Drop Everything Trailer for 'The Monuments Men'

Wow. My life is worth living again.

More Action, Less Social Commentary

Everybody knows Neill Blomkamp's movies are loaded with social commentary. That may have worked for 'District 9' but with 'Elysium' the idea hasn't added much. I'd say it's drained some of the energy from the campaign.

Here, though, we finally get a trailer for the masses. Looking for pure action? This sells 'Elysium' as just that.

Thing is, buzz is flat and I'm thinking it's a bit too late. This should have been the first trailer. They should have sold the movie up front as a popcorn action flick then let on just how much of a 99%-us-vs.-them vibe it has later on, once prospective audiences were locked in.

But, better late than never. This is the best 'Elysium' trailer so far.

Just A Cut Above

I see that it's a clip from 'Elysium' and I'm not exactly enthused. Footage from the flick has played just a tad flat and I wasn't looking forward to a stock combat clip. So, wearily, I click play and watch. Sure enough, the music is just this side of overbearing, the editing almost what you'd call action-mode-jammed, and dialogue and action are fairly normal.

But then, we get an interesting twist. Camera becomes just fresh enough to grab attention and what happens next is cool enough to raise eyebrows.

All in all, nicely turned. If Neill Blomkamp shot the whole thing this well it should be a lot of fun.



















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Trailer for 'Elysium'

Might seem like a dumb thing to say but, yes, parts of this look very much like 'District 9'.  Neill Blomkamp's no-nonsense style -- with very natural and smooth VFX shot in broad daylight -- and the trashy slum setting give this a 'District 10' vibe.

Otherwise, there's a confidence -- both in the visuals and handling of actors -- that (for reasons hard to pin down in an objective way) is missing in other director's work but obvious, even in a short trailer, in Blomkamp's.

Matt Damon, as one could well expect, carries himself with ease but this, really, looks like Jodie Foster's movie. What presence she has.

This should have story. As for 'popcorn sizzle', maybe not so much. Should skew to older audiences very nicely. It may not top out at the box office but the Blu-ray should make a valuable addition to your collection.























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'Elysium' Poster

Via chzkes

Just got to know what that rig is and how/why it's plugged into Matt Damon's head.

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I Need To Wear More Rings

Michael Douglas and Matt Damon in Steven Soderbergh's 'Behind the Candelabra'.

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Soldiers in Mech-Suits

First it was Tom Cruise in some kind of mech-suit in a still from 'All You Need Is Kill'. Cruise plays a character named Lt. Col. Bill Cage, so he's a guy named Cage in a cage. (I know, I'm funny).

He just looks ridiculous here. Maybe it's a bad shot.

The trend continues with this shot of Matt Damon in 'Elysium' wearing a similar suit, though this one seems to be hardwired to the back of his skull and would appear to be manufactured by Kawasaki. Interesting.

Gotta say, Matt pulls this look off much better. That looks real. Wouldn't want to use one, but looks more organic than Tom's get-up, like it might work, might be usable for something.

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'The Bourne Legacy' Featurette -- Not That That's a Bad Thing...

Okay, this is starting to look a tad glossy. Not that that's a bad thing -- you get what you paid for: Popcorn, a well-made flick, a fun time at the movies. But, I'm not getting the sense this will be what 'Identity' was. Not that that's a bad thing ('Identity' was pretty strong).

All they have to do with 'Legacy' is not drop the ball and they look to have enough new stuff, new hooks, with the genetic alteration that yields a super-agent and whatnot, to keep the franchise moving forward.

The logical next step (duh) is a Bourne with both Jeremy Renner and Matt Damon. Then, when the dust settles, see about putting a bow on things with a killer last installment that will enable everyone to hold their heads high.

Right now, it's looking like 'Legacy', despite action sequences by writer-turned-director Tony Gilroy that aren't the smoothest, holds up its end of the the bargain and moves all the pegs forward one space.

Featurette is fair, though I don't quite buy what it's selling. New footage and a couple new plot elements.




















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Ultra-Sharp Trailer for 'The Bourne Legacy'

Have to admit, a bit gutsy for an American trailer, refreshing. The evolution of Jeremy Renner's character, starting as a beat up and shaken hardly recognizable guy, to the sharp-eyed Aaron Cross is effective -- loads up backstory with little dialogue and strong visuals. I especially like, at :40, the doctor looking at Cross' hand saying 'that healed quick'. You gotta wonder.

If the movie plays as well as this trailer we're in for another evolution in the action genre. What Matt Damon accomplished in the first films -- the distance he put between himself and the conventions of previous action/spy flicks -- Jeremy Renner does the same here. Great action, deep character. The franchise sets the bar higher (again). Not bad.













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Armadyne -- The Viral Video Division of 'Elysium'

Rollout begins for Neill Blomkamp's sci-fi movie 'Elysium' starring Jodie Foster and Matt Damon.

Apply Now!

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Stunning Fantastic Trailer for Steven Soderbergh's 'Contagion'

Matt Damon and Gwyneth Paltrow look great. With a knock-out cast: Marion Cotillard, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Lawrence Fishburne.

Visuals border on stupefying. Just plain wow.

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Matt Damon and Emily Blunt Talk 'The Adjustment Bureau'

Matt Damon and Emily Blunt with Weirdo SuperFan Matt ZallerEmily Blunt, Weirdo SuperFan

Clips from 'The Adjustment Bureau'

This one (below) moves a bit. Upper right hand corner at :38 needs some attention.

Editing (below) needs work. A tad ragged.

Yahoo has a couple more they rolled out today.

'The Adjustment Bureau' Clip

Clip from 'The Adjustment Bureau'

Very flat. Hard to get a handle on the story. Has no steam. I'll see it for sure.

'The Adjustment Bureau' Featurette

Smart, Very Smart

007 will not introduce himself as "Bond, James Bond" in the upcoming 'Quantum of Solace'. Well. So much for contrived passive aggressiveness. This is a good thing. It's such a dated reference. I mean, can you imagine Matt Damon's character introducing himself as 'Bourne, Jason Bourne'. (Holy cow. Jason Bourne and James Bond have the same initials)!

And so Bond evolves. Apparently, however, they still use plenty of blood, fake blood in the production.

Red One Camera Ushers In A New Era

Remember the last time you bought a roll of film? It's a pain, huh. I've been a photographer since I was a kid and film has always been the single most restricting limiting factor I've had to deal with. Cameras and lenses cost a lot but keeping film in my camera would leave me broke. Sometimes, I couldn't afford to buy a roll and would have to forget about my hobby for a while. Those days are over thanks to digital photography. Yes, the cameras cost more than ever but the savings in film more than make up for it. I've shot about 40,000 images (in about 10 months) on the digital camera I'm currently using. Using very conservative estimates (36 exposures per roll x 1000 rolls = 36,000 exposures at a cost of $10 to buy each roll and $10 to process it. That's $20 per roll x 1000), it would have cost me at least $20,000 to buy and process the film needed to shoot that many exposures. That means, back in the day, a pro photog could shoot $20-100k worth of film in a year. Today, the only thing you need to process that many images digitally is a storage card, a computer, and back-up archive storage.

To shoot a movie you need thousands of feet of film, miles of it. Figure in all the costs involved and you spend a pretty penny on film alone. Production of dailies, transfer of negative film to positive film, etc -- costs gobs.

Enter the Red One digital video camera. This is the first digital video camera capable of producing 'film quality' movies. The Red camera is being used by Steven Soderbergh to shoot 'The Informant' with Matt Damon, and other films have already been shot on Red prototypes. Certain parts of 'Jumper' were shot on one.

This is a still from 'Crossing the Line' which is being shot (at least in part) on Red cameras by Peter Jackson. This shot doesn't have that pasty blocked-up look common to other digital video cameras. The high values in the clouds are particularly clean and there is no noise in the shadows. Skin tones are natural. (There's a bit of subject blur in this still that shouldn't be blamed on the camera).

Here's another still from 'Crossing the Line' which shows off the technical quality of the camera.

Click here or the image to see a full-sized file (4096x1743 pixels). The sharpness and resolution rivals what a professional digital still camera can produce, although the tonality is a bit flat. That was never the case for stills from movies shot on film -- they always looked lousy, gritty, horribly grainy, with bad sharpness, and color from another planet.

Here's a section of 'Crossing the Line' that was shot entirely with the Red camera:

Here's the trailer for 'Crossing the Line':

I think it looks great. The image sharpness and tone is better than film. The action doesn't have that jittery look common to digital video -- it's very smooth and 'filmic'. I can't pin down whether 'Crossing the Line' is shot entirely on the Red or not. Red.com implies it is, but other sources refer to the movie as being shot in part on the digi-cam.

I've never aspired to be a director but I might make a movie if I could afford a digital camera that produced 'film' quality imagery. (I just can't stomach the thought of shooting a movie on film [thank you, no] and the current crop of consumer digi-cams, although better than ever, do nothing for me.) Right now the cheapest Red costs more than a new Hummer, but the price is coming down quickly. Hopefully, there will be a pro-sumer version within a few years. Alternatively, makers like Canon may be forced to sell higher quality digi-cams at lower prices once the Red hits the consumer market. Until then I'll be saving my pennies.

Damon/Aniston: Highest Return

They use a complex formula, but according to Forbes Matt Damon returns the most bang (in box office) for a buck (of salary). Jennifer Aniston leads the pack for the women.

Greengrass And Damon

Rebecca Winters Keegan has a nice write up about how Greengrass and Damon work together.