Snubbed at the Oscars

Every year many worthy movies go entirely unnoticed by the Oscars, but it's no secret that the voters have specific types of movies/stars/filmmakers they prefer to be awarded. JoBlo's made a video comp highlighting some noticeable absences in this year's ceremony. Regardless of what I thought of the film, I was pretty surprised that Spielberg's technically dazzling The Adventures of Tintin wasn't even nominated for Best Animated Film. And Senna, no doco nod?? I dug seeing Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene) and Michael Shannon (Take Shelter) in the vid - they were among the best performances I saw last year and should really receive more recognition.

Spoof Trailer: Movie: The Movie

The idea for this sounds good - or at least, a little amusing - on paper, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired, like a stinky Oscar skit. I guess it's a bit churlish to knock something that was obviously scraped together quickly and is admittedly impressive for the number of stars it managed to cram in 10 minutes spoofy trailering for the Jimmy Kimmel show.. but meh. Your mileage might vary.

Random Stuff #27

 

Breaking Bad: Extended Title Sequence

A true fan-made labour of love...

The Raid at Sundance

In case you haven't heard, Fatso will be giving away tickets to preview screenings of The Raid in Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington really soon. To get you a little more excited here's a video reaction by two web film critics after its screening at the Sundance Film Festival in January. And here's the excellent poster that Madman's put together for its theatrical release on March 22nd:

Check your inbox for details on the giveaway sometime next week!

Herzog on Chickens

Thanks to our resident Herzog buff Joel for the heads-up on this great vid of the German auteur talking about chickens... some choice quotes you can drop at parties: "Try to look a chicken in the eye with great intensity, and the intensity of stupidity that is looking back at you is just amazing".

The Raid Will Knock Your Socks Off

The good folk at Madman held a preview screening of Gareth Evans' much-hyped Indonesian actioner The Raid a couple of nights ago and boy did it bring the house down. This isn't a review, just a few quick words, mostly to say... it delivers, and then some. The trailer is a good indication of what to expect, but it's a movie that actually surpasses the trailer in its promise. It's been a while since I've been so slammed into my seat by an action film; after watching The Raid you'll find anything coming out of Hollywood too limp-wristed in comparison. I'm pretty hard to please when it comes to action films so I'm not saying any of this lightly. The Raid is IN-SANE. Go see it and tell your friends. It'll be in theatres March 22nd. I'll be going for a second hit.

Lady and the Tramp Screened for Dogs

 

Here's something mindlessly cute for your Friday arvo. Disney have just re-released their 1955 classic Lady and the Tramp on DVD and Blu-ray, and in the UK to celebrate its Blu-ray debut, a PR company held a screening of the film solely for DOGS. Too cute. A couple more pics here.