beancounters

Friday fun: big blue monsters

A complete list of sources Avatar's accused of ripping off. Always nice to see folks taking time out of their busy day to remember Andre Norton. Otherwise, this is a big whatever to me. Can you really call it 'ripping off' when the basic storyline is as old as Odysseus? You don't hear about Homer getting his panties all in a bunch over O Brother, Where Art Thou, do you? Now, get off Cameron's back. He was just trying to entertain you, for corn's sake. If Hurt Locker doesn't win the Oscar, it's not his fault.

Your kids will learn so much about the big blue people in their neighborhood when they read this easy-reading book about the police. 

How to assemble a mighty team of superheroes [comic]

My favorite Lost T

Putting the tooth fairy on notice

Time traveler's kit - Definitely need to make some as gifts. Yes, I know many people so weird, time travel is the only plausible explanation for their eccentricities. And I will wrap each kit in the sock that the recipient is destined to lose in the dryer in the year 2017.

Friday fun: Pink Santa knows if you've been bad or good

Your Twitter posts can tell Santa if you've been naughty or nice! Believe it! Since I was naughty, I expect Santa will bring my Twitter account another fifty "social media experts."

The evolution of the hipster. I missed my window of opportunity, didn't I? Now if I go ahead and get a full-sleeve tattoo, everyone will think it's derivative.

Is Google becoming Skynet? Tell the world.

Skiing for construction workers? Or does this steam shovel have a new pet?

Replay - an excellent animated short film.

NPR's All Songs Considered - best songs of 2009

Putting the "Christ" in your Christmas tree - literally!

Note cards using photographs of corks. Really. This one made me tremendously happy, and I don't know why. So did this one.

And for your computer: it wants to get into the spirit. Help it out with these holiday desktop images.

A Marvel-Disney roundup

Internet, you so crazy! I wish I could have gotten in on the big Marvel-Disney purchase meme while it was still fresh. Monday morning, I kept an eye on the initial flurry of news, Twitter reactions, punditry and parodies, but soon I was obliged to go to a lunchtime appointment. And by 1:00, it was just sordid.

Memo to Marvel from Disney

Excelsior!

Gooflactus

Hulk smash castle

Duck vs. Duck

From @scalzi: "Yes, yes, I know. Disney bought Marvel. You all make it sound like the inevitable 'X-Men Babies' cartoon series is BAD thing."

Spidermouse

Team-ups we'd like to see - actually, the article is so-so, but some of the readers' ideas might make cool movies ...

Another zombie movie

It takes all sorts, doesn't it? Even in the world of film review. Here's The Passion of the Christ, reviewed as a legitimate zombie flick. Hmm, I wonder if I could watch it now.

The Passion of the Christ follows the torture and subsequent death and emergence as a zombie of one Jesus H. Christ, a poor, humble carpenter who has acquired a cult-like following of men he calls his “Disciples.” He is captured by the priests of the city Judaea, a fascist theocracy not unlike that of present day America, where he is subjected to torture and embarrassment for claiming to be the Son of God. It is not until the end of the film do we see any trace of a zombie, and it is only for a brief moment before the credits roll.

Accio Aunt Petunia!

In an unusual move, we saw Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince for the second time last night. Bunny really wanted to see it again and take a friend. I was going to drop the two of them off at the theatre, but the friend's mother wouldn't let the girl go unless a parent went along. So I thought, hmm, nice excuse to see HP6 again. Then BB said hmm, nice excuse to go with Pam to see HP6 again. Thus it was that we all saw HP6 again.

You're safe in assuming we liked it ... On the face of it, there's much about this movie that could be disappointing. They stripped out almost every sub-plot, the secondary characters who are left are having to pull double-duty, nobody sings "Weasley is Our King," and one of my favorite characters, Aunt Petunia, has gone completely missing. But what we were left with was one strong story, handled with real cinematic flair. If they'd tried to squeeze too many disparate events into this movie, it would have come off disjointed, in my opinion.

Something else I appreciated about this Harry Potter movie - they departed from the first person perspective for a change. In the novels, nothing is learned by the reader unless Harry knows it or hears about it from an outside source. (The exception would be those opening chapters dealing with non Harry-related events, which started appearing in Goblet of Fire.) The result is that Harry rarely learns the Big Secret of any given school year until just after the novel's climax - usually while he is recovering in a bed in the hospital wing, but that's a gripe for another day.

HP movies have for the most part continued in this same vein. But in Half-Blood Prince, something refreshing happened. We got to follow Draco around without Harry, and see - as well as gradually understand - the diabolical work he and the Death Eaters were up to. It was a departure from the norm which served two purposes at once: it showed Draco's very real torment, and it kept the plot moving. All in all, we were very impressed with HP6.

Here's a quiz that'll test your behind-the-scenes knowledge of the movie series. Be ready to make some educated guesses to get through it.

Disaster a go-go

Dig it! Here's the official trailer for 2012 ...
and here's the parody. All the disaster but with a psychedelic beat!

All things HP6

The website - including a lon-n-ng movie trailer

The interview with screenwriter Steve Kloves. My favorite bit:

I once asked [J.K. Rowling] about the 12 uses of dragon’s blood, which is referenced in the books. There are writers who would write “12 uses of dragon’s blood” and not have a clue what they are; it just sounds cool. But I emailed her to ask (and this was 10 years ago), and 25 seconds later I get an email back with a list.

The wishlist is where you can buy Gryffindor bedsheets, though only for twin sized beds! Don't married couples exhibit courage? I should say so. Better to acquire this t-shirt.

The wizarding world currency converter - Geez, movie popcorn costs a pretty Sickle.

Own a piece of cult history

Say, if you have $2.3 million, the house where Cameron Frye lived is up for sale.

THE BEN ROSE HOME-site of the famous movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", cantilevered over the ravine, these two steel and glass buildings, which can never be duplicated, have incredible vistas of the surrounding woods. This is a unique property designed by A. James Speyer and David Haid, both notable architects of the 20th Century. Estate Sale Sold "As Is" No disclosures! This is an amazing architectural treasure.

"As is"? Do you think this means they never repaired the garage window?

Where are you in the movie?

If a movie were begun on the day you were born, and ran once the entire length of your life, where would you be now in the movie? The genius behind WSD has created a handy generator that gently tells you how old you are in terms of one of your favorite movies. Plug in your birth date and (gah!) how long you believe you will live, and see which frame of The Big Lebowski you are on by now.

Me? Let's just say, Dorothy and her friends have already met the Cowardly Lion. And a big-ass leak just began in one of Titanic's holds.

Shatner WAS in the new Star Trek

Gee, you blink and you miss so much!

Giddyup, motherf--

 

[via Nag] Well, why not? You boys can't have all the fun, threatening to destroy the planet with your favorite childhood toys like you do in Transformers 2.

Oh, speaking of trying to destroy the planet, who saw Star Trek this weekend? I thought excellent characters, great casting, and a pretty good plot to introduce us to a newly-minted 23rd century. They did what I thought was impossible because it would be an utter sacrilege - they really injected some much-needed freshness into the franchise. Those who never watched the series before (cough::Nancy::) could enjoy this movie on its own merits, without needing a Trek concordance at hand.

And who happened to notice that all the previews were for upcoming science fiction movies? Just last week I noted we currently have a surfeit of sci-fi. I am now prepared to keep using the phrase "surfeit of sci-fi" until it catches on. Because I am very, very annoying.

What's your damage?

And now for a completely different take on alpha kids - Heathers trivia!  One New Year's night in the late 80s, after we'd stayed up to watch Dick Clark's Rockin' New Years Party or some silly thing, this movie suddenly showed up on HBO. We'd never even heard of it - and no wonder, if they had such a low budget for advertising. We were blown away.

Now it's time to share your favorite Heathers quotes, darling!

Crouching subtitles, hidden plot

I appreciate Yahoo's list of 100 movies to see before you die. I think primarily because I have already seen what looks like 75% of them, and so do not feel as inferior as I typically do in the face of others' experiences.

Happy to see Nature's Perfect Movie, Titanic, listed prominently. But they also listed Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I did not get that movie. My husband BB and I started it one evening and had to shut it off after 20 minutes because we were too confused. It started out so poorly lit, and I'm all, what, they can't fight in the daytime? Why's it have to be at night, when they should be getting their rest? I'm just saying, you go flying between buildings at night, someone could get hurt. The plot seemed to start in the middle, and there was too much to keep track of on top of the obligation of reading the subtitles.

However, I just asked my husband if he liked it. To my surprise, he said it was excellent. Which means ... he went and finished the movie. Behind my back. We can't have this, so it seems I must give the movie another try.

Friday dog-blogging: a different take

[click on  cartoon to expand]

Watch this Volkswagen commercial (yes, Volkswagen) for a very different take on the movie Toy Story. As the kids used to say, my memory has just been sold ...

Post-it Note race

Stiletto sprint - The BBC has made fetishists worldwide very happy.

Stumpy the Duck - A children's story by Ze Frank, illustrated by a few of his viewers. Reminds me a little of the churkendoose ...

Took Mental Floss's Look At Me movie trivia quiz and scored 100%. Boy, that doesn't happen very often. How'd you do?

Do you feel lucky, Joker?

YAHOO! MOVIES: Though "The Dark Knight" has been a bona fide cultural event, boasting rave reviews and boffo box office, it hasn't been immune to criticism. Some have quibbled with its political undercurrents, and others have criticized a muddled theme.

But here's the critique most widely held: Why does Batman talk like the offspring of Clint Eastwood and a grizzly bear?

Batman's voice was also my one real gripe against The Dark Knight. Still, this made me laugh. I thought I was the only one ...

All Things HP6

Geeking out ...

"You'd mouth-breathe too, if you had a nose like mine ..."

It's 111 days or so until Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. What shall we do in the meantime? Hmm ...

Well, we could start by watching the movie trailer in HD about a dozen times, and then watch it frame by frame just to read what's written on all the little Pensieve bottles. And then we could explore all things HP6-related. And then, we could leave each other messages here in the comments section. With me so far?

HP on my mind (and neck)

Ms. Rowling may have completed the Harry Potter series (though I think she's going to torture us the rest of her life with prequels and the like), but the fans continue to live the HP glory days through media of their own choosing.

To wit: Harry Potter jewelry! Here's a horcrux necklace - clever, but I could never wear it outside a convention. I could get behind these Hallows earrings, though. And there seem to be an inordinate number of crafters who want to wear Luna Lovegood's radish earrings. Isn't it odd what strikes our fancy.

IJ4

We saw the Indiana Jones movie on Saturday. It starts out a real mess, plot-wise. But by the end, you WILL believe a septuagenarian can fly!

Speed bumps on the road to Hobbitown

This probably happens more often than we know: A guy has been tapped to direct the movie version of a famous book, in spite of the fact he hates the author.

[H]asn't anybody noticed that [Guillermo] del Toro has repeatedly said he doesn't like Tolkien, and that he never finished reading "The Lord of the Rings"? Here's what he told me in Cannes in 2006, when I asked him about the influence of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis on his own work: "I was never into heroic fantasy. At all. I don't like little guys and dragons, hairy feet, hobbits -- I've never been into that at all. I don't like sword and sorcery, I hate all that stuff."

Let's see, he doesn't like "little guys and dragons" or hairy-footed hobbits, and "The Hobbit" would be a movie about what, exactly?

To me, this alone is no reason not to give the job to del Toro. If he doesn't regard the LOTR series with near-religious fervor, he can be more objective in his interpretation and delivery of the story.

Very good news about HP7 (for Harry)

LOS ANGELES - Harry Potter was the center of seven novels, but he'll star in eight films. The final book in the wildly successful series will be made into two films, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.

Producers are expected to announce Thursday that J.K. Rowling's last "Potter" installment, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," will be split into two parts on the big screen. The first film is slated for release in November 2010, with part two following in May 2011.

I'm more than a little relieved. We know how packed with brand-new info Book 7 was and how much would have to be cruelly chopped out of yer standard-issue American movie, even if they stretched it to 3 hours.

But I'm concerned about our three main actors. Won't they be, like, 60 by the last installment?

"Yeah, I lost me ruddy owl in that fight with Voldemort, but I was too puffed to fly down an' get 'er, innit?"