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Top Eight Comic Books Movies

Posted by Martin:

With such a good summer for movies and a lot of them from comic books.  I'm not a serious comic book geek, they are not my strength, but I do like the movies though.  To make this list I don't include movies from "graphic novels."  These are classic comic book characters, graphic novels such as 300 and Sin City are therefore excluded from this list.

X-Men 2

I like the X-Men because it allows several different characters as opposed to just one character, the team approach is very rare in comic book movies.
This one was the best of the group from this franchise.  The Nightcrawler was such a great character it was a criminal act to not bring him back for the 3rd movie.

Iron Man

What a refreshing change of pace this was.  Some comic book movies seem to be more successful when they go dark, see The Dark Knight further down this list.  But Robert Downey's, Tony Stark, was so cool and fun he is much more interesting than his alter-ego Ironman.  Typically it is the other way around, Superman is more interesting than Clark Kent, Batman more interesting than Bruce Wayne.  Plus Tony Stark's superhero power comes out of sheer curiosity and intellectual interest, not some other worldly or genetically altered ability, that makes him more easily to connect to, more human.  If someone could become a superhero by tinkering in their garage, then maybe I can too.

Batman (1989)

The original Tim Burton film was a big change from previous superhero movies at the time.  Nicholson's performance made it seem like he was born to be The Joker.  When Michael Keaton was announced as Bruce Wayne a lot of people thought he was strange choice for Batman, he doesn't seem very tough.  But he was intense and very good at being angry.  In this version Batman he is also acts out the detective part of the character when trying to piece together the Joker's chemical puzzle, we didn't see that aspect so much in Batman Begins.  Unfortunately Batman goes down hill quickly from here, until 2005 and Batman Begins.

Spiderman 2

Spiderman 2 was a big improvement over the first installment.  The CGI was notably better.  Here Spiderman has weight and gets hurt, in the first movie the CGI Spiderman had no weight and seemed very weightless.  This time around he gets hurt, knocks things over, and lives in a world with gravity.

Spiderman also has trouble with his skills and smartly we are not given a direct explanation as to why he is having trouble.  The love story is much more enjoyable to watch here as well.  When Mary Jane excepts who Peter Parker really is, even I get a lump in my throat.

Superman 2

A lot of people consider the second outing of Superman is superior to the first, I'm not so sure.  If Richard Donner hadn't been taken off the production then we would have had a superior movie.  But as it is, it is still a great movie.

When Superman has to take on three other villains of equal skills it comes down to smarts to beat them.  Plus the softening of Superman, in regards to Lois Lane, makes for a more vulnerable Superman.

Batman Begins

This movie is the new textbook for restarting a franchise, and proved it could be done, this summer's The Incredible Hulk follows this trend.  Putting Batman into as much reality as possible made it much more enjoyable than the disgraces that the three previous Batman movies had been.  In regards to the villain Nolan got it right.  Don't kill them, keep them alive.  Makes them more interesting.

The Dark Knight

This is still fresh in everyone's mind.  In many ways this isn't even a comic book movie.  It is a police movie, a detective movie, and in that genre it is one of the best as well.  Ledger's Joker of course is historical in this version.  As much as I loved Jack's performance back in 1989.  Ledger is Joker.

Superman

This is one that started them all.  This is movie that told everyone you can make a comic book movie with serious actors, Brando, Hackman and do a great job in it.  Without those guys going first, we would not have the Nicholson or Ledger Jokers, Downy's Tony Stark, and Gary Oldman in the last two Batman movies.  Being in a comic book movie can give you some good material.

John Williams' music in this is an element to this movie that brings the movie completely alive.  Reeves wouldn't seem to fly as well with someone else doing the music.  The music is also a hidden character in this movie that adds to the tapestry of the film. 

Don't believe me?  Can you hum the theme to X-Men 2?  Didn't think so.

 

The Ten Commandments of Movie Going

Posted by Martin

I am a big fan of home theater.  More specifically my home theater, but I still love going to the movies and seeing them on an even bigger screen.

BUT some people seem to think they are still at home and have the right to behave as such.  Therefore I have introduced the Ten Commandments of Movie Going that were handed down to me from the Mount Cineplex 10:

1. Thou shall have no other movies before Me
2. Thou shalt be reverent with silence when the lights goeth down.
3. Thou shall not speak to the screen, for I will not respond to you.
4. Thou shall leave thy offspring of less than 4 years at home, for they cannot sit still, and cry often.
5. Thou shall not put your feet on the back of the chair in front of you, for your feet are unclean.
6. Thou shall arrive on time and not when the lights are dark for it is dangerous to look for a seat in the dark, and it is rude.
7. Thou shall not text or receive calls during the movies, for I am a Jealous and Angry Movie.
8. Thou shall not bring young offspring to an R Rated movie, lest thou be labeled a terrible parent by those around you.
9. Thou shall not shout out requests for snacks and drinks to thy neighbors, this shall be done before entering the Great Theater.
10. Thou shall not butt in a prearranged line, for I am a Movie of organization and fairness.

I hope these help.  When we follow these the movies will be much more enjoyable.

Other interesting articles:

Hellboy 2 Review

Wall-E movie review

Top Ten James Bond Movies

Behind the Screens of Quantum of Solace

A Graphical Representation of 15 Movies That You Will NOT See on HD-DVD

Posted by Martin:

Blogging should also be visual, not just words.  Here are posters of fifteen movies that you will never get on HD-DVD.

 

 

 

 

 

10 reasons to have your wedding videotaped by a professional

Posted by Martin:

When it comes to weddings people tend to book a photographer first and over a videographer, nothing wrong with that.  But what happens is that people get their Uncle Larry and Cousin Joe to try and record the wedding, again nothing wrong with that.  But you get what you pay for.  After all, would you really leave the photography up to Uncle Jeff? 

So here are ten reasons that over the last 12 years of videotaping weddings that I have come to realize are good reasons to have a professional videographer record your wedding.

10. Professional Equipment
Unless your previously mentioned Uncle Larry is well off and intro electronics, odds are they are not going to have a camera that can make your dress and the groom's tux look like it should.  Do you really want to spend all that time thinking about the dress only to have it look gray on the video?

9. Audio
This really could go with the previous number.  I always put a wireless microphone on either the groom or the person leading the service, the vows sound a lot better when things are close up.

8. Editing

Family videos can be just the tape straight from the camcorder.  If your uncle Mark left the camera running when he placed it on the floor to go dance, well that can make very boring video.  If I leave my camera on for no reason, well that video disappears, and it is never seen on the final video.

7. You're free to enjoy the wedding

I used to videotape wedding for friends.  I don't anymore.  I never got to enjoy being around my friends. When I am videotaping I am working, and when I am working it is very difficult to enjoy being around friends.  Choose to do a good job making a wedding video, or chose to have a good time with family and friends.  You cannot do both.

6. See things that the photographer missed

I don't follow the photographer around.  I will get moments on DVD that the photographer did not get. 

5. Comments to the Bride and Groom

I don't usually do this one, but people do come up and ask to say something to bride and groom through the video.  You can't do that with still photography.

4. Silly things people do

Seeing your cousin Bob dance is funnier on video than it is in still photography.  People also say silly things to each other and to the camera, years from now those things can be used as blackmail, or just a good laugh.  (For the record, I recommend the good laugh.)

3. Getting toasts on camera

This is always a big deal at all receptions.  Photographers get the people giving the toast, but they obviously can't record the toast itself.  With a video you get the toast preserved forever.  My own mother had her toast recorded at my sister's wedding, she wanted it erased, but I wasn't having anything of that nonsense.  It stayed in the video.  See the original post about that here.

2. Cutting of the cake and tossing of the bouquet

Photographers will always (or should anyway) pose the bride and groom before they cut the cake.  Video will give you how it actually happened, silly comments and all.  And if you're the bride and groom who try to get cake in each other's face, well video was made for you.

The tossing of the bouquet also falls into something that the photographer will do once posed.  (Often times as a fake throw to get the bridesmaids in action.)  Video though will get every bridesmaids diving over each other.  Typically a photographer will only capture who caught it, not HOW they caught it.  (And killed in the process.)

1. Reliving the ceremony for future anniversary's

You may not be able to place a video in a frame and place it on the wall.  Actually you can, but most people don't do it.  But if you are like many couples I know, including my wife and me, watching the video can become a tradition every year.  So in many ways buying a video is like setting up a future tradition.  And image being able to pass it down to future generations and have them see what you looked and sounded like all those years ago on that happy day.

There are probably other reasons to have a video professionally done of your wedding, but over the years I have come to realize that these ten keep popping up.  If you are getting married in the Richmond area, including Central Virginia, email me or check out my main website for MCT Images.

Feel free to share this article, just please remember to link it back to http://blog.mctimages.com.

All pictures in this article come from weddings that I have shot under MCT Images.

Top Ten James Bond Movies

Posted by Martin:

In honor of Casino Royale being the first Blu-Ray tile to pass the 100,000 mark, I thought it was time for another discussion prompting top ten list.  So here are the top ten James Bond movies as I see them. 

I have read most if not all of the original Fleming novels and I view the character primarily from that lens.  I have recently reread Goldfinger, From Russia with Love, and Dr. No.  The movies get more and more away from Fleming's character, I believe, as time moves along.  The character in the books is mean, fallible, a killer, sauve, and an old fashioned chauvinist, so I think of the Bond character in that light.  But with that being said here is the list.

10.  The Man with the Golden Gun
    As we all know Roger Moore was a completely different incarnation of Bond then Connery ever was.  But a Bond film is also good based on the Bond villain, and this one has a good one in Scaramanga played to the tee by none other than Christopher Lee.  Any villain who challenges Bond in the ability to shot automatically makes them very cool.  And having a third nipple is an added bonus.

9.   Tomorrow Never Dies
    Pierce Brosnan's second trip out as Bond also brought along Michelle Yeoh.  In many ways she was not a Bond girl, because she was his equal, and because of her the movie makes the list.  This Bond bad guy is the classic over the top megalomaniac that wants world domination, so unfortunately it makes him a little forgettable.  But it does have Terri Hatcher as a Bond girl, which is quite memorable.

8.  Thunderball
    Thunderball was the top grossing movie of the young franchise went it was released in 1965.  Thunderball has sharks, underwater fight scenes, and a bad guy with a patch over his eye, all positive elements for a great Bond story.  It also has in my opinion the best lines in the whole franchise. 
"What sharp little eyes you have!"...."Wait til you get to my teeth."
And my personal favorite:
Bond "This gun is fitted for a woman."
Villian "You seem to know a lot about guns, Mr. Bond."
Bond "No, but I know a little bit about women."

(For those true cinema geeks out there, this is the first Bond movie to be filmed in 2.35 aspect ratio.  Bond got bigger with Thunderball.)

7.Live and Let Die
    Roger Moore's first outing as the spy is a good one.   Time in Louisiana at first seems very out of place for a Bond movie, but it allows for more interesting characters that do not appear in other Bond movies.  Jumps across alligators, fights with giant mechanical armed men, and a speed boat race make this one a keeper.  And a young Jane Seymour is a very nice added bonus.

6.  Goldeneye

    Brosnan's first trip out as Bond was his best.  Like Casino Royale this was a fresh start for the series.  I personally liked Timothy Dalton as Bond, but his two movies were hampered by low budgets and were not a priority at the studio.  Brosnan's movies were very different in that regard, the studio gave the projects good money, a great director, and proper press.  Goldeneye is satisfying because it shows Bond in his need for revenge, and when Bond need revenge it is something that you don't turn away from.  Famke Janssen is quite appealing in her role has a murderous Bond girl.  But this movie is notable for having the balls to make M a woman.  Judi Dench makes M an actual character and someone that just has to have an opening and closing scene with Bond.  You know someone powerful is in the room when Dench comes on the screen.

5. The Spy Who Loved Me
    This is Moore's best outing as Bond.  Barbara Bach stars as a Soviet Spy that Bond must connect with, and is probably one of the best Bond girls.  This one also has the 7'2" Jaws.  It was cool to have a familiar villain that came into several Bond movies in a row.  The Spy Who Loved Me also has one of the best Bond gadgets, the car that turns into a boat.

4. Dr. No

    It all begins here.  The first "Bond...James, Bond."  The first Bond girl, and frankly one of the best, the first Bond villain that would set the stage for other Bond films to come.  This is one of the short Bond flicks, but that doesn't matter this one has it all.

3. From Russia with Love

    I place this one above Dr. No because this is more of a sleuth movie.  Bond is trying to figure out what the beautiful Russian spy is up to, being hoodwinked by a Russian killer, and Rosa Kelb with her poisoned knife sticking out of her shoe.  Connery himself has gone on record as saying this was his favorite Bond movie.

2. Casino Royale

    I came close to putting this as number one, but is the world ready for that?  Daniel Craig took a lot of heat when the movie was in production for being blond.  Even I first bought into the negative press, but I always thought that it was a little strange since Roger Moore has reddish-brown hair and no one ever complain about that.  But Daniel Craig proved me and the rest of the detractors wrong.  He is simply the best Bond since Connery.  His version of Bond is much more like the character Fleming created which is why I firmly believe he came across so well.

    This Bond, like the one in the novels, gets angry, makes mistakes, is tough as hell, loves women, is gifted at killing, yet doesn't like it.  The producers got it right when they brought Bond back without the gadgets, and the infallibility of the Brosnan Bond.  Craig was so charismatic as Bond it was difficult to keep your eyes off of him.

    And for my money, second only to the first time Connery does it in Dr. No, this is the most satisfying "Bond...James Bond" in the entire series. 

"Bond...James Bond"

Credits

(click see my original review of the movie)

1. Goldfinger

    This one has all the aspects needed for a great Bond film.  Connery, several blond women, an Aston Martin, a machine designed to kill Bond, the best henchman in the whole series in Oddjob, and a villain that is over the top, yet very plausible, oh, and a character named Pussy Galore.  Like Casino Royale this film doesn't rely on gadgets, and gets Bond to focus on his wits and charm.  There are several elements that make a great Bond movie and this one hits it on all cylinders.

Well, let the discussion begin.  Should I have included a Dalton movie, or On Her Majesty's Secret Service?  And I like both just not sure if they are top ten material.

Thanks to universalexports.net where I got several of these pics from.  Visit the site for more Bond info than you can shake a vodka martini at.

 

Top Ten Pictures that were Best Picture Mistakes

Posted by Martin:

Since the Oscars are upon us I decided to list another Top Ten movie list.  This one is based on movies that were nominated for Best Picture (or Outstanding Production as it was called in the early days) but did not win, yet we remember more in terms of history and influence.  Consequently I will not be including last years winner Crash, because not enough time has gone on to see how history will treat it verses Brokeback Mountain.

To make this list the following conditions need to be met:

• The movie must have been nominated for Best Picture
• The movie did not win the award
• The movie went on to be more influential in terms of cinematic history and is remembered more by the general public, which is shown how it is treated primarily in the DVD format.

This is a list that I have had in my head for a long time.  Simply because I used to argue with roommates about the Oscar winner, and one roommate would respond by saying that it was movie professionals that were picking, so of course they knew what they were doing.

I also wanted to write this list to share with people that there are other great movies, and even better movies than what the Academy will choose.  When I first started getting into movies I always thought I would love to have a poster and VHS copy (it was the 90s) of each Best Picture.  But then I began to enjoy movies outside of what the Academy was telling was "the best", and I soon dropped that goal.  Most of the time The Academy gets it right.  But there have been times in history when they have gotten it wrong, not just a little wrong, but a WHAT THE HECK WERE THEY THINKING type of wrong, thus this list was born.

The list is written in chronological order with the movie listed that the Academy DID NOT choose.

1. 1938-The Adventures of Robin Hood

 

This movie recently got a great upgrade to HD-DVD, and even got a great double disc treatment on DVD a few years ago.  Can you name the actual winner for 1938?  Anyone...anyone....

You can't Take it with you.

Anyone who doesn't work at Turner Classic Movies or is a film professor at USC and knew the answer to that is a serious Oscar fan.

2. 1941-Citizen Kane (Honorable mention to The Maltese Falcon)

 

This is the gold standard for academy mistakes.  Citizen Kane is the most talked about and studied movie in history, yet the Academy choose....anyone....anyone....

How Green was my Valley

 

So now you have the answer to a Trivial Pursuit question.  On another note, The Maltese Falcon was also nominated this year as well.  Citizen Kane and The Maltese Falcon have gotten great productions on DVD, raise your hand if you own the double disc version of How Green was my Valley...that's what I thought....

3. 1942-Yankee Doodle Dandy

I saw this movie YEARS ago.  James Cagney signing and dancing is always interesting to me after seeing him as the textbook gangster.  This used to get major playtime on TBS back in the day during July.  I think it was even colorized once.  (There's another idea for a list...)

And the Academy choose....Mrs. Miniver

NEXT!

4. 1946- It's a Wonderful Life

The story goes that this movie didn't get much respect at first, but then years later it got major play because the rights had run out and television needed a Christmas movie to show.  Well, the movie DID get some respect because it was nominated for Best Picture in 1946.

And the Oscar went to...The Best Years of our Lives

 

5. 1956-Giant, The King and I, and The Ten Commandments

 

1956 was a great triple play mistake by the Academy it was a good year for big budget moves that would go on to have legs for decades.  So the Academy, out of such a plethora of great movies choose...anyone..anyone...Around the World in 80 Days. 

 

6. 1976-Taxi Driver, Network, All the President's Men

The Academy had a run of twenty years where they had great movies and they choose great movies.  In 1976 they had three great movies and two pretty good ones.  And of course most of us should know that they choose...Rocky.

 

Now I don't think Rocky is a bad movie, but it makes this list because Taxi Driver, Network, and All the President's Men are more studied and read about in terms of cinematic history.  Rocky obviously has stayed very much in the public consciousness, but if you studied 1970s today, you would look more at Taxi Driver than Rocky.

7. 1977-Star Wars

Now here is one of the great ones.  Remember, if you can, what it was like to see Star Wars on the big screen for the first time.  Remember there is no Empire Strikes Back, no special editions, and not even a Chapter IV A New Hope on the front of the crawl.  This movie changed how movies were marketed, what we thought was possible in the movies, and even began the Memorial Day kick-off for the movie season.  Lucas was smart enough to realize that kids would still be in school and would tell all their friends at school to see this movie.

The Academy choose....anyone...anyone...Annie Hall.  (Yet another answer to a trivial pursuit question.)

 

Now Annie Hall is a great movie, it is personally one of my favorites.  But the award is Best Picture, not best dialog.  Star Wars was light-years ahead, and it is so hard to realize that now, of everything else.  Maybe the Academy was reacting to the sheer popularity of the movie at the time.  But obviously Star Wars has had a far great influence on filmmaking than Annie Hall will ever have.

8. 1980-Raging Bull

 

One of the masterpieces of Scorsese's career, and of cinematic history, but yet not chosen.  The award went to...Ordinary People.

 

Yeah...ummm...let's move on...nothing to see here...

9. 1994-Pulp Fiction

 

Not since Star Wars has a movie had such an influence on how movies are made and what type movies are made.  Gangster movies now are more trying imitate this movie more than any other, i.e. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and the recent Smokin' Aces are just two examples.

And the award went to...Forrest Gump

 

I was in college when this mistake occurred, I thought it was a mistake then, and I think it was a mistake now.

10. 1998-Saving Private Ryan

 

Saving Private Ryan was suppose to be Spielberg's next Oscar, but alas it was not.  The storming the beach at Normandy scene has now become the standard of how a battle is suppose to look in terms of removing color from the film and the jumpy camera, see Band of Brothers from HBO for an example.  It also proved that Tom Hanks can be a tough guy.

Shakespeare in Love got the award because of a good marketing campaign.  I remember seeing this award being given out and the people in the audience were just stunned, including Gweneth Paltrow who was IN THE MOVIE!  But since then Saving Private Ryan has gotten a much better treatment on DVD and Shakespeare can found in the 9.99 bin at Target.

 

So what do you think?  Leave a comment!

Click here to see a list of all the nominee's and winners from 1927 to present.