendables
The Future: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

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MOV004: “Every two hours there is a rest period . . . for 3 minutes.” “Yes, Sir”

Rue McClanahan Died at 86, Neal McDonough joins the cast of Captain America, More Transformers News, COL Movies Store Opens, Bent, Killers, Scott Pilgrim Vs The World.

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News:

The Past: Bent (1997)

Director: Sean Mathias

Staring: Clive Owen, Lothaire Bluteau, Brian Webber, Nikolaj Coster Waldau, Jude Law, Mick Jagger

Trivia:

  • Ian McKellen, who appears as Uncle Freddie in the film, starred in the role of Max in the original London West End theatre production in 1979.

Talking Points:

  • Seems like it’s really more of just another WWII Concentration Camp movie?
  • The first “Phone Sex”?

What We’ve Learned: Mick Jagger is an ugly man…and an even uglier woman.

Trailer:

The Present: Killers

Director: Robert Luketic

Staring: Ashton Kutcher, Katherine Heigl, Tom Selleck, Catherine O’Hara, Katheryn Winnick

Trivia:

  • During filming, Ashton Kutcher accidentally knocked out a stunt man with his fist.

Talking Points:

  • Inferior version of True Lies? (True Lies meets Point of No Return?)
  • Ashton’s best movie to date???
  • Who could you have seen as the female lead other than Katherine Heigl?

What We’ve Learned: The go bag is under the trap door under the kitchen table; if you’re going to hide a gun in your car, put it inside the passenger seat; Anyone can be an assassin…even Mrs. Swan!…In a movie, a constantly drunk mother provides a lot of comedic opportunity…Tom Selleck will always play second fiddle to his mustache…Ashton does look nice without a shirt on and with low rise swim trunks.

Trailer:

The Future: Scott Pilgrim Vs The World

Trivia:

  • After artist Bryan Lee O’Malley completed the first issue of Scott Pilgrim, his publisher Oni Press contacted producer Marc E. Platt with the proposition for a film version. Universal Studios contracted Edgar Wright who had just finished his last film, Shaun of the Dead, to adapt the Scott Pilgrim comics. In May 2005, the studio signed Michael Bacall to write the screenplay for the adaptation. By January 2009, filmmakers rounded out its cast for the film, now titled Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.
  • A video game will be produced based upon the film. The game will be made by Ubisoft Montreal
  • A Comic book made into a movie, with video game overtones..made into a video game..

Talking Points:

  • At a test screening, Kevin Smith was quoted as saying “That movie is great. It’s spellbinding and nobody is going to understand what the fuck just hit them. I would be hard pressed to say, ‘he’s bringing a comic book to life!’ but he is bringing a comic book to life.”

Trailer:

Feedback:

Colin’s “A Clockwork Orange” Analysis

Hey Cubs:
Great job on the show last week I found it really amusing that a Clock Work Orange can still generate so many questions and spark good discussion. I think that film can be really difficult to analyze and the point can be easily taken out of context because it’s so tied into what was going on in the world in 71-72. It’s always important to remember that the strong critic assumes the responsibility for analyzing “what a film was attempting to accomplish” rather then weather or not it fit into said critic’s personal tastes. I find it refreshing that you three have been shying away from “liking and disliking” to a degree, but are rather searching out common questions about the pieces of media that you are viewing.
Like I said a Clock Work Orange is a rather difficult one to analyze due to the fact that it’s so wrapped up in both the American and British social political climates at the time it was in production. Also it’s a film that Slack-jawed soon to be Terintino-tards have been over analyzing since the 70’s and there is allot that has been compounded into all that. The fact that we the viewers of the film have so vehemently refused to forgive Alex his wrongs may be in truth: the legacy of this film. As most fans of Alex’s story know: there is a final piece to his tale that is considered his reprieve, we his audience were originally meant to know that the man turns it around and attempts to find redemption at the end of his tale, however both Kubrick and the original American publishers of the novel decided that this was a worthless chapter and omitted it form their presentations of this story. This is not only telling of late 60’s early 70’s Vietnam/ Second Indo china war effected American discourse, but also indicative of a broader world perspective on the queering of Anglican youth culture visa vi Garry Glitter, T.rex, David Bowie and so on. Such queering can be seen all over the film in both the accepted attire of the characters and the films chosen aesthetics. You have in this story a completely English representation of the monsterization of the western Anglican youth. This sort of outlook was not really the norm jus post WWII, up until Vietnam hit phase 3 of the draft (62-63). In comes Alex, the monster, he does drugs, him and his boys are gang rapists, he is insanely Violent until he is he is “rehabilitated” by an egalitarian fascist establishment using Pavlovian brainwashing in a “mad-science” attempt to re-integrate his ilk into the milieu. This is all an analogy for the uncertainty facing our youth in Vietnam and for the response the world was having to young people at the time in general. Kubrick was very much playing at/with an adult response to a monsterised view of youth, indicative but also in satire of culturally accepted norms. Its easy to forget how severe the generation gap we were facing at the time, but it was a world where the kids that were shot at Kent a year before were thought of as monsters for being un-patriotic. Even worse was the fact that we were seeing our kids come home from war completely unable to re-join society. In a way all the young adults were monsters in the eyes of society (adults). There is also a duality being represented by Kubrick here (British/ American) which exists due to the fact that Kubrick was both an American national and a long time English resident, and very much in tune with what was going on with both of our young people Now on the strictly American side we were given this unforgivable (edited) Alex, we who had just suffered the Massacre of May 4th, we who were in no mood to forgive the youth anything (politically speaking) were able to identify with a representation of a true monster and that’s how Alex came to us. Miraculously even after his choice of “quick fix” and without paying for his mistakes what so ever the general response to Alex is still empathy; interesting. So despite my incessant ramblings on this issue I guess my overall point is that: pretty much every film is made with the intent to accomplish something, and that a Clock Work Orange was intending to open a discourse concerning the 1970s dichotomy between adults, youth, and government. It’s making satire out of the adult perspective of the generation gap at the time, you watch this film and see everything that an elderly parent or grand parent in the 1970’s might fear their child was becoming as they lye in bed staring at the ceiling wondering why little Jimmy wears make up, stays our all night, participates in unpatriotic anti-war efforts, or listens to queer glam rock. I think in that context the film is rather clear about what its trying to say to its viewers at the time. That being said: did you know Michael Alig is up for parole in a month or two here and I hear he is completely rehabilitated…
Thanks guys
Colin-

Coming Attractions:

The Past: Chuck&Buck
The Present: The A Team
The Future: Inception

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