CHECK IT: Ruin - An incredible post-apocalyptic animated short

Amid the seemingly unending sea of animated shorts that pop up online from time to time, none has stood out as much as Wes Ball's Ruin. Ball is an eight year veteran of Hollywood, where he has primarily stayed behind the scenes, doing graphic work for HBO and special features featurettes Well no more of that. With Ruin, Mr. Ball  has launched himself into the limelight, and we can expect to hear a lot more from him and his company, OddBall Animation.

Naturally, any news will be accompanied by many ballin' puns from yours truly.

What stands out about the short is the visceral feel of the action, an area where other animated science fiction shorts, notably the heralded Rosa, have stumbled. Any great action director imbues their work with a certain kineticism that heightens the tension immeasurably. Whereas the action in Rosa is stilted, as if the characters are floating; silkily dancing around each other in a pantomime of fighting, Ruin is an eight minute long exercise in the act of gut-wrench.

If the recent announcements that Rosa and previously Salted short Archetype will receive feature-length adaptations, surely we can expect the same for Ruin. Or at least a major directing gig for Ballin' Wes Ball, a name we'd do well to remember.

Hit the jump to watch Ruin.

PIRATES! (The new masters of quality control.)

Avast ye! This torrent of The Green Lantern was an .mov and thar be no Quicktime in these parts!

A new study has been making the rounds across the interwebs which states that the advent of copyright piracy dens the Pirate Bay and torrent clients like BitTorrent have had no effect on Hollywood's box office receipts. Unfortunately, this study has been falsely hailed as the definitive assuagement of the internet's collective guilt over illegal downloads.

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace 3D - The Definitive Review

In a move that I think we can all agree is excreting the very nectar of necessity, the Star Wars saga is being rereleased, one movie at a time, with an extra dimension added for shits and giggles. The natural place to start is with Episode 1. What more could an added dimension bring to one of the most abysmal disappointments in cinemas's history?

It's Ultimate Salt's review of Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace in 3D.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World: An Adorable Movie About the Apocalypse.

A romantic comedy with Steve Carrell and Keira Knightley?

Normally, I'd overlook my schoolboy crush on Ms. Knightley and pass on such cinematic fluff, but I'll be damned if an apocalyptic twist doesn't give this romantic comedy a spark that the genre sorely needs. If the trailer is any indication, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World looks to use an impending doomsday meteorite as a framing device for cross country romp to find a lost love, rather than the typical ohshit-there-is-like-200-dudes-trying-to-eat-my-face.


Although there may be some of that for good measure.

The Bourne Legacy Teaser: More stars, more action, less point.

The poster is nice though. Digging the
horizontal bar motif from the trailer.

Throughout cinematic history, there is no end to the number of unnecessary sequels. After the wild success of his breakout gangster saga A Better Tomorrow, director John Woo was tasked by hungry studio execs with continuing the story. The problem: At the end of the movie, Chow Yun-Fat's character, the heart of the story -- played by the film's biggest star, dies. Spoilers, by the way.

Solution: He has a twin brother of course! This pathetically contrived narrative loophole is downright admirable in its idiocy. It is so patently absurd that the audience immediately accepts it as humorously ironic and moves on with the story. The film gets away with it because the idiosyncrasies of the storytelling had made it apparent that action, not story, was the film's focus.

Which is why it is so frustrating to see such The Bourne series, renowned for blending storytelling with action, fall into such painful narrative traps in order to prolong a franchise that needs no prolonging.

It turns out Jason Bourne wasn't the best. It turns out there was this other guy who was totally way better than him, but for some reason made it though three movies without being mentioned. It turns out that nothing in the first three movies mattered, because that's how much of the shit this new dude is.

His name is Kenneth. AN' HE JUST WENT ROGUE!!! DOH SHIT!

So we're rehashing the last three movies with a new guy in a crew cut punching people? WHY?

What I do like:

1. The line "Will you submit to this program?" being reused. If you're going to shit on your foundation, at least give it a call-back.
2. Tony Gilroy directing. Dude's 2 for 2 at this point. Maybe he'll pull off a trifecta.

Here's the trailer anyway. Blech. Just watch Hanna again, please.

Awesome advertising: Shame print ad

After appearing in the escort ads section of indie newspapers, Michael Fassbender is officially in everything.

Steve McQueen's Shame is probably the best movie about someone with a made up condition to ever get snubbed by the Academy Awards. Any film that can make sex addiction, which is, again, not actually a thing, seem like legitimate drama is surely worthy of some sort of plaudits. The above ad, which is appearing in UK newspapers, capitalizes on the film's riské subject matter by shadowing Michael Fassbender's face over the escort ads. Juxtaposing sexxxy singles with with classy scarves has never been accomplished with such taste. Artfully done and thematically relevant, this is some of the best movie advertising you're likely to see.

[via Copyranter]

PIFF Lineup Released - The Highlights

The Portland International Film Festival has released the list of films showing at its 35th iteration. Mixed among the typically impenetrable or lethargic independent fare are some true standouts that merit a ticket.

Hit the jump for the list:

Mondo's Planet of the Apes Posters (Now with judgment!)

For years, Mondo Tees have been producing and archiving some absolutely exquisite movie posters and tee shirts. The distinctive style of their prints has led to fame, and presumably, some form of fortune. Their latest endeavor is a series of posters for the Planet of the Apes films to celebrate their being screened at the Alamo Draft House. They teamed up with an All-Star lineup of movie websites (movies.com, Film School Rejects, io9 -technically a scifi blog but get off my back yo- Badass Digest and Collider) to debut the posters, which promptly went on sale and were devoured by the unquenchable maw of apparently wealthy Planet of the Apes fans.

I say apparently wealthy because the six poster set went for $230. The posters are undeniably awesome (with one pretty notable exception), but in all seriousness, what are you really going to do with six Planet of the Apes posters?

Ball out beyond belief is what. Can I trademark B.O.B.B. as a rap name?

Hit the jump for the collection.

Sad News: The Goon movie is no more. (Update)

Despite including the above scene, the cinematic adaptation of Eric Powell's AMAZINGLY GOOD (seriously) comic book series, The Goon, is no more. (UPDATE: PSYCHE!)According to Paul Giamatti, who was slated to play the Goon's smart-assed, blank-eyed sidekick Frankie, the production ran out of money. Sad news, but at least the comics are still there. Check them out at Dark Horse Digital.

Hit the jump for the awesome promotional trailer that was put together to sell The Goon on investors.

Jean Dujardin in GQ

Jean Dujardin. Remember that name. It'll be important to know in the coming years. You could be forgiven for mistakenly assuming that Dujardin's name just recently became relevant thanks to his Oscar-nominated performance as a silent film star faced with the dawn of the talkies this year's The Artist. His turn in the silent film has Hollywood buzzing, and his nomination is just one of the film's ten.

Of course, Dujardin's name has been buzzed about for considerably longer if you ask anyone who has seen the brilliantly funny (and devilishly stylish) pair of French spy spoofs OSS 117 - Cairo: Nest of Spies and OSS 117 - Lost in Rio, in which Dujardin and Michel Hazanavicius (up for best director with The Artist) manage to transcend the spy spoof and elevate it from the shlock that Austin Powers turned into, all while predating the vainglorious misogyny of FX's Archer.

Basically, Dujardin has been killing the game for a minute.

And, as anyone who's seen Dujardin in anything will attest, he looks damn good in a suit. GQ was wise enough to recognize this and has an excellent photoshoot of Dujardin rocking plaid suits like he intends to kill the game then hunt down its family.

Hit the jump for the photos.

Underwolrd: Generic Subtitle (Review)

Pictured: Kate Beckinsale upon being informed she was contractually obligated to do another one of these.

The Underworld series is one of those rare film franchises that is comprised entirely of terrible films, yet is somehow still in existence. Born out of a post-Matrix desire to see attractive people fly around in patent leather while dual wielding pistols, it has inexplicably clung to life as if it had the willpower and tensile strength of its protagonist's apparel.

It's similarities to the abysmal Resident Evil films are staggering; only it's continued presence is infinitely more baffling, as there was no precedent set by an existing intellectual property. I've even made a nice graph charting their similarities:

Regardless of it's quality or necessity, Underworld - Awakening is extant. So get ready for another round of vinyl jumpsuits, pistols akimbo and blue filters; it's time to review this piece.

Movie Posters Reimagined for Different Eras

As cool and amazing and revolutionary as The Matrix was, (suck it, people who are mad that it just repurposed decades-old sci fi themes and meshed them with fairly modern anime tropes) I think it is an undeniable fact that having Bruce Lee replaced Keanu Reeves in the lead role would have substantially improved the film. Not because Keanu Reeves was any more awful than usual, he actually worked quite well for what the role of Neo require, it's just that any movie would be better with Bruce Lee in the lead role.

Sadly, that casting possibility is not a reality... in this universe. Which leads us to designer  Sean Hartter's Alternate Universe movie posters. Hartter is essentially making movie posters for relatively recent films with design styles and techniques of yesteryear, but what sets him apart from the massive crop of designers retrofying movie posters is that Hartter actually completely reimagines the films themselves, matching stars and directors with their era's poster stylings.

As cool as these are from a design standpoint, the window they open up in your imagination is the real draw here. Shatner in Avatar? Connery in The Fifth Element? James Dean in Drive?

Yes-freaking-please. (Although none could top the combo of Pam Grier and Bruce Lee - just sayin')

(And technically, Gosling did do a pretty good Dean impressive throughout 90% of Drive.)

Hit the jump for some highlights.

Meet the Latest Joke Rapper Who's Better than Most Regular Rappers

The line between "regular rap" and "joke rap" has become increasingly blurred over the last few years (not talking about Yung Humma). One of the most notable examples of that blurring is Childish Gambino, a blatantly talented rapper, but one who has had to use several tracks to openly plead for listeners to look past his alternate persona as comedian Donald Glover and take his bars seriously. In interviews, Glover has brought up the point that so-called "serious" rap is actually quite funny:

"Look at Lil Wayne, he is very funny! He has punch lines galore, like “my gun means business; the bitch should have a tie on.” But, because of his background people take him serious. I have a comedy background so people struggle to take me serious..."

As Glover points out, a rapper's background is key, if not absolutely integral to how an audience perceives them. Glover's background seems to fit the bill; he managed to escape the hood in a manner rappers claim to strive for: Without turning to drug-dealing or violence. Yet despite being honest about his upbringing, he will never find the mainstream success of a guy like Rick Ross, who has fabricated his way to the top of pop-rap.

If Glover was able to turn an internet sketch series into a writing gig on what was then the funniest show on television, turn that into a starring role on what would become the funniest show on television (different shows - neither of which retains its title) all while earing a degree from NYU and writing and starring in a feature film and still can't get his rise to fame respected, what chance does Cancer Merchant have?

Normally, I would never do this: Spider Man/Drive Mashup

As a rule when faced with anything that is completely bullshit, I'm vehemently opposed to franchise mashups (dude, what if, like, Harry Potter was wearing a Han Solo vest and it was like "Harry Solo?!!"), but switching the scorpion jacket for a spider jacket just works too perfectly.

Check out Yale Stewart's tumblr for more great stuff.

And you can't miss his hilarious take on the Justice League as lil' whippersnappers,
Little League.

Check it: Archetype - short film

Visual effects supervisor Aaron Sims showcases his talents in this short film about a robot warrior who decides he no longer wants to serve his primary functions. Intrigue ensues.

The usually modus operandi for visual effects gurus showcasing their work with a short film is to include a lot of technical wizardry, but to only hint at something resembling a story. Sims bucks that trend, and is able to develop the main character pretty succinctly, and the result is a nice little short that showcases his storytelling abilities as much as his special effects prowess.

But you've gotta lose the super-zoom at the beginning, dog. That's never been cool.

[spotted on twitch]
[Aaron Sims' website]

 

The world's most poorly acronymed film festival is back (PIFF 2012)

The Portland International Film Festival. Sounds good on paper, but then you get to the acronyming (which is a verb now, by the way) and things fall apart. PIFF just doesn't quite work. Whether it brings to mind a certain brand of superior cannabis or a mixtape upload site almost certainly named for said superior cannabis, PIFF is definitely not the way to go when it comes to accruing prestige.

Regardless of its acronym, the Portland International Film Festival has always brought it, as it were, with the lineup of unreleased international films, and it's back to make dismal Portland February bearable once again. It goes from February 9th to the 25th, and is housed in theaters primarily around downtown Portland.

We need to talk about Portlandia.

More specifically, we need to talk about how we need to stop talking about it.

Wes Anderson tries to out-Wes Anderson Wes Anderson.

Not satisfied with the glut of Wes Anderson spoofs strewn across the interwebs, Wes Anderson himself has decided to follow up the fantastic The Fantastic Mr. Fox with the most Wes Andersonny thing you will ever see, and prove, once and for all, that he invented quirkiness.

It's the trailer for his latest, Moonrise Kingdom.

Alternate Scarface Posters

In addition to its being completely misinterpreted by an entire generation of rappers, Brian de Palma's Scarface has become a mainstay in modern cultural unconscious largely thanks to the staying power of its iconic poster. You might recognize it from every dorm room you've ever been in. You know, it's the black and white one sandwich between the Bobs, Dylan and Marley?

Anyway, Scarface is overrated. Had to get that off my chest. If I wanted to watch someone being an asshole for 3 hours, I'd watch the GOP debates or maybe create a loop of Gary Shapiro. It does have a pretty cool poster though.

Buzzfeed has a collection of some different takes on creating a poster for the film. It's interesting to see some other designs go up against the famous Scarface black and white. I posted some highlights after the jump, but check them all out.

Get Down with the Nazi hunters: Danger 5 heads for the airwaves.

After a near-perfect 5 part webseries run, Dario Russo's Danger 5 is gearing up for a television run in its native Australia. The World War 2-if-it-happened-in-1965 spy spoof is Russo's follow-up to his dementedly funny homage to Italian B-movies, Italian Spider Man. Which, if you haven't seen, you should probably see --> Right her.

While the full ten episode arc of Italian Spider Man was never quite able to regain the stylishly unstylish fervor of its opening episode, Danger 5: The Diamond Girls is absurdly funny throughout. It's like if Team America: World Police made babies with OSS 117 - Cario: Nest of Spies.

Hit the jump to check the latest promo for Danger 5, as well as the first episode of the webseries, Danger 5: The Diamond Girls.