The Losers Screening

Last Friday a bunch of my friends and I went to the screening of The Losers. I think this is the second movie to be adapted from DC Comics' Vertigo line. The first was Watchmen... which I liked, even though the ending was not the same as the graphic novel. The Losers ran for 35 or 36 issues. I only picked up the first couple of issues. Just couldn't keep up with it, since I already had too many books on my pull list to read at the time.

Think I am going to be picking up the graphic novels after seeing this movie. I really enjoyed it! The movie is about a military ops team that are betrayed and framed by this guy named Max and they are out to get revenge on him. Along the way they are helped and joined by Aisha, who is also out for revenge as well.

Action and fight scenes are great. After seeing her in this movie, Zoe Saldana needs to be in more action movies with fighting roles. She can kick some serious butt! The character of Jensen, played by Chris Evans, is super hilarious! The whole elevator scene, before and after, is just great. It'll be interesting to see how he is as Captain America. I didn't even recognize Jason Patric as the villain, Max. His character is completely insane.

The movie seems to cover the first 2 chapters of the series. So I can see them adapting the rest of the chapters into a trilogy. Hopefully it does well at the box office to do so.

Clash of the Titans Premiere

I scored some screening passes to the premiere of Clash of the Titans last night. One of my favorite movies of all time. I absolutely loved the original! Mainly because I was really into Greek mythology... which started my interest into the myths of other cultures. Even steered me into taking a course in Archaeology in college.

This remake was a bit of a disappointment for me. The storyline is changed from the original and deviates from the myth of Perseus... especially the ending. The flow of the movie seemed rushed. The scene with Perseus' conception/birth might have been a better opening to the movie, instead of putting that near the middle. Bubo has a really small cameo, which is really a shame...

All the Olympian gods, except for Zeus and Hades, are all just background extras. Apollo and Poseidon have one line speaking roles. Then there is the shiny gold armor the male Olympians are wearing... what the hell is up with that. Made them looked like spaceknights. It reminded me of the anime series Saint Seiya, one of my favorite anime series. Looks good in the anime, but not the movie. And why the Black Pegasus too? I always thought heroes rode white horses...

On the other hand, the effects and 3D were really good, especially the Scorpions, Medusa and the Kraken. I really liked the throne room chamber of the Olympians. The floor was the landscape of the earth with clouds. The fight scenes were nice. There were some occasions where I could not tell who was fighting and getting killed.

There are other things in the movie I wasn't too keen on: face of desert tribe men reminded me of a Decepticon from the Transformer movie and Calibos. I had hopes that this movie would be as good as the original, but to me it's not.

The Killing of a Chinese Cookie

Did you know that the fortune cookie was actually invented by the Japanese?
It does not even exist in China.

Just went to a screening of The Killing of a Chinese Cookie, earlier this evening. It's a documentary on the history of the fortune cookie. It's a film by my former studio partner and high school friend, Derek Shimoda. He directed, produced and wrote this funny and entertaining look at the mixed up history of the fortune cookie. From its early beginnings in Japan (and its debated origins in San Francisco or Los Angeles) to a permanent staple at the end of a meal in a Chinese restaurant. There are interviews with many people, one of them being Giant Robot publisher Eric Nakamura.

Derek had been working on this for a year and a half, I think. He got to travel to quite a few different places like Japan and San Francisco. The film was released last year, 2008, mostly at film festivals. It is now available on DVD through Amazon.com and for free online at snagfilms.com.

There was also a cook-off before the screening involving fortune cookie inspired desserts. The winning dessert would be featured on the Geisha House menu for a limited time. There were 3 judges: Eric Nakamura, Brian Kito (Fugetsu-Do Confectioners) and a person from Geisha House. Winning dessert was a cheesecake-like dessert and it was very tasty too.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Screening

Just got back from seeing a screening of the new Transformers movie, Revenge of the Fallen tonight. Got to see this at the screening theater on the Paramount lot, which has an incredible sound system and seating. All I can say about this movie is... OMG!... Unbelieveable! This one was way better than the first one. Now I can see how Shia LaBeouf hurt his hand during the filming of his stunts. The action is just incedible and Megan Fox looks absolutely smokin' HOT! Lots of laughs... Mudflap and Skids are two of the funniest Autobots in the movie. Then there are even more Transformers in this movie... there are even Insecticons and a Prentender in this one...

Everyone from the first movie returns to this sequel, along with some new characters. Finally we get to see the Constructicons and Devastator, Soundwave, Ravage, Jetfire and Arcee in the film. Although not quite in the same form as their cartoon and toy counterparts. A little disappointed with that, but can live with it. New Autobots: the Twins (Mudflap and Skids), the motorcycle sisters (Arcee, Chromia and Moonracer), Sideswipe, Wheelie, Jolt and Jetfire. New Decepticons: the Constructicons (plus Devastator), Soundwave, Ravage, the Doctor (Scalpel), Demolishor, Sideways, Rampage, the Fallen and more in their protoforms.

I really, really did not like the first movie. Mostly because the CGI designs of the Transformers and their choices on who they used in the film. But this one has much better CGI in it, I can actually tell what Decepticon is fighting. Sadly some of my favorite Autobots don't look like they survive this one. One thing that seemed kind of odd to me - Are bullets really that effective against a giant metal robot? Maybe a granade/rocket launcher would be a better choice... I'm just saying...

I am definitely going to see this movie again over the weekend.

Terminator Salvation - Hollywood Premiere

Went to the Hollywood premiere of Terminator Salvation on Thursday night. The part that sucks about going to a premiere is that you have to line up around the corner across the street from the theater. So you can't see any of the stars walking the carpet and you're far away. Also, you get a ticket with an assigned seat that is way in front or way in front and off to the sides. I remember getting some really bad seats for the premiere of Batman and got decent seats for the Watchmen premiere. The good thing is that you are in the theater and are able to see the stars, if you can recognize them. They even had a few of the terminator robots outside the entrance of the theater and the after party. The after party had a rebellion outpost/military look and feel to it, with camouflage netting, scrap metal and wreckage.

This movie is going to rock the house! The action is great from beginning to end!
3 great action movies to start off the summer.

Terminator Salvation Screening

I just got back from seeing a screening of the new Terminator movie, Terminator Salvation tonight. This movie is great! Way better than Rise of the Machines. It is non-stop action from start to finish. Effects are just amazing! ILM has been really working overtime... considering they worked on this, Star Trek and the upcoming release of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. So far this is starting to be a great summer movie year.

I do have to say something about how the screening was handled though. I got to the screening a little before 3pm and was the first person there (screening was at 7pm). They were letting VIP and media go in before us, after checking in, and there were quite a few of them going into the theater. By 6:45pm, which was the time they were letting us in, there had to be over 200 people in line. When they started to let us in, we were told to sit in the first 3 rows only (about 25 seats per row). About 85-90% of the seating was reserved for VIP and media and we got the first 3 rows? WTF?! It looked like about 35-40 of us were let into the screening before some of us noticed that the very first row was empty and some of the seats around us were not getting filled. In fact there were quite a few unoccupied seats scattered around. We later noticed that people with the screening passes had not come through the door since all of us first came in. Then a few minutes later the curtains went up, lights went out and the movie started. All the seats were never filled and 150-200+ people still waiting in line to get in never did. That really sucked for them cause another 75-100 could have bit fit in easily. If they only knew of all the unoccupied seats...

Star Trek Screening - IMAX Version

Got to see another screening of Star Trek this past Thursday. But this time it was on the IMAX screen. Seeing it on the IMAX screen made was way cooler than the previous screening I attended. Effects were just outrageous! Most of the seating in the back were taken and middle was reserved. But the ones we got weren't too far forward that made it awkward while viewing. They even played previews of Harry Potter - Half Blood Prince, Transformers - Revenge of the Fallen and Night at the Museum - Battle at the Smithsonian.

If you are going to see this movie, then see it on the IMAX screen. You won't be disappointed. I even saw the Tribble this time around.

Star Trek Screening

Well, I just got home from seeing a screening of the new Star Trek movie. I am not a huge Star Trek fan, but like the series and grew up watching it and the movies. Kinda hard to avoid when some of your friends huge fans of the series.

The new movie takes us to where the characters from original tv series meet for the first time and started... much younger and attending Starfleet Academy. So it takes place well after the Enterprise series and way before the original series. The actors did a very good job portraying these iconic characters for young and old fans. From recognizable phrases like, "I'm a doctor, not a..." by McCoy and Spock's "facinating" to Chekov's accent. I thought that Karl Urban's portrayal of a younger Dr. McCoy was the best. Simon Pegg, who plays Scotty, got the least screen time, since he shows up way later in the film. Would have liked to see him a bit more. ILM did a very good job with the visual effects.

The film relaunches the Star Trek franchise in a new direction with this new group of actors, some really nice effects, action, funny moments and a pretty good storyline. Although I thought it could have been a little longer (2 hour movie). Do I think there will be another movie (or two)... Oh Yeah! Don't see why they wouldn't... Star Trek for a new generation. I'm kinda on the fence about the storyline, only because it has to do with altering timelines/reality of Star Trek history. But I can live with all that if it continues the franchise with movies like this.