Category: Movies

Coffee Talk #171: M. Night Shyamalan Exposed

I am thoroughly enjoying the reviews for The Last Airbender. I love that M. Night Shyamalan is getting called out for some shoddy and expensive work. I’ve always resented him a bit (I’ll explain shortly). At best, I thought he was a one-trick pony with good directing skills and poor writing skills (which makes him Bizarro Kevin Smith). At worst, I thought he was an overrated hack. So yeah, I’m enjoying the skewering he’s getting for ruining Avatar.

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, MLB all-star snubs, the best fireworks you saw last night, or Alton Brown’s grilling secrets, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

I am thoroughly enjoying the reviews for The Last Airbender. I love that M. Night Shyamalan is getting called out for some shoddy and expensive work. I’ve always resented him a bit (I’ll explain shortly). At best, I thought he was a one-trick pony with good directing skills and poor writing skills (which makes him Bizarro Kevin Smith). At worst, I thought he was an overrated hack. So yeah, I’m enjoying the skewering he’s getting for ruining Avatar.

You see, I had to like Shyamalan. One of my best friends and former roommates, Steve, is Indian-American. I championed famous Indian-American celebs on his behalf (all three of them) and he championed famous Filipino-Americans on mine (all four of them). For a while, Shyamalan was a press darling — not liking him would’ve broken this sacred covenant Steve and I had. Besides, I enjoyed Unbreakable.

The good news is that the rise of Aziz Ansari has made it okay to dislike Shyamalan. I’m pretty sure that an up-and-coming comedian that’s cool and edgy allows me to knock off a hack film writer. I’ll have to check with Steve. Anyway, let me know what you think of M. Night Shyamalan’s work. Are you fan? Do you think he’s overrated? Are you pissed that he’s butchered Avatar: The Last Airbender?

LEGO Harry Potter Collector’s Edition Behind-the-Scenes Video

Just in case you didn’t buy the collector’s edition of LEGO Harry Potter, here’s one of the behind-the-scenes videos from the set. It’s a cute clip that contains several moments of the cast goofing off while making the first four movies. It’s kind of crazy that these kids have been working on these movies for a decade…and that Hermione has gotten really hot.

Anyway, it’s a fun video for you Harry Potter nerds (like me!) out there.

Will Pron Usher in the Age of HTML5?

[Warning: This story contains an image of adult actresses in bras and panties — possibly NSFW.] Hundreds of companies and millions of consumers are waiting for the Internet to exploit the advantages of HTML5. A huge, but relatively undiscussed factor, in phasing out Adobe Flash and adopting HTML5 is the adult entertainment industry. Let’s face it, for millions of people the Internet is for porn. At least one adult movie publisher can’t wait for HTML5 to proliferate. In an interview with Conceivably Tech, Digital Playground founder and director Ali Joone said:

HTML 5 is the future. We are waiting for browsers to catch up. As soon as they are ready, we will move everything to HTML 5.

Mobile browsers run HTML 5 very well. Flash brings everything to a crawl and has an impact on battery life. With HTML 5, there is no reason to show our content in Flash.

A lot of people believe that Blu-Ray succeeded over HD-DVD because of gamers and adult videos. Perhaps the war for Internet video will be determined by similar factors. Do you think the adult entertainment industry will spell the end of Adobe Flash? Will adult movie directors and actresses band together to push HTML5? Perhaps I should take a trip to the Valley and do some investigative journalism….

Source via Slashdot

Jeri Ryan Explains the Mortal Kombat YouTube “Trailer”

Actress Jeri Ryan tweeted a few explanations regarding the excellent Mortal Kombat movie trailer floating around the Internet. The woman formerly known as Seven of Nine wrote:

Okay, so… Mortal Kombat.

It’s not a game trailer. Actually was made for the director to sell WB on his vision for a reimagined MK film.

More MK FAQs: I did it as a favor to a friend. No idea yet what WB’s reaction to it was. And I’m not sure how you can contact WB…

…(cont.) to push them to make it. But you guys are resourceful…! ;-)

Ryan later urged fans to send tweets to @wbpictures to encourage them to make the movie. And yes, one of the reasons I posted this story was so I could put up a sexy picture of Jeri Ryan.

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Mortal Kombat Reboot With Michael Jai White and Jeri Ryan

Here’s a very cool clip of what appears to be a rated-R Mortal Kombat movie starring Michael Jai White (Tyson, Spawn) and Jeri Ryan (Star Trek: Voyager). It’s violent, dark, and bloody — much different than the other Mortal Kombat movies. However, it also has some changes that purists might not dig. Baraka and Reptile are no longer creatures from other races; instead one is a psycho doctor and the other is a psycho mutant.

The video has White portraying Jackson “Jax” Briggs, narrating a bunch of plot points to an incarcerated ninja (that loves the color yellow and impaling his opponents). Johnny Cage is shown getting his ass kicked and eventually decapitated. Jeri Ryan — who is still sexy for her age — walks in as Sonja Blade. The two convince the ninja to aid them by using his nemesis Sub-Zero as bait.

Despite the changes, I love the direction this movie is going in. Check out the clip and let me know what you think of it. Are you down with a dark Mortal Kombat without Robin Shou’s glorious hair?

Dragon Age Anime Movie Coming in 2011

FUNimation has announced that it is partnering with BioWare and Electronic Arts for a Dragon Age anime movie. FUNimation is one of the largest anime companies in America, responsible for the North American releases of Dragon Ball Z, One Piece, Yu Yu Hakusho, and more. Here are more details from the press release:

Production of the Dragon Age anime movie is slated to begin this month with a home video release in 2011. Executive producing the film are BioWare’s Executive Producer Mark Darrah and Creative Director Mike Laidlaw, as well as FUNimation’s president and CEO Gen Fukunaga and Director of Original Entertainment Chris Moujaes.

As a huge Dragon Age mark, of course I’m excited for this. I’m happy that Darrah and Laidlaw are involved. I wonder if FUNimation will go with voice actors from the game or anime veterans. Any of you interested in this movie?

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Here’s Captain America’s Movie Look!

Ain’t it Cool News has several illustrations of the Captain America costume that will be used in the upcoming movie starring The Human Torch Chris Evans. Obviously this look will be used in the related Captain American videogames as well. Check out the images and let’s discuss it! Do you miss the wings? Do you prefer this Ultimates looks? Or do you like the classic looks from the original comics?

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