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Remember The Time (Article) - 2/8/2007 5:30:02 PM

Thanks, nadia. Although I don't own a PSP and I don't think I want one bad enough just to play one game. But if it comes out for PSP, maybe and hopefully Konami will release it for other systems. The only version I've ever played was the SNES version, which wasn't that great and many say it was something of a hatchet job of the original game. One other thing, regarding the price of Virtual Console games, it's kind of ironic that eight dollars can be seen as pricey considering how much these games cost back when they were first released. I find that video games are possibly fastest evolving medium right now and it's remarkable how fast older games tend to become outdated.

Remember The Time (Article) - 2/8/2007 8:46:02 AM

Yikes. I still love this game, but maybe that's nostalgia. It did have some of the best music for any of the "Castlevania" games. Regarding the controls, they were a big step up from previous "Castlevania" titles, where the character tended to feel like he was moving in tar, and would drop like an anvil after jumping. Perhaps when taken in that context, the game could come across better. I just wish Virtual Console would release "Dracula X: The Rondo of Blood." I've never been able to play that game and I've heard time and time again that it's fantastic.

"Ghost Rider" not being screened (Article) - 2/8/2007 5:40:07 AM

That's too bad. The advertising has been pretty awful, but the same could be said for a lot of movies. I've seen good movies that have had terrible trailers and TV spots, and I'm hoping that's the case with "Ghost Rider." Frankly, I think the majority of ads for movies only focus on the worst and stupidest aspects of the movie they're selling, often giving a poor impression of the actual film. I'll reserve final judgment for when I actually see the film, however I may not be seeing it if the reviews are negative, what there are of them. When I was fourteen, I'd probably have been pretty excited for a "Ghost Rider" movie, and in some ways I still am, or would be if I thought this movie would be any good. The thing is, the GR comics are something I look back on and wonder what I really saw in them in the first place. In all fairness, they weren't up there with the best of Marvel's stories, which is the nice way of putting it. The best time for a "Ghost Rider" movie would have probably been in the early to mid '90s (if not the '70s, when the original comic was published). Still, I'm hoping this will at least be fun, if nothing else. But with this news, not to mention the fact that Whedon lost "Wonder Woman" and Goyer lost "The Flash," it looks like we may be seeing fewer and fewer worthwhile comic book adaptations. I hope I'm wrong.

Tim Hill to direct "Alvin and the Chipmunks"? (Article) - 1/25/2007 10:46:16 PM

ponyboy, I really wish you had paid closer attention to what I wrote. I never said I wanted the filmmakers to make this movie like the '80s version. If anything, that's exactly the kind of thing I want the filmmakers to avoid. Regarding the '80s show, my exact quote was, "that show completely sucked the life and fun out of these characters." I said that I wanted the filmmakers to draw inspiration from the '60s "The Alvin Show," not the terrible "Alvin and the Chipmunks" from the '80s. My point is that they probably are going to go in a similar direction as the '80s cartoon, blatantly updating for the sake of doing so, having the characters sing modern top 40 hits, and so on. Maybe they won't. Maybe they'll actually be able to tap into what made these characters fun in the first place, but experience says otherwise. I realize that I don't have to see the movie, but it's a lot more difficult to avoid the advertising. Whenever I'm trying to watch a TV show, ads for this movie will come up. Whenever I'm surfing the internet, ads will come up. Whenever I go to see a movie, trailers will come up. I remember when "Daddy Day Care" was near release. It was ad after ad of the same bathroom jokes. I remember how I couldn't wait for that movie to hit theatres so it could bomb (it sadly didn't) and get its stupid commercials off my TV screen, my computer screen, and just about anywhere else they were advertising it. You asked if this was worth complaining about, but actually it kind of is. If more people complained about this kind of thing, then maybe the people responsible would eventually have to reevaluate their approach to the material. It's better than just accepting it as inevitable. But hey, if they can actually put together a decent movie out of this (it's rare, but it has happened) then I'll gladly shut my mouth and quit my bitchin'. On another note, it's interesting and ironic how many times people say, "Hollywood has run out of ideas," whenever there's an announcement of another movie based on a TV show, comic book, video game, and so on, considering how unoriginal and uniform it is to say "Hollywood has run out of ideas." It's like a hive mind. Hollywood is loaded with original ideas. I'm sure they have stacks of original screenplays that they could fill Fort Knox with. But Hollywood understands that "original" does not mean "marketable." It's also interesting that there are people who think "Alvin and the Chipmunks" is a bad idea while "Captain Planet" and "Thundercats" are good ideas, seeing as "Alvin" actually had a good version of itself at one time, while "Captain Planet" et al were always dreck. It should also be noted that "original" ideas are rarely, if ever, that. Just about every idea comes from somewhere. But if people are really going to continue making this same complaint over and over again, then stop seeing movies like "Pirates of the Caribbean," or "Batman Begins," or "Harry Potter." Stop seeing any movie that's based on any book, or TV show, or comic strip, or theme park attraction, or game show, or whatever.

Tim Hill to direct "Alvin and the Chipmunks"? (Article) - 1/25/2007 8:19:54 AM

I grew up on the '80s version of "Alvin and the Chipmunks," but don't let that stop me from saying that that show completely sucked the life and fun out of these characters. If a movie really must be made, then I hope that the filmmakers draw inspiration from "The Alvin Show" and the early songs. I couldn't believe it when I found clips of "The Alvin Show" on YouTube. It amazed me that there was, once upon a time, actually a good, entertaining version of "Alvin and the Chipmunks." Of course, the movie will probably have to update the Chipmunks and include all kinds of attention-begging references to the internet, cell phones, and mp3 players. And I'm sure Alvin and the gang are going to sing their squeaky-voiced versions of Justin Timberlake or Eminem songs. Maybe the Chipettes will show up and sing Brittney Spears or Gwen Stephani songs. And I'm sure that we'll be bombarded by ad after ad for this thing, constantly being assaulted by bathroom jokes, product placement, and bad one-liners. Truly, Hollywood has entered its third Golden Age.

Elfman to Score Spider-Man 3? (Article) - 12/25/2006 3:50:32 AM

Wait, I thought Sam Raimi and Danny Elfman had a falling out over the direction of the music. Sam and Danny were having dinner over at Dannyâ€™s house and Sam disagreed with Danny about his musical style for the movie and Danny responded with something like, â€œBoth you and yoâ€™ mama can bend down and kiss my ass!â€ So Sam responded by kicking Dannyâ€™s dinner table over and saying, â€œBring it, bitch!â€ This naturally led to a big fistfight, which ended when Sam gave Danny an open-handed chop to his Adamâ€™s apple. The chop dislodged a collarbone and Danny had to wear a neck brace. Afterward, the two were no longer on speaking terms. At least thatâ€™s what Bob down the street told me, but I wouldnâ€™t know, as I wasnâ€™t there that day. So I guess they worked things out, huh?

THE SHADOW Knows Raimi & Columbia (Article) - 12/11/2006 11:41:08 PM

Itâ€™s been a long time since I saw the Russell Mulcahy movie, so I canâ€™t say as to how good or bad it actually was. But two things I remember being glad of was that it was set in the â€˜30s instead of being modernized and the movieâ€™s Shadow actually looked pretty much exactly like the original Shadow, like he walked right out of the pulp magazines. Those are two things that I remember that movie getting right and I hope the new movie does the same in that regard. It would be nice if theyâ€™d go into the history of the Shadow, go into the whole Kent Allard backstory and flesh out the reasons why Kent Allard decided to masquerade as Lamont Cranston and eventually become the Shadow, as well as the methods he employs and the trial and error of doing this. That said, I donâ€™t believe that the movie has to be that way. â€œSpider-Man 2â€ showed us how well a talented filmmaker like Raimi can handle interesting, iconic characters when given a chance. Iâ€™m not going to pretend like I can tell Sam Raimi how to do his job, seeing as he doesnâ€™t come to my house and tell me how to eat junk food (although it would be rather surreal if he did). Of course itâ€™s ironic that both â€œSpider-Man 2â€ and Mulcahyâ€™s â€œThe Shadowâ€ utilized the â€œdoomsday deviceâ€ plot that a lot of superhero movies employ. Roger Ebert had a point when he said something in the area of, â€œItâ€™s not what a movie is about, but how itâ€™s about it.â€ Itâ€™s almost like a film school exercise: â€œMake a movie with about an iconic superhero. Delve into the father/son relationship. Involve a doomsday device and a race against time at the end.â€ Whatâ€™s interesting is how some of these movies have utilized these plot devices and have played with and reinvented the formulas enough to make them seem almost new. Still though, itâ€™s time to move past this and I hope that Raimiâ€™s â€œThe Shadowâ€ does that. Heâ€™s a fascinating character and Iâ€™d love to see his story told in a truly great movie. Hereâ€™s hoping.

Jackie Chan injures chest filming "Rush Hour 3" (Article) - 12/6/2006 12:47:20 AM

I hope it doesn't turn out to be serious. He injures himself a lot in these movies, as evidenced by the outtakes at the end of his films. We all know how tough he is. I wish him the best.

Hans Zimmer: On Scoring The Simpsons (Article) - 11/6/2006 6:37:18 PM

Thatâ€™s one of Foxâ€™s (many) problems as a network. They donâ€™t know when enough is enough. They drag their popular shows on and on to the point where theyâ€™re no longer interesting and then they drag them on some more. But the problem with shows like â€œThe Simpsonsâ€ I think go beyond the writers running out of ideas. It feels as though the show is deliberately presented as is for some reason. Whenever Fox gets their hands on a good show (rare, but it does happen) they almost always find a way to ruin it. The only Fox show that I still like is â€œKing of the Hill.â€ It was supposed to be cancelled last season, but ratings were good so itâ€™s coming back. Itâ€™ll probably be ruined too. I remember watching an interview with George Carlin and he talked about how miserable an experience it was to do a sitcom for Fox. He mentioned how the writers would say things to him like, â€œYou donâ€™t know anything about sitcom writing,â€ and, â€œYou donâ€™t know anything about comedy,â€ and would generally dismiss him when he came up with ideas for the show. Imagine some hack sitcom writer telling George Carlin that he knows nothing about comedy. But according to George, it happened. I remember that show, too. From what I saw of it, it was terrible. I honestly wish someone would make a documentary or write a book about Foxâ€™s process with their shows. Iâ€™d like to honestly see how networks like Fox make their broadcasting decisions and why.

Hans Zimmer: On Scoring The Simpsons (Article) - 11/6/2006 1:25:41 AM

I really wish they had gone to Brad Bird and begged him to direct this. As it is, the show is in the proverbial dumpster right now, mostly focusing on obnoxious behavior and poorly rehashed gags to be funny. Iâ€™d feel a lot better about this movie if Matt Groening were to come out and say something like, â€œThe reason weâ€™re doing this movie is because Fox ruined the TV show. We had all kinds of great ideas and scripts that the suits at Fox took away from us and rewrote into the trash you now see on TV. It was a gradual transformation, but now the show is pretty terrible. Thatâ€™s why I wouldnâ€™t sell the rights to â€˜Futuramaâ€™ to them; I knew theyâ€™d ruin it too. A movie will give us the freedom to actually give the few forgiving fans we have left the kind of comedy we used to do back when â€˜The Simpsonsâ€™ was still on the cutting edge. Anyone remember that far back?â€ Of course, I have no idea if Groening feels that way or not. Even if he did, heâ€™d never say so. For all I know, he loves where the show is now and the movie will be just as bad. I suppose thereâ€™s a chance this movie might turn out to be good, but probably in an amusing but forgettable kind of way at best. And thatâ€™s if weâ€™re really lucky.


Date Joined: October 10, 2006