Friday, April 27, 2012

Netflix Instant: Cool TV and Movie Picks

And we're back! Now that the DIFF has ended we are back to our regular programming. The summer season is just around the corner, but here are my Netflix picks this week.


A happy-go-lucky tale of depression from Lars von Trier. A fascinating character study about two sisters going through various points of depression set on the eve of the end of the world. It's emotional, bleak, and gorgeous. 


As a teacher, I remember when this film was all the craze. I finally sat down and watched, and I definitely had strong emotions towards it. Even though I don't agree with everything the film presents, there are certain parts of the education system it highlights that are spot on and horrifying. An interesting look at the argument for more charter schools. 



An absurdest play by Tom Stoppard which follows the minor characters of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern of Hamlet. You remember those two right? Of course you don't because they're simple messengers. However, Stoppard flips the classic Shakespeare on its head and explores the history of these two fellas. A fun adaptation and full of existentialism goodness.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

DIFF 2012 Review - EXTRATERRESTRIAL/EXTRATERRESTRE


EXTRATERRESTRIAL(EXTRATERRESTRE)
Directed by: Nacho Vigalondo
Written by: Nacho Vigalondo
Starring: Julián Villagrán, Michelle Jenner,  Carlos Areces, Raúl Cimas
Synopsis: Two people deal with the aftermath of their one night stand as a UFO hovers over Madrid. 

Cobra Hates On European Capitals In The New GI: JOE - RETALIATION Trailer


Javi here. Not going to lie, I think I am more excited for G.I.JOE: RETALIATION more than any other movie this summer. That's not to say that this will be better than THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, but part of me is freaking out that the Bat has been hyped up too much, and the movie will never live up to it. This movie, on the other hand, can only go up. I'm a G.I. JOE: RISE OF COBRA apologists. I believe it was the movie goofy and ridiculous movie that TRANSFORMERS should have been. And now with director John Chu's insane looking, ninja-filled actionfest, I am just ecstatic. Now, thanks to Machinima and via Badass Digest, we have the newest trailer. about it. You can see the trailer after the break.

Saturday, April 21, 2012

DIFF 2012 Review- AMERICA'S PARKING LOT

AMERICA'S PARKING LOT
Directed by: Jonny Mars
Starring: Stan "Tiger" Shults and Cy Ditmore
Synopsis: A documentary chronicling the last year at Texas Stadium through the eyes of the Gate 6 Tailgaters. 

DIFF 2012 Review - Late Night Shorts - ONCE IT STARTED IT COULD NOT END OTHERWISE, LIFE AND FREAKY TIMES OF UNCLE LUKE and THE HICCUP

Still from AT THE FORMAL

Javi here with another recap of a shorts block from this year's Dallas International Film Festival. The shorts this time around are the Late Night Shorts. Formerly the Midnight Shorts, according to senior programmer Sarah Harris, this block of films is meant to highlight films that are darker in nature, but not necessarily horror. I think that about describes these films. They are all very surreal, dark, and in some cases even funny. As I did for the animated shorts, I will list my top three films of the block.

DIFF 2012 Review: LAST CALL AT THE OASIS


LAST CALL AT THE OASIS
Dirceted by: Jessica Yu
Written by: Jessica Yu
Synopsis: Documentary exploring our world's rapidly dwindling fresh water supply


Friday, April 20, 2012

DIFF 2012 Review- FIRST POSITION

FIRST POSITION
Directed by: Bess Kargman
Starring: Aran Bell, Gaya Bommer Yemini, and Michaela DePrince
Synopsis: Documentary following 6 young ballet dancers as they train for the Youth America Grand Prix.


Thursday, April 19, 2012

DIFF 2012 Review - THE PACT

THE PACT
Directed by Nicholas McCarthy
Written by Nicholas McCarthy
Starring: Caity Lotz, Casper Van Dien, Agnes Bruckner, Sam Ball, and Haley Hudson
Synopsis: A young woman goes back to her childhood home after the death of her mother to find her sister and begins to experience odd occurrences. 

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

DIFF 2012 Review- TORMENTED



TORMENTED
Directed by: Takashi Shimizu
Written by: Sôtarô Hayashi, Daisuke Hosaka, Takashi Shimizu
Starring: Teruyuki Kagawa, Hikari Mitsushima, Tamaki Ogawa
Synopsis: A young boy's psyche starts to break down in the aftermath of him killing a rabbit in front of his classmates. Said rabbit starts to show up in his nightmares, and his half-sister is forced to help him fight off the rabbit.

DIFF 2012 Review - THE IMPOSTER


THE IMPOSTER
Directed by: Bart Layton
Starring: Adam O'Brian, Anna Ruben, and Cathy Dresbach
Synopsis: After three years missing, a Texas boy comes back to his family. But why does a boy who was blond with blue eyes now speaks with a thick foreign accent and has brown eyes?

DIFF 2012 Review- COMIC-CON EPISODE IV: A FAN'S HOPE

COMIC-CON EPISODE IV: A FAN'S HOPE
Directed by: Morgan Spurlock
Written by: Joss Whedon, Morgan Spurlock
Starring: Jessica Merizan, Skip Harvey, Stan Lee, Kevin Smith
Synopsis: A loving look at the pop culture juggernaut that occurs every summer in San Diego

DIFF 2012 Review- THANK YOU FOR JUDGING


THANK YOU FOR JUDGING
Directed by: Michael Urie, Selma Al-Faqih, Travis Flournoy, and Sean Fornara
Synopsis: Actor comes home to follow a group of a highly talented group of teenagers as they train to participate in an acting competition.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

DIFF 2012 Review - ANIMATION COMPETITION


Javi here. People that know me know that I'm a huge fan of animation, so of course I had to check out the animation competition this year's Dallas International Film Festival (DIFF). The short films that were shown were SLOW DEREK, 663114, WILD LIFE, MOXIE, A MORNING STROLL, DR. BREAKFAST, and IT'S SUCH A BEAUTIFUL DAY.


This was honestly a very solid block of programming. There were a lot of short films that felt like they were something for everyone, from the technically dazzling, the morbidly hilarious, and downright touching. What was really strange was that I had actually seen two of the short films already at Fantastic Fest, the upside to this was that I could appreciate them in a completely different manner.  I'll be talking more in-depth about top three short films, discounting A MORNING STROLL  and WILD LIFE, since they were the Fantastic Fest repeats. This is not to say that any of the shorts are bad, but these are my favorites. 


One thing to note is that this year's selections more than any year might as well have shown up in the Late Night Shorts block of programming. Needless to say, they are pretty dark and not all that suitable for kids. Check out the reviews after the jump.

DIFF 2012 Review - DRAGON AGE: DAWN OF THE SEEKER





DRAGON AGE: DAWN OF THE SEEKER
Directed by: Fumihiko Sori
Written by: Jeffrey Scott
Starring: Colleen Clinkenbeard, Chuck Huber and Luci Christian
Synposis: Set between the first and second DRAGON AGE video games, this installment of the series follows famed dragon hunter and seeker, Cassandra, as she takes down a plot that threatens the ruling order.

Monday, April 16, 2012

2012 DIFF Movie Review - LIBERAL ARTS



LIBERAL ARTS
Directed by: Josh Radnor
Written by: Josh Radnor
Starring: Josh Radnor, Richard Jenkins, Elizabeth Olsen, Allison Janney
Synopsis: When his favorite college professor asks him to speak during his retirement dinner, a 35 year old gladly goes back to his college town and develops a relationship with a 19 year old.

DIFF 2012 Review- SAVE THE DATE

SAVE THE DATE
Directed by: Michael Mohan
Written by: Michael Mohan, Jeffrey Brown, and Egan Reich
Starring: Lizzy Caplan, Alison Brie, Geoffrey Arend, Martin Starr, and Mark Webber.
Synopsis: Two sisters work through life, love, and relationships. 

DIFF 2012 Review- THE BROOKLYN BROTHERS BEAT THE BEST


THE BROOKLYN BROTHERS BEAT THE BEST
Directed by: Ryan O'Nan
Written by: Ryan O'Nan
Starring: Ryan O'Nan, Michael Weston, Arielle Kebbel, Jason Ritter
Synopsis: A broken-hearted singer-songwriter goes on a cross country trip to a battle of the bands competition after being dumped by his girlfriend and his band. 

Thursday, April 12, 2012

LOOPER Trailer Drops!



Director Rian Johnson isn't exactly a household name. He's only made two feature films, BRICK and THE BROTHERS BLOOM, and has directed a couple of TV episodes from Breaking Bad and Terriers. However, that will probably change this fall.

His next film is LOOPER, a syfy time-travel movie. One aspect of Johnson that makes us here love him so much is he always seems to bring his own uniqueness to a film genre. BRICK was a film noir style set in a high school setting, and THE BROTHERS BLOOM was a con-man "period" piece. And now he is about to tackle science fiction. Yes please.

Check out the trailer after the jump.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

For Funsies: How Game of Thrones Season 1 SHOULD Have Ended

Jonesy here. As I'm sure like many of you, we here absolutely love Game of Thrones, both books and the TV series. It's one of the more solid and well produced series I've seen in a while. Sadly though, I do not have HBO, so I am at the mercy of others to either invite me over or wait semi-patiently until season two is released on Blu-Ray.

So this fun little video, curtsey Howitshouldhaveended.com, depicts how season one SHOULD have ended. Now, this video is super spoilerly, and if you haven't seen season one yet, don't watch it...and you should also remedy that as soon as possible.

Enjoy!



Monday, April 9, 2012

Dallas International Film Festival Survival Guide



As we ramp up for the 2012 incarnation of the Dallas International Film Festival, we figured we'd share some of the little hints that we have learned in our collective three years of covering the festival. These can (and will) apply to other festivals, and some suggestions might be more obvious than not, but hey, whatever keeps you going during this time.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Netflix Instant: Cool TV and Movie Picks



Jonesy here with a little late, but better than never, Netflix Instant picks. I did something a tad different this week. I have one film that goes well with some actions the movie industry is going through with their rating systems, and I have two films that, as a supposed film person, I should have already seen.



An apparent "classic" according to some of my friends, this is a film that has made it to many film nerd's seasonal viewing list. One that I am ashamed to say I have not seen yet; however, it is never too early to get into the Christmas spirit, especially when there is an evil Santa Claus that must be stopped.


In the midst of all the talk about what rating the documentary BULLY should/should not receive, this documentary takes a look at the secretive MPAA. It's a fascinating insight to this part of the film industry and all the politics that film makers have to go through to get the rating their film deserves. 


Okay. I admit. This is a movie faux pas, but I have not seen GHOSTBUSTERS. I know. Shame, shame on me. And now I have no excuse. So, I guess, this is really a suggestion for me. But I know there are more of you out there!





Friday, April 6, 2012

Most Anticipated DIFF Films of DIFF 2012- Jonesy Edition



Jonesy here with my highly anticipated films for the upcoming Dallas International Film Festival. Now I won't lie, there are many more movies I would love to add to this list, but Damon, Jessica, and Javi have them already on theirs. So needless to say there are some exciting films coming to Dallas in a few weeks. Surprisingly when putting together my list, I ended up with four documentaries. DIFF, for me, is always a place for me to see smaller docs that I wouldn't normally see.

So enough stalling...onto my list!

AMERICAN REUNION Movie Review- He Said/She Said

Directed by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg
Written by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg
Starring: Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klien, Seann William Scott, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Tara Reid, Mean Suvari, Eugene Levy, and Jennifer Coolidge
Synopsis: The gang is back for their high school reunion. 


Most Anticipated Films of DIFF 2012- Jessica Edition




It's been too long, blogosphere. It's Jessica, and I'm pleased to bring you my most anticipated films of DIFF 2012. Festivals make my inner-planner so giddy, and this year is no different. I can't wait 'til next week when I'll be unofficially living out of my car while eating way too much Urban Taco all because of DIFF. While browsing the selection this year I found it increasingly difficult to scale down my most anticipated to only five, but I managed to do it, so check them out below!

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

THE RAID Review- He Said/She Said

Directed by Gareth Evans
Written by Gareth Evans
Starring: Iko Uwais, Donny Alamsyah, Ray Sahetapy, Yayan Ruhian, and Pierre Gruno
Synopsis: A swat team must take over a building of a notorious crime lord. 


Monday, April 2, 2012

For Funsies: Charlize Theron's "Sex Tape" (Pretty Sure NSFW)


Javi here. While stalking my favorite Josh (of REWIND THIS MOVIE fame) on Facebook, I saw that he was reading an article from Yahoo! and I had to share it. It seems that Charlize Theron just HAD to get in on the sex tape craze that's big with the fancy ladies nowadays. Check it out after the break!

Sunday, April 1, 2012

TED Trailer Is Better Than All Of The FAMILY GUY Episodes Put Together...But That's Not Saying Much


Javi here. I am not the biggest fan of Seth MacFarlene, his animation style, his shows or just about anything that he's done. I have actively apologized for doing my part in bringing FAMILY GUY back on the air. Now, MacFarlene is coming to the big screen with his movie TED. The story is essentially about a man (Mark Wahlberg) who wished for his childhood teddy bear, Ted (no way!), to come to life. Now that he is a grown up and is trying to have an adult relationship with Lori (Mila Kunis), Ted is getting in the way with his rather rude and vulgar ways. Now, thanks to Funny or Die via Coming Soon, we have the red band trailer. Check it out after the jump.

Netflix Instant: Cool TV & Movies: Cartoon Editions!

Javi here. It seems that I completely forgot to put up a Netflix column given mostly due to my lack of sleep and trying to begin preparations for the 2012 Dallas International Film festival. We started the week with Damon and my own most anticipated movies of the festival. Now I bring you some great cartoons that JUST hit Netflix Instant.


This was the well-received but short-lived new G.I. Joe cartoon. I have barely started watching it myself, but in this version, Cobra is a legit corporation and they're obviously evil, but in the eyes of the law, the Joes are fugitives of the law and are constantly hunted. This features one of my favorite Cobra Commander designs as well. 


One of my favorite movies of the last year. Now available to streaming. Go see it now!!! It's hilarious, a little twisted, but it never fails to amaze visually.



Now, there's a good reason I'm recommending this. I usually refrain from actually recommending most Transformers related media since I know it's not usually people's cup of tea. But just like ADVENTURE TIME seems to have a crazy cross over appeal, I believe that it's legitimately well written and a pretty dark show for kids but that adults could get into. This show is on HD which is great because that's the ONLY way to see this show. Ironically, the weakest part of this show is Optimus Prime, but everybody else is written so well. 

That's it for this week. Hope you enjoy!