The Movie Corner

Archive for December, 2008

The Tintin character is aknowledged to have sold over 200 million albums world-wide but little is known about him in North America now that a Tintin movie has been announced it is good time to explore the Tintin character? Tintin is a young Belgian reporter who through heroic action solves mysteries that are presented at the start of each comic book. Tintin was first introduced to the world in Tintin in the Land of the Soviets. Tintin was first introduced to the world in a Belgium paper in 1929-1930 by his creator George Remi.

Tintin and the Land of the Soviets was a political satire that poked fun at the Soviets claims to having a thriving economy and found an audience due to many people’s unease with the Soviet Empire. Remi himself had distrust for the Soviet Empire.

The Tintin comic series have an almost formulaic feel about it. Most of the books deal with Tintin having to solve a mystery of some kind whilst also having to write a story for his paper.

A great example of how a Tintin album works is Tintin and the Black Island. In The Black Island Tinitn sees a plane make an emergency landing and goes to try and help. Tintin goes to the pilots aid but it only results in the pilot trying to shoot him. Tintin then recovers in hospitable where he finds out that a similar plane crashed in a field in Sussex from the detectives Thompson and Thompson.

The results is Tintin trying to solve the mystery himself. The adventure thus starts leading Tintin to be accused of assault and theft of a fellow passenger on a train journey and later kidnapped and forced to jump off a cliff (saved by his dog snowy before he is made too). Tintin follows the logical path which leads to an Island off Scotland where mysterious tales of a beast that is said to kill humans resides. Tintin discovers the Island to be the hideout of forgers and cleverly captures them and holds them till the police arrive.

The reader will always see Tintin solve the mysteries put before him though some adventures are set over two books such as Destination Moon and Explorers on the Moon. The odd tings about Tintin being a news reporter is that the reader will very rarely see him hand in an article but always solve the mystery in front of him. Most Tintin books will finish with the reader witnessing our hero recieving a hero’s reception with his pals Snowy and Captain Haddock.

Tintin is a heroic young man but lacks the color of many of the other characters that appear in the comic books. He shows more or less neutral attitudes that make him understandable and easier to identify with for the target audience.

On the release of the first Tintin movie in 2010 of a Tintin move trilogy should see Tintin becoming even more popular. The Tintin movie will be directed by Steven Spielberg andto find out more please visit the website Le Tintin Movie.

Almost everyone I know who has studied martial arts got a start watching kung fu films. The most obvious and most classic ones are the martial arts movies done by the late Bruce Lee. He really set a new standard in kung fu films. He just know how to make things faster, more dramatic, and more involved than ever before. His films are excellent and interesting in plot as well.

They are pioneer in this area and we often forget that. Many people get caught up in the bad translations and cheesy dialog, not noticing the great fight scenes. Now, the modern Chinese kung fu film making takes a big step forward. The movies of people like Chow Yun Fat, Jet Li, and Jackie Chan have set a whole news level of excellence standard for martial arts fight scenes. They seamlessly combined special effects, brilliant choreography, and humorous antics into one seamless whole.

Of course, There are plenty of other martial arts movies besides the kung fu films such as movies about tai chi moves. The US has been making fighting films for years. There were, of course, the Karate Kid movies. Anyone who belong to the 80s will know these. They are interesting as they have their own style. Karate is no longer interesting. In the Karate Kid movies, however, they really made it work very well.

Some of the more creative and interesting movies belong to the demostration catergory. I first saw a tai chi chuan moves demonstration video about a year ago, and since then I have been watching every single one I can get my hands on. Many of these demos are based around long, elaborate, intricate dance-like routines rather than simple fighting. All the moves have a combative purpose, but they also have a grace and beauty to them as well. The fighters shadowbox with imaginary enemies, leaping, vaulting, kicking, and punching all over the stage with grace and ease. Their moves always have alot of aerobatics and martial arts weapons displays with grunts, shouts, and shoulder rolls. All in all, it is almost every bit as dramatic as watching Jackie Chan hammer the bad guys in one of his martial arts movies. And the best is that it gives you a taste of the art that you don’t really get in the big kung fu movies, No matter how cool they are. It just feel more real and immediate.

At a time when Star Trek had been rerun so often that prints were hazy, scratched and dull, Paramount/CBS came to the conclusion that it was time to remaster the original series (TOS) by restoring the original master prints, boosting the quality of the images and re-recording the background music. Then they decided to take a further step and replace the old special effects shots with digital CGI effects.

This venture was spurred on by the appearance of High Definition DVDs in the consumer marketplace. Just a year ago (late 2007), there was an arms escalation between the two competing High-Def formats: Blu-Ray and HDDVD. Neither showed signs of being a clear winner. All that changed early this year when Warner Bros. finally committed exclusively to supporting the Blu-ray format.

The weapon that HDDVD had up its sleeve, though, was the release of the remastered series one of TOS. Toshiba, who were backing HDDVD, invested a lot of money into the Star Trek project and the release of the remastered Star Trek series was heavily advertised.

All the original series of Star Trek were recorded on film which is inherently a high-contrast, high-definition medium. It was also shot using filmatic techniques. More recent series of Star Trek such as Voyager, Deep Space Nine and Next Generation were all shot on video, an inherently low-to-medium definition, low contrast medium. As well, Next Generation especially, was filmed using a flat lighting that was in vogue at the time. The upshot is that it’s [very that any of these series will ever be released in high definition on Blu-Ray. It wouldn’t surprise me if the Original Series does make an appearance on Blu-Ray at some point in the future.

Impressions of Star Trek Remastered

To begin with, it looks gorgeous in high definition. The 4:3 aspect ratio has been kept and the images are exceedingly clean and crisp. Contrast has been boosted somewhat so images have more punch. If there is a downside, it is the common criticism levelled at high-def: too much detail is apparent! For instance on the HDDVD you can see the zippers on the cast’s shirts.

The HDDVD release was what’s called a Combo – High-Definition version on one side and standard definition on the other side (so it plays in a normal DVD player). Both sides have a good set of extras with little material being repeated.

Now the rest of this review will look at the standard definition DVD releases of the remastered series.

Earlier this year, series one of the Remastered Star Trek was made available in a standard DVD edition. in the meantime, the second series has been released and series three will be available in November. For those who already own the previously released version of the series on DVD (without remastered special effects and music), is there any reason to acquire yet another edition of Trek?

Since i grew up watching the series, getting the HDDVD version was a must. I was more interested in image quality and the show looking as clean and pristine as it did straight out of the camera in the 1960s. I have to admit to being a little dubious about the new CGI replacing old ship and other FX shots and whether they’d detract from the show. However, I was pleasantly surprised. The FX do add to the show, giving it a more immersive quality and drawing you further into each episode.

All the FX shots were created inhouse by CBS (who now own the rights to the TV series). While, for the most part, they’ve done an outstanding job, some ship FX look less realistic than others. I believe the company that created the effects for Enterprise were originally considered to create the Star Trek Remastered FX but they turned out to be too expensive and so CBS did the effects inhouse instead.

What makes the Star Trek Remastered so enjoyable is that no liberties have been taken in altering or re-imagining the episodes (for better or worse). There’s no “look at what we can do” attitude here. Instead what they’ve done is clean the show up and presented it exactly as it was originally meant to be, musical note for note, shot for shot. The musical score has been re-recorded completely, but apart from it now being crystal clear (and in 5.1 Dolby Digital) you’d never know it. Effects shots of the Enterprise have been redone with CGI, but it’s hard to tell any difference (except on rare occassions), and it now looks brilliant instead of worn out, washed out and incredibly grainy. The new CGI effects fit seamlessly amongst the original live-action footage. Remember those black matte lines, especially around ships orbiting planets? They’re gone. And Fuzzy images? They are also a thing of the past. The colors are brighter, the shadows are deeper and Star Trek has never looked so beautiful.

As I mentioned earlier, I was dubious about a version of Star Trek that replaced spacecraft models with computer generated images or tampered with the originally recorded background music. But what they’ve done here is so faithful, that there’s nothing that you can do but applaud their efforts. All the work has been carried out by people who love the series; and it shows. It’s just a pity it’s not being put to better use. Paramount has declined to broadcast this new version in high-def, even though they now have the ability and technology to do it. Combine that with how difficult they’re making it to see it on satellite and cable, and it’s hard to find a reason for bothering with it on television.

Better to beam this pristine version of one of TV’s most iconic and classic shows onto DVD at warp speed. And if you bought into HDDVD and don’t have the Remastered HDDVD, pick that one up instead. You won’t be disappointed.

Dish Network recently released new programming packages called TurboHD. These new programming packages are all hi def, removing of the SD networks. So is DISH Network Turbo HD the right for your family?

It all depends on what you want from your cable or satellite television company. Some folks want every single channel that is available. It doesn’t matter to them that 10 of them are jewelry shopping channels, or that five of the channels are public access. They just want all of the channels.

Other though, have grown tired of trying to wade through all of the junk on the cable dial, trying to find something worthwhile to watch. For consumers who have recently bought a new flat-screen TV, Turbo HD from DISH Network might be the right choice.

There are three different choices with Turbo HD from DISH Network, the Bronze, Silver, and Gold levels. All of these packages are made up of hi def channels only. Packages start at around $24.99 per month for the Bronze HD package. That programming package doesn’t include your local networks like CBS and ABC, which costs five bucks more per month.

DISH also has the Platinum package, which is an additional service to the Gold, Silver, and Bronze packages. This Platinum package is ten bucks a month, and includes seven additional HD channels such as MGM HD and Universal HD.

One sticking point with some current DISH Network subscribers is they have not been allowed to switch over to the Turbo HD packages. At this time, only new subscribers to DISH Network have been allowed to get the TurboHD only bundles. Existing customers can get TurboHD, but only as an addition to the standard package they already have.

Another item to consider is in how DISH Network is numbering the networks contained in the bundles. Take for example the TurboHD Bronze setup which includes forty-four channels, of which 24 are network channels, six are pay-per-view, and 14 are video-on-demand channels. Some would consider that plenty but many are accustomed to having quite a bit more content to choose from. One final note, none of the TurboHD levels include movie packages like HBO or Cinemax, so don’t be surprised when you have to pay more for commercial free channels like that. For more detail on these packages, check out the DISH Turbo Review.

Luhrmann's new Movie

Late 2008 will see the release of Baz Luhrmann’s long-anticpated movie: Australia. The new movie is the great hope of Australia’s tourism authorities who hope to attract tourists and even Australian migrants . Set on the eve of Japan’s bombing of Darwin in 1942, the story is about a upper-class girl (Nicole Kidman) meets rough boy (Hugh Jackman) all set against the beautiful Australian outback. The pre-release promotion has a definite nod towards Bollywood with the star’s clutched in a tight embrace, clothed, but very,very wet.

Baz Luhrmann is one of Australia’s best film makers, though hardly prolific, with his last hit, Moulin Rouge released in 2001. Nicole Kidman was a an up-and-coming star when she was featured in Moulin Rouge, now she is a A-lister. His first big movie Strictly Ballroom (1992) has been credited with the revival of interest in Latin American dance classes for a new generation.

The cast and crew spent nearly 8 months filming in the Australia Movie in Australia’s remote north with filming occurring on location in Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia’s Kimberley region. Northern Queensland’s Bowen woke up from its tropical slumber when Hollywood arrived and transformed it into 1940′s Darwin. Although some scenes were shot on Darwin’s walfves – most of Darwin’s historic buildings were leveled by the Japanese and Cyclone Tracey in the 1970′s. So Bowen had its moment of glory with almost the entire town roped in to help with the production including many locals picking up part-time work as stand-ins and extras.

Shooting of Nicole Kidman’s Faraway Downs cattle station was on a real-life station in the Kimberley’s of northern Western Australia. Although the Japanese are no longer a threat – the filming was delayed weeks when the set became a sea of mud after unseasonal rain. Rain in the Kimberley’s still means that no one travels very far.

It will be interesting to see if Australia Movie can boost the figures Australian immigrants and tourist numbers in the same way as Lord of the Rings did for New Zealand

One of the best things about modern cable and satellite television is the explosion of sports programming now available to customers across the country. Pay per view sports packages like ESPN Gameplan give the subscriber access to nearly 20 college football games every weekend.

Content is king today, and as the saying goes the networks want to bring as much sports content as possible to the customer so they can sell more advertising. Lots of new all-sports channels have popped up in the past couple of years. Included among these are Altitude Sports, which carries NBA Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche games, and also the Big Ten Network and the mtn, the network of the Mountain West conference.

Sure these channels are good for people in certain regions of the country, but disputes between the providers of content and cable networks that deliver the content have brought trouble at times to the customer. Consider what happened last fall, the Big Ten Network began broadcasting in 2007, but they were in a carraige dispute with cable TV provider Time Warner. Customers of Time Warner in the midwest were unable to see some of the home town teams play because of the carraige dispute. Finally however, the parties came to an agreement before the 2008 season, so subscribers could stay with Time Warner rather than having to switch to one of the satellite TV companies like DISH Network or DirecTV.

Specialized sports packages are another issue to deal with for the customer. The Direct TV Sunday Ticket package is exclusive to the satellite TV provider so if you want this football fest, you have to switch. Many subscribers to large cable companies like Comcast are upset, not understanding why a package like NFL Sunday Ticket isn’t available to them. Alternative packages though are more friendly to subscribers, such as the NHL Center Ice and the NBA League Pass, which are available on almost every cable TV and satellite company.

Just about everyone in countries such as the United Kingdom, USA, Canada, New Zeeland and Australia etcetera should have at least heard of the world famous science Fiction TV series Doctor Who by the BBC! Now that Dr. Who is back on television since 2005 after it’s fifteen year absence the show has gotten very popular again, so mush so in fact that even the Science fiction channel has taken an interest in the serial.

Thanks to the new serial DW is currently officially the longest running Science fiction series ever with the 1st episode shown by the BBC on November the twenty third 1963, an episode in which the Doctor & his comrades journeyed back one hundred thousand years into Earth’s past to help some somewhat unintelligent cavemen so that they could make the discovery of fire. The 2nd longest running Sci-Fi serial is Star Trek which started back in 1966, but does not currently have any new stories being produced.

With the great success of Doctor Who, the BBC started creating Doctor Who Audio back in the mid 70s for cassette and LP. The 1st releases were mostly soundtracks from the television shows with binding narration by the Doctors. However due to their popularity soon after episodes were produced specifically for Audio Book release only, often narrated by past Drs of the series.

To add to this the BBC began creating radio episodes, again with past Doctors who had played in the serial, these stories were also made available in Audio format. Also many of the lost stories have been re created by their original Drs in the Audiobook format making them finally available to the public once more. While I write this the BBC’s Audio Book collection currently consists of over fifty titles. There exist Audiobooks from the very 1st serial all the way up to the most recent serial with David Tennent and even Sarah Jane and Torchwood Audio.

One of the really good things about Doctor Who Audio Books is that they provide us the freedom to listen to our favorite shows anywhere we want with the use of the modern mp3 player. Audiobooks help us to achieve more out of our increasingly busier days, as it is so easy for as to listen to them while doing other things like working out, house work, driving, & other activities that permit multitasking. Another reason why individuals like Doctor Who audio is because in many cases the audio stories are now read by the actors of the show.

With the Doctor Who New series going from strength to strength and more and more Audiobooks being produced available both from the old & new serial & now from Torchwood & The Sarah Jane Adventures as well, it looks like Doctor Who and Dr. Who Audios are here to stay for some time to come!

This season of MAD MEN on AMC goes to show that the first season wasn't a fluke. No, this MAD MEN TV series delves into the world of advertising in the 1960`s while exploring deep and dark characters with completely different facades.

I wouldn't start watching MAD MEN now if you haven't seen it yet. Go rent the first season of MAD MEN on DVD first. Go rent the DVD for season one madmen and record anything that comes on now on the AMC network. The reason I recommend this is because, not unlike the Sopranos, every episode is full of layer upon layer of character building, relationship complexity, and intriguing dialogue and settings.

Matthew Weiner, who wrote for the Sopranos and is now the lead writer for madmen, brings his creative intertwining style to this series, making it one of the most intriguing television productions of the last decade. The series focuses on Don Draper who is an account executive with the Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency of New York City in the early 1960s. Not only do you get deep and fascinating characters in this series, but it is delivered in an era of political upheaval, racial tension, chauvinistic attitudes, retro fashion and clothes, and the very demanding world of New York advertising.

Don Draper is a senior partner with Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency and literally drives the business for the firm becuase of his absolute skill and intelligence, but is struggling internally with a life based on lies. His obvious intelligence leaves the viewer wondering how he could be so misguided, and at the same time, attracts sympathy as a result of his situation.

Even though Don Draper – played by Jon Hamm – is the main character of Mad Men, it by no means is a narrow dialogue. Think back to the Sopranos, and how diverse that series became even though most people watched it because of Tony, there was quality in every scene. Mad Men TV show is every bit as diverse, disturbing, and intriguing.

With technology moving along at an ever accelerating rate, it is very easy to get lost in the chaos when looking for the ideal Christmas gifts. There are some truly amazing advances that have been made in the area of home theater in the past few years, and this Christmas is the ideal time to get your old TVs and VCRs thrown out and updated to something brand spanking new. How else are you going to enjoy the Christmas TV otherwise? Joking aside, there has never been a better time to jump in and find out what is available in home theater for Christmas. Prices are falling while technology is becoming ever more advanced, and so you reap the rewards big time.

Home theater appliances have become the focus of the home once again. Following on from the DVD revolution of the late 1990s, we now have the fantastic Blu-ray players and Hi-Def TVs to enjoy our favourite films and shows on. Not only that, but there’s Freeview, allowing many more people to get in on the digital TV movement before the big switch. If you love your movies and TV shows, then you owe it to yourself to get the kit with which to enjoy them to their fullest extent.

Then there's sound to think about, and the choice is huge, but the quality needn't dictate your price,, as there are a wide range of very affordable sound systems to complete your home theater experience. Home theater products are the ideal Christmas gift too, as they can be enjoyed by everyone in the whole family- as long as you can agree on what to watch first! As prices are becoming ever more competitive, now is the time to find yourself the best deal and the best quality. Home theater is to be enjoyed!

Today people are seeking to maximize their entertainment dollar. High fuel prices, a slowing economy, and high food prices are putting the squeeze on Americans. Fortunately, one of the great buys in entertainment is your cable or satellite television service.

If you stop and think about it, anyone can get a package including over 100 stations including premium movie channels like HBO and Starz for about $80 dollars a month. That is less than you usually will drop for dinner and a first run movie. The latest technology in the pay TV market is HD, or high definition programming. What should you consider when hooking up that new flat screen TV you just bought?

Remember that your standard cable TV or satellite TV service is not in hi-def. You have to specifically buy a programming package that includes this type of programming. So where do smart shoppers start?

Make a call to your current provider and investigate exactly what they offer as far as HD service. Satellite TV corporations DISH Network and DirecTV have been leading the charge as far as providing the most high definition when you examine channel counts. Cable TV providers like Comcast also have some nice offerings, including HD on-demand. Ask exactly how much upgrading to HD will cost, and if you need additional equipment.

If what they are offering is not what you need, do a little comparison shopping. The latest offerings include an all hi-def package from DISH Network called Turbo HD. DirecTV sells HD service for just $9.99 per month. Prices vary with cable television companies across America, so you will need call your cable company to see what the cost will be for high definition.

Another factor to consider is that most telecom companies now offer TV service. AT&T now provides their U-verse service in some areas they cover along with voice and DSL. Verizon is also selling television service, providing their fiber service FiOS in many areas. It is advisable that you compare different services side-by-side, such as Time Warner vs Direct TV. All of this is a great benefit to the consumer, as more competition encourages low costs in the end.