Reviews

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Episode 142 – Prometheus

In this episode of Moviewallas we are joined by U-T San Diego movie critic, Alison Gang, to discuss one of the most highly anticipated movies of the year – Prometheus. Does Ridley Scott’s return to sci-fi and the “Alien” universe deliver?

Prometheus

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Episode 141 – MIB3 / Chernobyl Diaries

In this episode of Moviewallas, we discuss MIB3 and Chernobyl Diaries.

 

MIB3 / Chernobyl Diaries

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Episode 140 – Battleship / The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel / Dark Shadows

In this episode of Moviewallas we talk about:

  

Battleship / The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel / Dark Shadows

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Warner Bros. movie apps. Is this the future of movie distribution?

Warner Bros today announced a couple of iPhone/iPad apps featuring two of my personal favorite movies in recent years.  The Dark Knight and Inception.  The apps purport to offer a more comprehensive movie experience than is possible on other platforms such as DVD or Blu-ray, including interactive games, exclusive soundtracks, trivia and other related content.

Each app relates to one movie and is available as a free download, although many of the features (including the full length movie) need to be unlocked through a $9.99 purchase.  I tested the Dark Knight app this evening and went through some of the freebies.  The experience was mixed with some interesting and reasonably immersive elements, including a fun trivia game with clips from the movie.  The app is not without a few glitches including reports of jittery streaming, although I did not experience this personally.

It’s frustrating to have purchased the Dark Knight on physical media and have to shell out another ten bucks to get the most out of the app.  A slightly lower price point might be more palatable, or at least a way of providing a discount to those who purchased the movie on DVD/Blu-ray.  I would also prefer not to have a single app per movie – my iPhone is already cluttered up with icons.

This isn’t going to work with every movie.  There’s a certain fanboy-ishness about this, as Warner seems to have tacitly acknowledged with the selection of the initial two movies, The Dark Knight and Inception. Furthermore, the appeal may not be universal given that this kind of thing lends itself more to the type of movie fan who just can’t get enough of a movie.  For example, I don’t see the King’s Speech having the same appeal as an app.

So, is this the way of the future?  Well, it’s hard to say.  While I applaud the effort of the studios in giving us yet another way to consume digital content, a lot of what is here could be done with a Blu-ray disc.  It would also be nice to be able to transfer a purchased movie to another device e.g. my computer or AppleTV to watch on the big screen.  In short, the argument needs to be much more compelling before I give up my current preference of DVD/Blu-ray/Digital Copy combo packs.

It’s an interesting experiment.  Expect to see more innovations as the studios look into different distribution models as well as opportunities to increase revenue potential from movie releases.

Were The Golden Globes Worth Watching?

So what did you think of last night’s “Globes” telecast? I was mildly entertained at best and much as I was excited to see if moviewallas had got it right throughout the year with respect to what we thought were good performances and films, I feel like most of the day and the day following was/is being taken up not by the show victors themselves but rather by the before and aftermath.

picture of globes

It seems like the effort of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) to recognize excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign has turned into the rather marginal part of the day vs. a plethora of shows that have sprung up around it, “Live from the red carpet” “Live form the red carpet pre-show” “After show party” and today the day following is even worse; “Fashion Police” “E! News” “ Access Hollywood”, “The Today Show” amongst others. Don’t get me wrong, I am as celebrity obsessed as the next guy but really, do we need this much coverage? Good job it’s MLK day today and I get to sit on the couch all day with the remote controlled taped to my hand but how many more times can I watch Ricky Gervais give another cringe worthy introduction or Angelina Jolie reapply her lip gloss whilst draping herself over Mr. Pitt? Of course I could get up and switch the TV off but I find myself paralyzed and mesmerized by images of women in beautiful gowns and handsome actors in well-pressed tuxedos and I feel like the world will end if I can’t figure out where to buy the knock off version of the Marchesa gown worn by Amy Adams already available online – I mean have knock off factories on the other side of the world been working all through the night?

Well, on to the actual show now (given I have just learned that the proximity of your breasts in your cleavage can make you look older or younger – thanks “Access Hollywood”). For the most part, the show was adequate apart from Ricky Gervais (and I usually LOVE Ricky and sarcasm); why do we even need a host HFPA – although I have a strong feeling that there will be no host next year especially not Mr. Gervais. I was so pleased to see that some moviewalla faves were honored (unanimous loves for the gang were “The Kids are All Right”, “The Social Network” “The King’s Speech”, “Toy Story 3”, Natalie Portman in “The Black Swan” and my own fave “The Fighter” (sorry Joe no love for “Inception”) and no love for “True Grit”, “127 Hours” or even “Fair Game” which didn’t even get a fair nomination! Loved that the Cecile B Deville award went to Bobby DeNiro and loved Matt Damon’s intro speech (maybe he could host next year?) however, I was surprised that there weren’t more musical acts in between the awards.  For a full list of winners and nominees, go to www.goldenglobes.org/nominations/

So award season is truly underway and if you’re like me and can’t wait for the next set of who’s going to wear what, the complete timetable is below.

Award

Date

The 36th annual People’s Choice Awards

January 5, 2011

The 68th annual Golden Globe

January 16, 2011

The 15th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards

January 30, 2011

The 53rd annual Grammy Awards

February 13, 2011

The 83rd annual Academy Awards (Oscars)

Feb. 27, 2011

The 62nd annual Emmy Awards

August 29, 2010

Finally, you may be asking about the correlation between the Globes and the Oscars; not much actually given none of the 88 voting members of the HFPA overlap with the nearly 6,000 Academy members who vote for the Oscars. In addition, the deadline for the first round of Academy Award voting was Jan. 14, so whatever transpires at the Globes can’t really sway how the Academy votes for it’s nominees, who are due to be announced on Jan. 25 – well that’s the theory anyway. However, when it comes to the winners, that’s another story since many nominees often get nods for both awards and given the Globes have such high visibility, it’s hard for Oscar voters not to be influenced by the Globes’ outcome when choosing their prizewinners weeks later.

Listen shortly for a moviewallas Oscars prediction show