Coinciding with the release of The Day the Earth Stood Still, a new trailer for X-Men Origins: Wolverine is now available for viewing on-line. If you look hard enough, you can see quite a few recognizable muties.

What do you think? While it might not be the same calibre as The Dark Knight or Iron Man, it still looks like it will be a lot of fun.

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A buddy of ours in California, Rian Bishop, has created a new channel on YouTube for retro movie soundtracks. The channel currently houses a handful of soundtracks including Mannequin, Rad, and Better Off Dead, with more soundtracks being added all the time.

A few years ago, when Rian still lived in Anchorage, the two of us hosted a movie review website called ButteryGoodness.com. In it we had an archive of movie reviews written by us, discussion forums, news about upcoming new releases, and a lot more. Due to schedule restrictions we were unable to keep the site going, but we constantly reminisce about ways we can do something again to share our passion for movies with other internet users. Thanks to YouTube, anyone can use the new channel to find soundtracks for some of our favorite retro films. If things go well, we hope to post the occasional podcast where Rian and I discuss 80’s cinema and the music we love so much. Keep checking back!

http://www.youtube.com/user/ButteryGoodness13

- Joshua

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I’m pretty sure anyone who has seen The Dark Knight will agree Heath Ledger deserves heaps of praise for his performance as The Joker. His portrayal of the mad clown is (sorry, Jack) the best to date. Dark, maniacal, and psychotic, everything about it was nothing short of masterful and deserving of an Oscar nomination. Does he deserve a win? I honestly can’t say - I won’t know until I see the performances from every nominee. That said, I’m worried the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences might give him a nomination for the wrong reasons.

Okay, I don’t think the Academy is entirely full of morons, and I’m sure if Ledger is nominated it will be partially because he deserves it for his acting chops. The cynical side of me, however, can’t help but wonder if he’ll get the nod, and quite possibly a win, in recognition of his untimely and tragic death. Nominating or awarding him for this reason will undermine his ability as an actor and make receiving the Oscar almost meaningless (which will hold true for all recipients of the award). If he truly deserves the win then he should get it, but only if he delivered the most worthy performance.

Academy judges, please understand that Ledger will be remembered regardless of how you vote. In other words, our memories of him will be no stronger or weaker whether or not he is posthumously awarded a little gold man.

- Joshua

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Yes, The Watchmen trailer has been available for viewing online since a few days before The Dark Knight was released in theaters. This post, therefore, isn’t so much of a “hey, check it out,” sort of thing as it is a “holy hell, this movie looks so damn good!” Out of curiosity, though, I can’t help but wonder if it is striking the same chord for non-fans as for those who have read the graphic novel. I think the neatest aspect of the trailer is recognizing every single scene as a part of the printed version, and obviously those who haven’t read it aren’t going to be able to share in this excitement. Linda hasn’t read it yet and she’s very amped to see the movie, so maybe the scene recognition is merely a neat perk.

Here’s a crummy, lo-res YouTube copy (the link at the beginning of this post will take you to a hi-def version):

So, who watches The Watchmen? Us, at least a dozen times now. To be honest, I don’t think I’ve heard a Smashing Pumpkins song put to better use.

- Joshua

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As mentioned in the previous post, we were planning on seeing the movie Mongol. I’m glad we did, but I left the theater feeling fairly underwhelmed. It wasn’t a bad movie, I just felt the areas of focus were not as interesting as other aspects of Genghis Khan’s life. I wouldn’t say don’t go see it, but some of the documentaries I’ve watched are more informative and, quite honestly, more entertaining. The best one I’ve seen so far is a ten part BBC series posted on YouTube. The following list contains links to all ten parts:

Genghis Khan BBC Part 1 of 10
Genghis Khan BBC Part 2 of 10
Genghis Khan BBC Part 3 of 10
Genghis Khan BBC Part 4 of 10
Genghis Khan BBC Part 5 of 10
Genghis Khan BBC Part 6 of 10
Genghis Khan BBC Part 7 of 10
Genghis Khan BBC Part 8 of 10
Genghis Khan BBC Part 9 of 10
Genghis Khan BBC Part 10 of 10

A lot less filler and enough information to write one kick-butt college essay about the greatest ruler in history. I just got through watching it again (posting the links got me itching to see it) and now I’m amped to gather up troops and go conquer the other departments in my office. Network Operations, succumb to my power!

- Joshua

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It has been a few years since the release of Spider-Man, which was quite possibly the landmark comic book film for the current generation. It set the tone for the genre, informing studio executives and audiences all over the world the comic book medium could be translated into well made, big budget, respectable movies. We’ve seen quite a few since then, some good, some bad, but everyone pays attention and takes note whenever they’re released.

This month marks the release of both The Dark Knight and Hellboy II: The Golden Army, and both have me chomping at the bit like a race horse on amphetamines. In otherwords, I’m very, very excited to see these two movies. I’ve been reading early reviews posted online, but I think the following snippett from Moriarty at Ain’t It Cool News summarizes my feelings and anticipation perfectly:

...these are films that are built to last. When someone says to me, “It’s just a comic book movie,” these are the films that make that statement pointless. Nothing has to be “just” a comic book movie or “just” a video game movie or “just” a remake or “just” a sequel. Every single time you set out to make a film, you have a chance to say something, a chance to genuinely affect your viewer ... It’s ambition plus inspiration plus creative chemistry plus a little bit of dumb @#!%ing luck that all come together to make movies like these. But the only reason they accomplish anything is because Christopher Nolan and Guillermo Del Toro and all the remarkable madmen they collaborated with in bringing them to the screen... they all dared to drop the word “just” from their vocabulary. They aimed for art. They aimed for pure enduring cinema.

And, good god, we are richer for it.

It is a very well written review, and that paragraph makes me proud to be both a comic book enthusiast and hardcore movie geek. And, if it doesn’t make your heart race with excitement in anticipation to see these movies, then, well, you might want to check in with a mortician because you’re probably dead.

- Joshua

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As mentioned in this blog post (this one as well), we are currently watching both Battlestar Galactica and The 4400. Now, these two shows are very, very good, but they are only a couple of the programs we are obsessed with. Some are better than others, but they are all worth watching. From drama to comedy and horror to sci-fi, the following is a list of shows (in no particular order) we can’t get enough of:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (finished)
Angel (finished)
Battlestar Galactica
Carnivale
The 4400
Grey’s Anatomy
Desperate Housewives
Firefly (finished)
Smallville
Lost
Ugly Betty
Stargate SG-1
Numb3rs
Supernatural

Since it would be impossible (for the two of us) to catch all of these shows when they air on network and cable television, we watch them in collected DVD formats. This is both good and bad, though, because while we don’t have to wait an entire week for new episodes to come out, we don’t have enough self control to keep ourselves from watching multiple episodes in one sitting.

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Last weekend, a group of us went to see the new Iron Man movie, followed up by an awesome dinner consisting of delicious pizza and beer. It was definitely a great day, and Iron Man played a big part in how wonderful it was. We won't go into great detail about the film, other than it is nice to see Robert Downey Jr. back in top form, and Jon Favreau gets major kudos from us for making such a kick arse movie.

One unfortunate thing about the film, though, is there is an extra scene after the credits that most people don't seem to know about (it's not unfortunate the scene is there, only that people aren't clued in about it). We'd wager about 40% are in the know, because that was the percentage of people who stuck around through the credits at the showing we went to. Without giving too much away, we'd just like to say STAY! KEEP YOUR BUTTS GLUED TO THOSE SEATS, PEOPLE! Folks who aren't major comic geeks might not get a huge kick out of it, but there is a cameo by a major actor. Those who do love comics as much as we do, though, will probably crap their pants.

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The first trailer for the new The Incredible Hulk movie was released recently, and it looks okay. It stars Edward Norton, Eli Roth, and Liv Tyler, and it is being directed by Louis Leterrier, the guy who brought us The Transporter. Wait, let me get this straight - Marvel wasn't happy with the lack of success of Ang Lee's Hulk (which I thought was a great movie), so they decided to release a new version in hopes it will be "better" than the first one? They are letting Louis Leterrier direct it? Are the execs at Marvel retarded!? Do they honestly think the director of The Transporter is going to deliver a better movie than Ang Lee? I can understand wanting to fuel the film with more, faster paced action, but The Transporter wasn't even a good action movie!

Okay... deep breaths... I could go on and on about why I think this is a bad idea, but I'm hoping deep inside my heart it will actually turn out to be good. Then again, I had the same hopes for Ghost Rider, and look where that got me (Linda thought is was a big, steamy turd as well).

- Joshua

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When we watch TV shows, we aren't the types of people who carve out times in our schedule to watch a show as it originally airs. Not that we wouldn't if we could, we're just very busy and have erratic schedules. We, therefore, digest our shows in DVD format, rented from our local video store. Since we can't justify paying the exorbitant prices of "New Releases", we try to catch shows that have been out for at least a couple of years and have migrated to the cheap section.

We recently ran out of stuff to watch because the latest seasons of our favorite shows we've been watching are still hanging out in expensive land. This led us to look for something new, and there are a slew of shows to choose from. We eventually settled on The 4400 from USA Networks, and we're definitely not disappointed. The show is 1 part X-Files + 1 part Supernatural + 1 part Heroes, which sounds like it could be the makings for a messy show. Thankfully, it all works really well and has made a fine addition to our line-up of great stuff to watch.

The only downside, which isn't really a downside at all (but may initially deter some viewers), is the somewhat low production values. It doesn't have the flash and polish of anything like Lost, but the great stories, decent acting, and overall feel of the show makes for a great entire package. So, don't judge this book by its cover and you may find yourself hooked like we are.

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Swimming in a sea of otherwise pretentious movies trying too hard to fit into a genre, along comes a refreshingly new movie by director Jason Reitman called Juno. Juno MacGuff is a high school student who finds herself pregnant after having sex for the first time with her best friend, Paulie Bleeker. The movie tells the story of the journey she takes, from discovery about the unwanted baby to its birth.

The wonderful thing about this film is it doesn't browbeat the audience with any kind of message about the dangers of teen pregnancy, and it doesn't make quirky, stereotypical attempts to come across as weird and unique for the sake of trying to set itself apart as an independent film. The story just works, the characters just work, the direction just works; everything about this movie just works. If you are looking for a warm, heartfelt, and genuinely entertaining movie, you should give Juno a chance. We guarantee you will walk out of the theater with a smile on your face.

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Fans of the Sci-Fi Channel original series Battlestar Galactica already know why they watch it: it is nothing short of amazing. Others have tried watching the show and just couldn't get into it. We personally think they're crazy and devoid of decent taste. The people this blog post is addressing, though, are the ones who have never watched a single episode. We feel it is our duty as decent Americans to inform you that you really are missing out on what is quite possibly the greatest television program in history. No, we aren't exaggerating.

Here is a fan-made trailer which showcases some sweet battle sequences.

Awesome? Yeah, we think so as well. The first two seasons of the show are available on DVD and the third is coming out in March. There is also a standalone movie that was recently released on DVD called Razor. So, do yourselves a favor and get on the Cylons' good side - watch the show.

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We have watched two movies recently, both containing subject matter involving Christianity and The Crusades. The first, Ron Howard's "The Da Vinci Code", is based on the extremely popular and controversial novel by author Dan Brown. Though a work of fiction, the ideas in this movie were drawn from historical events. Some people believe the subject matter is founded in truth and could shed light on possible religious falsehoods. We both really enjoyed this movie despite the backlash it received by critics upon its release in 2006.

The second movie was Ridley Scott's "Kingdom of Heaven", a period piece involving historical events surrounding Jerusalem during the Second Crusade. Though creative liberties were taken for the sake of storytelling, this was (according to scholars who commented on the film) a fairly accurate portrayal of circumstances which took place during this time. We liked this one quite a bit as well, though the character development left a lot to be desired.

After watching these, we have taken an interest in researching and reading about The Crusades, and we hope to learn as much about this era of history as possible. The subject matter really is quite fascinating.

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