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Pixar recently released a clip from La Luna, the short that will appear in front of their latest animated feature Brave, later this year. Take a look.
Is anyone else getting a Little Prince vibe off of this thing? Also, can I please live at Pixar? I won't take up much, room. I promise. I can survive on a diet of Mountain Dew and Cheetos.
What's your reaction to the La Luna clip? Leave your comments below!
Fans of MTV's seminal sketch comedy series The State might remember the name David Wain. He was one of the cast's 11 members who has since gone on to write and produce films like Wet, Hot American Summer, Role Models and the forthcoming Wanderlust.
What you might not know about Wain is that he's been producing a series of short films for My Damn Channel since 2007 called Wainy Days. The series chronicles a highly fictionalized version of Wain and his romantic pursuits. Seasons 1 - 4 have recently been collected and released as a DVD.
Its hard to rationalize the appeal of Wainy Days. If you're a fan of offbeat humor, you'll find a lot to enjoy here. Quite often, things happen for no rhyme or reason. For example, David has an odd habit of pushing people down in the street at random. No reason is given and no repercussions are ever felt but the assaults are frequent (I assume) because it's funny to watch people fall down.
David also discusses his relationship problems with his friends at the sweatshop where he works. Why does David work at a sweatshop? Again, no reason is given except perhaps to play on the juxtaposition of having a bunch of educated white people working in a sweatshop.
Probably the better reason to watch Wainy Days is because it's practically an alt-comedy smorgasbord that is sure to delight the most entrenched comedy nerd.
Guest stars of the series include Elizabeth Banks, Lake Bell, Julie Bowen, Saffron Burrows, Rob Corddry, Rashida Jones, Megan Mullally, Nick Offerman, Amanda Peet, Elizabeth Reaser, Paul Rudd and Jason Sudeikis. You'd be hard pressed not to find at least ONE episode featuring a comedy star acting beyond ridiculous just for the hell of it.
The early episodes are a little rough. The transfer looks somewhat pixelated, kind of like the uploaded it the DVD straight from 2007. Also, there's a good chance that the xylophone-infused theme song for the series will drive you insane before you make it though the second season. So a marathon session is not advised.
However, the films are short - about five minutes a piece - easily digestible and very enjoyable. You don't really have to keep track of what happens from a narrative stand point between episodes. It's pretty much small, concentrated doses of silliness. A welcome reprieve from an otherwise hectic life. Watching the different episodes, you begin to understand very quickly why the series did so well online.
Smartly, Wain interrupts episodes with snippets from a Hefner-esque "Pajama Party" that features several of the guest stars featured in the series. Extras include outtakes from each episode, a live script reading, never-before-scene shorts and audio commentaries.
Wainy Days might be niche entertainment, but it's light and easily accessible. If you're looking for in-roads to the "comedy nerd" scene, Wainy Days is a good place to start.
Wainy Days is available now and can be purchased through Amazon.
On paper, there doesn't sound like there's much substance to Goon. Sean Williams Scott plays a bit of a meat head who feels like an outsider in his family of intellectuals. He ends up becoming an enforcer for a minor league hockey team and finds success redemption.
But there's something about Scott that I like when he's playing the underdog. I certainly find him much more layered an interesting than when he's playing a character with a chip on his shoulder like Stiffler from the American Pie franchise. Certainly I enjoy him much more than that action-hero phase he went through a couple of years ago.
I think there's a reason that Scott continues to find steady work while the rest of his American Pie contemporaries have languished (paging Jason Biggs!) and it's because there is depth to him as an individual and as a performer.
It's said that celebrities are just playing a larger version of themselves. Think about Tom Cruise or Will Smith. I think Scott has the potential to be that if he wants to. He just needs to figure out a way to let audiences see more of who he is.
Watch the trailer for Goon and tell me if you agree.
(No Ratings Yet)It's been a couple of days since it hit the web, but I feel like we should take a moment or two to talk about the new trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man.
I've been a little bit reluctant to post the trailer only because I'm still trying to wrap my mind around Sony's decision to relaunch the franchise five years after Spider-Man 3 left theaters.
I think the talent they have lined up for this thing looks phenomenal - particularly Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker. I think he has the right gangly build for Spider-Man. Much moreso than Tobey Maguire. But I feel like the foundation of the movie is kind of cynical.
It can't be bright and cartoonish like Sam Raimi's films, so this version has to be dark and gritty instead. Raimi's film were pretty much straight up superhero action films. Marc Webb's version has to have mystery and angst.
The one thing I DO like about the trailer is that they seem to have captured Spider-Man's trademark wit a little better than Raimi's films. The scene with him in the backseat of the car hits exactly the right tone.
But overall, I'm still a little skeptical of the film. I want the film to be fun. Right now, that's not what they're communicating. This movie couldn't be more desperate for legitimacy if it wore a sign that said "SERIOUS FILM" around it's neck.
What's your reaction to this new trailer? Leave your comments below!
(No Ratings Yet)If you travel in geek circles, the big news today was that Marvel aired the latest trailer for The Avengers during some... sporting event last night? Football? I don't keep up on these things.
Let's focus our attention on what really matters.
This trailer is the extended online edition which is somehow 30 seconds longer than what aired last night without telling us too much more about the movie.
I'd say Marvel is doing a pretty good job of whipping up a nerd frenzy. They're showing us just enough without giving away too much. With each additional release, they show a little more, but they don't go overboard. Clearly they know that the Hulk is their ace in the hole and they've done a good job obscuring him up to this point.
GeekTyrant did an excellent job of dissecting the trailer and grabbing stills - a few of which I'm going to share here. But you should really check out their article for more details.
Here's our best look at the Hulk so far.
And because you all know what a huge Iron Man geek I am, here are the two stills that got my heart racing.
Suiting up...
...and would you look at that? I see some additional back thrusters and shoulder-mounted weaponry in that still! Looks like Iron Man got an upgrade!
Yeah, I know, I'm hopeless.
What's your reaction to this trailer? Leave your comments below!
Call me cynical, but the trailer for Lockout looks a lot like a parody of an action movie that would be situated inside some kind of comedy film. How could you NOT think that with delicious dialog like "There's only one man who can get her out." "Who?" "Snow." "He's the best there is... but he's a loose cannon."
Nevermind that is pretty much a straight rip-off of Escape from New York.
Oh, well. I suppose kids today won't figure that out.
Lockout stars Maggie Grace, Peter Stormare, and Guy Pearce. It opens April 20th.
(No Ratings Yet)Earlier this week I was exposed to the trailer for the forthcoming romantic comedy Friends With Kids. I haven't posted it until now because I've kind of confused by it.
On the one hand, the movie is stuffed to the gills with actors I love including Kristen Wiig, Adam Scott, Maya Rudolph, Jon Hamm and Chris O'Dowd. But the trailer positively reeks of plot contrivances and romantic comedy tropes that usually only attract the likes of Katherine Heigl.
In other words, it looks dumb and I think I kind of hate it?
Watch for yourself.
Truthfully, I don't even think you need to see the movie now. The trailer pretty much gave it all away.
Also, what the hell happened to Jennifer Westfeldt? She was an adorable chipmunk in Kissing Jessica Stein. Now she looks like she's been wrapped in plastic.
What's your reaction to the Friends With Kids trailer? Leave your comments below!
(No Ratings Yet)Feeling a little low on twee? Then polish up your Polaroid cameras, hipsters. The trailer for Wes Anderson's latest - Moonrise Kingdom - just hit the web.
The movie hits theaters on May 25 and is Anderson's first live-action film 5 years.
Nearly every frame of this trailer looks like a postcard from some imaginary era. I'm down for it. What's your reaction? Leave your comments below!
(No Ratings Yet)Artist Viktor Hertz recently made a few additions to his "Honest Logo" series including this one.
As long as we're talking about honesty, I honestly wish I had thought of this first.
Check out all of Viktor's "Honest Logos" here.
Today a still from Sylvester Stallone's forthcoming Bullet to the Head was released and I'm kind of unsure how I feel about it.
Please keep in mind that this man is 65 years-old. He's in phenomenal shape, don't get me wrong. I'm jealous and humbled as any man with a rotting gut full of Cheetos can be. But I'm not sure if Stallone's physique is something we should be celebrating or not.
He's all veins and sinew. He looks like Iggy Pop, or something - only less leathery and more plasticized. He looks like he was wrapped in cellophane and spent about 4 hours in a steam room before taking that picture.
Maybe I'd be a little more impressed with how Stallone looks if I didn't know he was busted for importing steroids into Australia a few years ago.
For those curious, Stallone plays a New Orleans hitman who teams up with a cop played by Jason Statham to take down a mutual enemy. The film comes out April of next year.
