Happy New Year From Us All At Fatso...

...and also from Zooey Deschanel & Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Trailers: The Dark Knight Rises, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

 In case you missed them, trailers for two of 2012's biggest and most anticipated releases have hit the web. I'm not too fussed about The Hobbit, I was never too attached to the world of Lord of the Rings - though I'm interested to see how much WETA's CG has advanced since Fellowship of the Ring, which just had its 10th birthday the other day. The Dark Knight Rises, on the other hand, already has my money for that one "Holy shit!" shot you'll see in the trailer (the 8-minute prologue that was shown before Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol looked damn promising too).

Before They Were Stars: Michelle Williams

Fantastic bit of adolescent awkwardness. Hoff steals the moment with his reactions to his boy Hobie getting invited to the party.

Trailer: The Raid

Wildly hyped for this one. Welsh-born director Gareth Evans' follow-up to his 2009 martial arts flick Merantau has been getting some high praise on the fest circuit, the general consensus being that it's one of the best action films to come out in a long, long time. Good news is that it will be coming to theatres and DVD early next year. Here's the Indonesian trailer in all its bloody, bad-ass, bone-snappin', groin-punchin' glory:

2011: The Cinescape

End of the year, feeling burnt out and can't remember what cinema in 2011 was like? Watch this thoughtful, beautifully edited compilation of clips from some key films that defined the year. Lots of big-hitters like Tree of Life, Harry Potter 7.2, Submarine and Transformers 3, but see if you can spot all those barely-there split-second clips of less high-profile films (Ip Man 2!).

Trailer: Battleship

Peter Berg's films have gotten progressively bigger and more blockbuster-y over the years, particularly with the effects-heavy, Will Smith-starring Hancock. But that doesn't quite prepare you for the event-sized magnitude of Battleship, his adaptation of Hasbro's board game. Two words that spring to mind when watching this trailer: MICHAEL BAY. With its military-focused action, slick CGI robot transformations and large-scale scenes of devastation, Battleship is nothing if not Transformers all over again. According to this interview however, the film will be "unique" 'cos Berg is "bringing a level of realism and Naval cooperation" to it. A-hem. Anyway, here's the trailer, enjoy the explosions and get excited and whatnot...

Confessions of a Teenage Movie Geek

Okay, time for a personal, self-indulgent post - one that'll probably portray me as a kid who didn't have much of a childhood other than watching movies 24-7. But surely some of you out there did this too, right? RIGHT??

I was clearing out my closet last night and stumbled onto my old film log book which I kept when I was 15-16. I'd been looking for it for a long time now, and I thought I threw it out years ago so was pretty stoked to have found it. It's utterly embarrassing and cringey stuff of course but an indispensable find for the nostalgist in me. I get a weird thrill from knowing that on Saturday November 26 1995 1:35pm I went to see The Specialist. And in the same year I snuck into see the very-R18 Color of Night in which you get see Bruce Willis' willy!!

I'm amused by the fact that I was obsessive/anal enough - at that age - to denote the format I watched the film on, whether it was on VHS, Laser Disc or SKY (!), and more bizarrely, religiously wrote down the Top 10 Films of the week after watching Box Office America. Who knows what I was thinking really. Anyway here are a few pages from the scrapbook for the world to gawk at. I know, I know, shut up.

‘‘I picked Captain Bligh because I liked his hat."

For those of you out there that enjoy good art direction and something a little left of centre, here is a great gallery of short vignettes from The New York Times starring some of the hottest Oscar contenders playing some of the most iconic villainous archetypes the screen has seen. Simple, powerful and vibrant.

Plus a few insights from the actors on where they're coming from and/or what they're channeling: here.

The Sixth Annual Xmas Exploitation Screening

If you're looking for an unorthodox way of celebrating Christmas, make your way down to the Academy Cinemas in Auckland tomorrow night for a special double feature screening of the gory Xmas slasher Saint and the indescribable chunk of cine-insanity known as Raw Force (in rare 35mm!). Tickets are only $12. Here's a sneak peek of what to expect:

Future of Cinema Projection in a Picture

 

"On your left, the past: A person and a film. On your right, the future: A black box." - David Bordwell, "Pandora's digital box: In the multiplex". The piece leans towards the geekier/technical end of things but it provides a lot of insight and context into the forces that have influenced the current industry-wide switch to digital projection in cinemas.