Just More Proof On Exactly Why Zack Snyder Is One Of My Favorite People In Film And Why Joel Silver Sucks Ass...

Zack Snyder has been on my radar since I walked into the theater and plopped down my cash in the hopes of a mildly entertaining remake of George Romero's classic film Dawn of the Dead. Not only did I get that... I got way more! It was perfectly cast and extremely well shot, and basically started the whole 'zombies can move fast' sub genre. He followed that up with 300, which so blurred the lines of the 'Comics to Film' genre that at times during the movie I literally felt as if I was reading Frank Miller's classic comic panel for panel up on the big screen. After that, the kid could do no wrong in my eyes. Then it was announced that he would be heading up the big screen adaption of Watchmen. The Internet almost imploded in on its self, as an adaption of Watchmen had been kicked around for years and had names like Terry Gilliam as director and Joel Silver as a producer attached at various points. They were going to give this grail of a franchise to a nubie with two films under his belt? This seemed like a possible problem in the making. But to be honest, I was confident everything would work out A-OK. In my opinion I was more than correct...

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Roger Ebert: 1942 - 2013

I have loved movies for as long as I can remember. My dad made sure to share tons of films with me as a kid... no genre was safe, and he made sure to mix in early 80s contemporary movies like Q the Winged Serpent and Friday the 13th as well as classics like the Pink Panther films and anything with Audrey Hepburn. I have a ton of great film memories from when I was a kid... but one of my earliest memories was watching At The Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert.

Please read more of this story after the jump...

'The Return of Mr. Plinkett' - Red Letter Media Takes On The Orginal Star Wars

Mr. Plinkett and the gang over at Red Letter Media became quite famous (or should I say infamous) for their scalding critiques of the three Star Wars prequels. Their diatribes are the blueprint for all Internet complaint videos and are legendary when it comes to geek culture. I always wondered why people love to bash new inclinations of old franchises (the Prequels, Prometheus, Wolverine Origins, etc) while revering the old material as if it were perfect. How come these guys don't pick apart the classics like they do the new films? Maybe because they don't want to admit that you can find fault in just about anything if you look hard enough. Well, Mr. Plinkett has decided to do just that, albeit in a bit of a different fashion. Instead of blasting every frame by frame VIDEO of the original Star Wars in a similar fashion that he did the prequels, Plinkett has created an audio track to accompany the original film. It is 2 hours long and from what I have read over at /Film is a bit easier on the criticism (not surprising there), but my interest is definitely piqued and I will eventually sync this up with the film to see Plinkett's thoughts. I would like them to go old school RLM and do a full on video for the first three SW films though. My guess is they won't because they will then lose credibility when they don't blast silly things like the Ewoks and the most deadly bounty hunter in the world dying via trip and fall.... but that is just my opinion. Check out the embedded audio tack after the jump....

In Defense Of Sucker Punch...

Ok... so I saw Sucker Punch, Zach Snyder's latest cinematic opus, over this past weekend. Ever since it came out on Thursday @ midnight, geek websites across the net have been running stories about it. I wanted to avoid all of them at all cost until I had seen the film myself, so I HAD to see it on Sunday because I could not continue to ignore some of my favorite sites for to long. I wanted to hear what they had to say... but wanted to experience it myself first.

Let me start off by saying I have been waiting on this one for quite a bit. Ever since I saw the first shots of Emily Browning and her gang of gorgeous misfits fighting dragons & nazi zombies. How could this be bad. Short skirts, knee highs, boobs, guns, swords, and villains galore. This seemed to be the makings of something that I not only wanted to see, I needed to see it.

***Please click Read more below to see more of my defense of Sucker Punch***

Roger Ebert Is On To Something Here

Roger Ebert is one of the greatest film critics of all time. While I might not always agree with his analysis of every film (he really hates horror movies... for now good reason), I respect him immensely. Recently he weighed in on the necessity to reform film ratings and the MPAA, the board that rates all of the movies that get released. Since things have changed so much in our world over the last 40 years, why doesn't the ratings of the films we watch change with the times. There have been many controversial ratings handed out lately, but the recent R rating that the film The Kings Speech has gotten due to language has brought the issue to the forefront. The movie features a particular sequence that drops the F bomb quite a few times... but that hardly seems like an R rated offense now-a-days. On the flip side, 2012 features the end of the world, billions of people dying, and tons of destruction & chaos... yet received a PG-13!!! I, like Ebert, feel that this is crazy. So Ebert calls for reform... and the MPAA need to listen:

 Perhaps only three categories are needed: “G,” for young audiences, “T” for teenagers, and “A” for adults. These categories would be not be keyed to specific content but would reflect the board’s considered advice about a film’s gestalt and intended audience. At a time when literally any content can find its way into most American homes, what’s the point of singling out theatrical films? It’s time to admit we’ve lost our innocence.

This man is one of the greatest voices to ever speak on film. The guy is the only film critic to ever win a Pulitzer Prize. He continues to review films despite the fact that he lost his ability to talk after complications from cancer surgery. Actually, his productivity has INCREASED since he lost his health. If he calls for change, then people should listen up. The three tiered rating system would still offer structure and guidelines, but wouldn't be muddled down with all the other stuff. Lets hope they pay some attention. You can follow Ebert on his blog by clicking here and read his whole story that he wrote on the MPAA for The Wall Street Journal by clicking here.