Sunday, January 29, 2012

The Top 10 Greatest Movie Trailers of All Time


(Image taken from: thedarkknightrises.com)

It's interesting. Movie trailers are supposed to get you interested in a film before the film comes out. But so many times in recent memory, the movie is actually BETTER than the trailer (Which is why Red band trailers are awesome--we get to see what a movie really is without pussy-footing around the ratings board). Here are the top ten movie trailers I've ever seen. For some of these, they were WAY better than the movie advertised, and for others, they were about the same. But one thing's certain, these trailers made me want to see the films they were advertising. Even if one of those films weren't even real (Read on to see what I mean).





10. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre



Gritty, dirty-looking and horrifying. There's so much chaos going on here that it's impossible NOT to be interested in seeing what it's all about. Top notch.

9. Suspiria



Whisper it with me. Suspiiiiiriaaaa. Sure, the movie is awful and it hasn't aged well in the slightest, but this trailer is just cheesy enough to get me to want to see those last few minutes of the movie that's bragged about in the trailer (The ending sucks, by the way. I just saved you a Netflix bomb).

8. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2



I honestly don't even LIKE the Harry Potter movies (They're nowhere near as good as the books). But while I was reading the last book in the series, the one thing I couldn't help but think was how cool the battle scenes would look in a movie, and this trailer got my hopes up. What was great was that the battle was actually pretty good in the movie itself. But alas, no centaurs. The centaurs looked shitty in the earlier movies anyway, though, so that's probably a blessing in disguise.

7. Total Recall



There is just so much going on in this trailer it's ridiculous. We get a one-liner from Arnold, shit blowing up, Arnold fighting, an idea of the plot, and just madness. An excellent trailer.

6. Don't



Featured in the movie, Grindhouse, this faux-trailer is amazing because it's just so hilarious and terrible that it's lovable. I want to see this! But not alone...the trailer told me not to.

5. A Clockwork Orange



Seizure-inducing but brilliant. Just like the movie itself.

4. Watchmen



Waaaaay better than the movie itself, this trailer has Billy Corgan's apocalyptic crooning to thank for it. It's beautiful and dangerous looking.

3. The Dark Knight Rises



This trailer has everything to do with the hype surrounding the movie. The mystery of whether Bane is going to be as amazing a villain as The Joker is on everybody's mind, and this trailer does everything to make us believe he will be. Love that football field collapsing scene. Love it.

2. Chronicle



Will this movie be awesome? Will it be ass? Don't know as of this writing, but one thing I do know is that I HAVE to see this film. I get chills when the dude is crushing the car while sitting Indian style. So sick.

1. 300



Another one from a Zack Snyder movie, I've probably seen this trailer enough times to equal the entirety of the film. That's because it's the best trailer ever. Trent Reznor's searing sound, the brutal visuals, the comic book style art direction...everything about this made me have to see this film back when it came out. Was it as good out of context to the trailer? Well, no, but how COULD it be? Nothing even comes close to it. Best. Trailer. Ever.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

The 10 Swiftest Ninjas in Games


(Image taken from: Complex-mag.com)

Here's my latest article for Complex. It's about the top ten greatest (Or, er, sorry, swiftest) ninjas in gaming. Check it out.

Friday, January 20, 2012

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

More movie reviews from cinemablend

Here are some more Blu-Ray reviews from Cinemablend.com. Again, read 'em all.


(Image taken from: starwars-bluray.com)



















Green Lantern

Horrible Bosses

Pulp Fiction


Transformers: Dark of the Moon


Bridesmaids

Hesher

X-Men: First Class

Priest

No More Posting Direct Text From Cinemablend, sooo....


(Image taken from: moyna16.wordpress.com)

Looks like a made a mistake. I can't post direct text from the articles I've written from cinemablend.com on my blog. My bad, my blunder. So, here are links to said movie reviews. Read em all!










Good Morning Vietnam


Kung-Fu Panda 2

Cowboys and Aliens

The Hangover: Part II

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II

Blue Velvet

More to come...

Sunday, January 15, 2012

The Top 5 Greatest Actors in the past 50 Years

Acting. It's unbelievably hard and it takes a great deal to actually be considered a master of the art. That said, my idea of a great actor is probably very different than yours. For me, great acting is somebody who becomes an entirely different person with each role. That means, actors like Johnny Depp, George Clooney, and Christopher Walken are out because they basically play the same version of themselves in every movie. Prove me wrong.

So, without further yammering...


(Image taken from: paulnewman.com)

5. Paul Newman


Paul Newman, with his good looks, calm demeanor, and charm, may not seem like a great actor at first, but you have to weigh the history of his films against each other. The pool wizard seen in The Hustler, and then later in The Color of Money, are the same character, but played with a great deal of gravitas between them. I think this is because as Paul Newman aged, he took that experience of age with him into his roles, which is why he was so good in a later film like Road to Perdition. His growth as an actor throughout his career is what made him so great. It's also why he was so beloved. The audience aged with him.






(Image taken from: famenetworth.com)

4. Dustin Hoffman

Dustin Hoffman is so great because you can never tell what you're going to get when watching his films. He could play it straight (All the President's Men), crooked (Midnight Cowboy), loopy (Tootsy), and even sympathetic (Kramer vs. Kramer). Hell, he can even be convincing trapping a man in a bear trap (Straw Dogs). Whatever he does, you're going to get something magical...even if the movie itself sucks (Ishtar).






(Image taken from: topnews.in)

3. Daniel Day Lewis

Here's the thing with me. If an actor can blow me away in not one (Like Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight) but at least TWO projects with completely different roles, then you've earned a place on this list. Daniel Day Lewis doesn't do a lot of films, but every film he does, he's the most captivating part about it. Just see movies like In the Name of the Father, Gangs of New York, and The Age of Innocence. Honestly, I don't think they're great films, but they're memorable. And why is that? Because Daniel Day Lewis is in them.






(Image taken from: topnews.in)

2. Bryan Cranston

My best friend, who's Indian, once told me that in India, some of the actors are revered as gods. Honest to truth gods. And sometimes, for some of their films, after the actor in question says a line of dialogue, people in the audience stand up and clap. That's ridiculous. But you know what, I've actually adopted doing this for Bryan Cranston. If you ever watched Malcolm in the Middle and later watched him in Breaking Bad, you'll notice that he was a much greater actor than you ever imagined possible. Anybody who can play the goofball patriarch Hal in one show and then go to the meth making bad guy, Walt, in another is an actor for the ages. And even his film work is starting to look pretty good. I'm interested to see where he takes it. He's one of the best around.






(Image taken from: fandango.com)

1. Gary Oldman

Gary Oldman, to me, is the perfect actor. He's a chameleon! I've literally sat through entire films only to see Oldman's name in the credits and saying, "Wait, that was Gary Oldman?!" He can do any role and better than anybody else. Watch Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, watch Leon: The Professional, watch True Romance, watch Sid and Nancy. Seriously, he's in every one of those films and you wouldn't even know it. He's the best actor in the past 50 years.



Wednesday, January 4, 2012