Midnight Ramblings

It's a New Targ!

2012-02-26T00:30:00.000-07:00

Alright, because everyone needs a hobby, it's time to break out mine. Ladies and gentlemen, it's time to roll out this week's episode of U62: The Targ!

This time around, we roll out Episode 5.14: Springy Spring. My love of Mythbusters reaches its logical end as I submit a myth to be busted, I celebrate with the rest of the trekkies at the discovery of a lost Star Trek episode, and it's time for Part II of the Jones Soda Holiday Fizzathon!

For those just tuning in, the Jones Soda Holiday Fizzathon is something I'm doing over the next few episodes. I managed to get my hands on a Jones Soda Holiday gift pack, so I'm sampling one on each episode. In Part II...Ginger Bread Soda.

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Fishing in the Discount Bin - Total Recall

2012-02-23T19:00:00.000-07:00

For those just joining us, I used to do this thing on my podcast called Fishing in the Discount Bin, where, as my friend described, "[I] just go off on one of the many DVDs [I] own." I only did about 10 or so on my podcast before I found it too exhausting, but I actually wrote up 30+ reviews before giving up. Rather than let the reviews go to waste, I've decided to start posting them on my blog.

Today, we do the Arnold Schwarzenegger classic Total Recall. This review is originally dated September 5, 2010.

Posting this here, I'm thinking I should finally watch this with the running commentary, as clips of the commentary became a bit of a viral sensation not too long ago. Anyway, on with the review!

So, am I going to be doing this after every DVD I watch, all in the name of show prep, so I'll always have something to talk about on the podcast? Yup. Nothing I hate more than flipping on the mic and having nothing to talk about.

When I was in the city the other day, I finally picked up the super-special edition of the classic Arnold Schwarzenegger sci-fi/action film Total Recall. I'd been eyeing this one for a while. When the super-special edition DVD came out, o, about 9 or 10 years ago, it was much beloved, critically acclaimed, and given the most positive reviews at all the home theatre forums. All that hype always stuck in my mind, so when I saw it in the discount bin for the low, low price of $5, I figured, "Why the hell not?"

(The same people also produced the super-special edition DVD of the definitive erotic thriller, Basic Instinct, and I fished that out of a discount bin when I saw it for $3! So, yeah, look for my thoughts on Basic Instinct to be here soon.)

I remember this DVD also caused some controversy when it first came out because Arnold demanded a salary of $100,000 to participate in the bonus features. So, for $100,000, Arnold got interviewed for the "making of" documentaries and did a running commentary. It was controversial at the time because, back in those days, actors participated in the bonus features for free...to hang out with the old crew members who they made the film with, have a few beers, and remember all the fun they had making the film. Arnold, of course, was seen as a money-grubbing movie star. But here we are now, 10 years on, and I'm sure it's become a standard clause in every contract that the star will get $x to participate in the DVD.

So, anyway, Total Recall. Made in 1990, and lots of reaming 1980s conventions are in there. Such as Sharon Stone's aerobics outfit. I love the sci-fi predictions they made back then. TVs covering whole walls, being able to watch a dozen channels at once. Some of that has come true, some of it hasn't.

And let's not forget the film's Oscar-winning special effects. Some of them have actually aged pretty well, and still hold up to this very day. Others will have you screaming, "It's only a model."

We're all familiar with the plot. Arnold is a mild-mannered construction worker who has visions of Mars. Unable to actually travel to Mars and get it out of his system, he goes to this futuristic company called Rekall where they can just implant the memories so you think you've gone. He goes for the super-deluxe package so he can live out the life of a secret agent. Before you know it, something goes horribly wrong, and he's trapped in a conspiracy where he has to actually go to Mars, team with the rebels, and find out what exactly is going on. And that's where the film got its hook. Is Arnold really on this epic adventure to Mars, or is he just sitting in a chair in Rekall, living out the fake memories he's paid for?

I haven't listened to the running commentary yet, but apparently Arnold and the film's director, Paul Verhoeven, get into a spirited debate about that. Verhoeven was of the belief that it was real, and Arnold believes it was a dream. The commentary ends with them agreeing to disagree. I don't know. I first saw the film when I was 13 and I was 100% sure that it was real. I still feel that way. Why they hell would you spend 2 hours watching something that's imaginary?

(But Mark, you're saying, aren't all films imaginary? And to you I say, don't be a smart ass. :-) I have no idea how I'm going to represent a smiley face on the radio.)

I forgot how many elements of this film have entered pop culture. Kuato, the mutant leader of the rebels who takes the form of super-intelligent baby emerging from a man's stomach, has now become much-parodied. And Family Guy once did a whole bit about the three-breasted hooker.

But yeah. It's still a good watch after all these years.

The Secret World of Arrietty Review

2012-02-22T19:14:00.000-07:00

So, for Family Day, I thought I'd run into the city and catch Disney's latest Studio Ghibli dub, The Secret World of Arrietty. While it's not from Ghibli's in-house genius Hayao Miyazaki, I figured it was still worth a look, because Studio Ghibli is awesome.

It's neat...coming out of the theatre, I overheard this one guy..."I don't know what the big deal was. I was always told that the big thing about anime was there's a stronger focus on story. I thought that would have meant a happy ending."

No...the big deal about anime is it's more mature, hence things like downbeat endings. As they say in another of my favourite movies, "That's all life is, a series of down endings."

Long story short, I liked it, and there's now a review on the main website. Click on over and read it!

It's Targ Time!

2012-02-19T00:30:00.000-07:00

It's that most magical time of the week! Sunday. Time for sleeping in, lounging around, and listening to the radio. Or, maybe you'll all 21st Century and you listen to podcasts. In which case, why not try the latest episode of my podcast, U62: The Targ?

This week, I bring you Episode 5.13: Flag Points. In this episode, I give my excited reaction to the greatest crossover in the history of ever (I already blogged about it...click here to read it), I continue my obsession with Condorman and finally figure out a unique way to get, and I roll out the first in a 4-part series...the Jones Soda Holiday Fizzathon!

Let me explain. Jones Soda is somewhat infamous for their very unique flavours that they roll out every Christmas. About a week ago, I was browsing in Liquidation World when I came across the "Jones Soda Holiday Gift Pack," all marked down to $3. So I decided to buy this 4-pack and, for the next four episodes, I shall sample one of these holiday sodas and give my thoughts. In this episode, we have part 1: Candy Cane Soda.

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Simples Rewards

2012-02-18T09:26:00.001-07:00

Not too long ago, I was blogging about those great mail-away offers from my youth. I'm talking about the things like flag points on the back of G.I. Joe toys, where you'd collect the points, send them off with a cheque for $3.99 shipping and handling, and you get an exclusive action figure. In that blog entry, I was lamenting that there doesn't seem to be anything similar these days for grown-ups. But then, I kind of realized that there is something similar out there, in the form of all those corporate rewards programs.

If you listen to my podcast, then you'll know that in the past few episodes, I've been fondly reminiscing about the near-forgotten early-80s Disney superhero film Condorman. It all came about because Condorman made a very surprising cameo in the Pixar short film Small Fry. As my mind goes back to this classic from my childhood, we eventually come to a conundrum. I want to get it on DVD.

Turns out that's quite a problem. Back in the late-1990s, when DVD was new and exciting, Disney actually farmed out some of their late-70s/early-80s films to a DVD company called Anchor Bay. However, when it turned out that DVD was going to become a thing and became the fastest-growing home media format ever, Disney reclaimed a lot of their titles. So, the Anchor Bay edition of Condorman has been out-of-print for around 10 years and goes for big money on eBay. I'd like to see the film, but I don't want to pay big money. So, I started googling to find my other options.

In my search, I discovered that Disney has a movie club, much like Columbia House of old. You can buy all kinds of Disney DVDs direct from the company. Now, what really sweetened the pot was that the Disney Movie Club has a whole bunch of exclusives...DVDs that they only sell through their movie club. Perusing their movie club exclusives, I found several titles where I was amazed that they would limit their distribution like this. I found films like:

DuckTales: The Movie -- Treasure of the Lost Lamp
Their Emmy-winning remake of Pollyanna starring that little girl from the Cosby Show
The Castaway Cowboy, which for some reason I saw on video a lot when I was a kid

And...Condorman

Now, as tempting as it was to sign up for the Disney Movie Club, get my 6 DVDs for 99¢ and finally have Condorman, the truth was I went through a Columbia House phase in my teens and I'm wary to go back. I still remember how their whole "negative billing" thing works, and before you know it, I forget to send back the little card, and now I'm stuck with several dozen Good Luck Charlie DVDs. So Disney Movie Club is out.

As I continued my online search, I eventually found that Disney has a rewards program in place, Disney Movie Rewards. I had been familiar with this for a while. Every Disney DVD and Blu-Ray comes with a code. You punch in the code at the website, you get points, and you then redeem the points for merch. Fairly basic rewards program. So I started taking a look at all the various knick-knacks you can redeem your points for. They've have the usual stuff, and they have DVDs...and they have a few Disney Movie Club exclusive DVDs available.

Including Condorman. Bing!

I could get Condorman for free! So, I grabbed all my Disney DVDs off the shelves, started punching in all that Disney Movie Rewards codes I could find, and lo and behold, I had enough for Condorman. So my order has been placed and Condorman should be arriving in 6 to 8 weeks.

And there you have it. Turns out all those great mail-away exclusives of my childhood still exist, they've just grown up and gotten themselves a fancy name like a rewards program. I can still redeem my flag points and get my exclusives, just like I did when I was 8. I don't have to grow up at all!

But maybe a little growing up wouldn't hurt. I also learned from this that I probably have more Disney DVDs than a single guy approaching middle age should probably have.

The Greatest Crossover In The History of Sci-Fi Comic Book Adaptations

2012-02-17T00:30:00.000-07:00

I shared this news on Facebook and Twitter and such a few days ago (here's the original article I linked to) but it's so awesome I just have to blog about it.

The comic book company IDW currently holds the comic book rights to two of the world's largest sci-fi franchises: Star Trek and Doctor Who. It probably didn't take too long before some suit at IDW said, "Crossover!"

That's right, what was once only the subject of fanfic has become an officially licensed expanded universe reality.

The storyline is called Assimilation² and the official plot description is thus: "The Borg and the Cybermen create an unholy alliance resulting in potential disaster for all humanity. Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise find themselves joining forces with the Doctor and his companions, with the fate of the galaxy hanging in the balance."

First issue streets in May. Wow...just wow. I can't believe this is happening, even in comic book form.

Truth is, Star Trek doing crossovers in comics is nothing new. Back in the 1990s, Marvel Comics had the Star Trek comic book license, and since the long time Marvel logic is, "Comic books sell really well when Wolverine is on the cover," the did a Star Trek/X-Men crossover, where the crew of the original Enterprise met the X-Men. It was so popular that they did a sequel where the crew of The Next Generation teamed up with the X-Men. And right now in Star Trek comics, IDW is doing an inter-company crossover with DC in which the original crew teams up with that famous 30th Century superhero team, the Legion of Super-Heroes.

Doctor Who in comics tends to be a trickier thing. Some have already said that this would have been better if the crew of The Next Generation teamed up with The Sixth or Seventh Doctor, as those were the ones on TV when TNG was running. But, the BBC tends to put tight restrictions on the comic book license for the Doctor, always clearly stating that only the current Doctor can be portrayed in comics.

It's covered quite extensively in the DVD bonus features for Doctor Who: The Movie. Its revealed that the Eighth Doctor is the one who's had the most extensive career in comic book adaptations because, from when the movie aired in 1996 to when the revival began in 2005, the Eight Doctor was, for all intents and purposes, the current Doctor. Many credit the Doctor Who comic strip within the official Doctor Who magazine (considered by many to be the "official" Doctor Who comic book representation) to be what kept the Doctor in the public eye for those 9 longs years. Apparently, Russel T. Davies, the mastermind behind the revival, knew this, and even asked the makers of the Doctor Who comics to do the official Eighth Doctor to Ninth Doctor regeneration tale, but they couldn't. As I said, only the current Doctor can be portrayed in comics, so they couldn't show the Ninth Doctor before he appeared on TV, and they couldn't go back and show the Eight Doctor after the Ninth appeared. It's quite a fascinating featurette.

In fact, there's already some kefuffle about whether this'll be available in the UK. Because the official Doctor Who magazine has the comic rights for the UK, and IDW only has them for North America. But I'm sure it'll show up in some import shops.

But yeah. Save me a copy this May!

Fishing in the Discount Bin: The Iron Giant

2012-02-16T20:07:00.001-07:00

I've thought about doing this for a while now, and tonight, I decided to bite the bullet and do it.

About a year ago I was doing something on my podcast called Fishing in the Discount Bin. One of my best friends and dedicated listeners said to me, "Do you know what I'd like to see you do on your podcast? Since you love movies so much, I would like to hear you do something where you watch one of your DVDs and just...go off on it. Just say why you like it, why you don't...just rant about it." So I did.

I only did it for about 10 or 12 episodes, because this segment made my podcast significantly longer and I started finding it more creatively draining and more exhausting to produce that I had originally thought.

But as I sit here at my computer and comb through my hard drive...even though I only did the segment about 10 times on the podcast, I actually wrote up 30+ Fishing in the Discount Bin reviews for eventual use in my podcast.

And rather than just let it go to waste, gathering virtual dust on my hard drive, I've decided to start posting these reviews to my blog.

So, yeah. For the next 30+ weeks, enjoy my old Fishing in the Discount Bin ramblings. I wrote most of these well over a year ago, so I`ll be sure to include the dates of when I originally wrote these. That'll explain why I start talking about Christmas in about six weeks or so.

For my first Fishing in the Discount Bin, I decided to do my favourite movie, The Iron Giant. These notes are dated September 3, 2010.

Well, one of the new regular features that I'm prepping for my podcast is ranting about the movies I watch every Friday night. As I have no social life and spend most Fridays at home watching DVDs, I may as well rant about them and try to answer the age old question, "Why did I buy this again?" And what better way to start this than with my all-time favourite movie, The Iron Giant. It must have been a good...three months since I've seen it last.

I've always got special memories of The Iron Giant. It was the first movie that I sought out and watched purely because everything I read online was raving about it. One website after another was posting another positive review. So I knew I had to drop everything and see it. And I had to thank the Internet, too, because many agree that it's marketing campaign was totally botched. One of the bonus features on the DVD is "making of" TV special that was never shown on TV.

Actually, last year, at a special 10-year anniversary screening of the film, which had a Q&A with the film's director, Brad Bird, Bird blamed himself for the botched marketing campaign. As the film was nearing completion, the marketing guys came to him and said, "You know what? We love this film, but it's so different from all the other animated films out there that the marketing campaign we were planning isn't going to work. Can we push it back six months so we can come up with a new way to sell this?" And Bird was all, "NO!! FUCK YOU YOU FUCKING SUITS! I've been working on this film for three years! You're telling me you couldn't figure out how to sell this in three years? Go fuck yourselves! It comes out on time!"

I love the films of Brad Bird, but the more I read about him, the more I realize he's got a real short temper. There's another incident where he tore a fan a new one because this fan wanted Bird to sign his Incredibles DVD. Bird didn't tie him a new one because he had the audacity to ask Bird for an autograph, though. Bird flew off the handle because the guy had the full screen DVD. "In order to see my full vision, you need to buy the widescreen, you ignorant fuck!" said Bird.

Well, he didn't call the guy an ignorant fuck, but he was rather curt with him.

I'll never forget the first time I saw The Iron Giant. I had just graduated from college. My sister had just graduated from high school AND had just come back from backpacking across Europe. She hadn't seen Disney's Tarzan yet (Disney's big animated blockbuster that summer). I wanted to see Tarzan, too, so I said, "Hey, I also want to see this Iron Giant film. Want to do a double feature day and we'll go see both?" She agreed. Tarzan was the first one we saw that day, and we all thought it was pretty good.

Then we saw The Iron Giant. Wow. We were crying at the end. I felt like someone punched me in the gut, the film hit me that hard emotionally.

As soon as I got home, I fired up the old computer and e-mailed everyone I knew: `You MUST see this movie! It is so awesome!` And even up to a year later, friends were e-mailing me back saying, `you know, I finally rented it last night because you said it was so good, and you`re right! It`s SO GOOD!`

About the only negatives my friends ever had to say had to do with the ending. SPOILER WARNING: so the movie ends with the Giant making the ultimate sacrafice and using his body to detonate a nuclear missile before it blows up all his friends. And then, after that, we see the nuke DIDN`T kill the Giant, it just blew him into a billion pieces, and now these pieces are being gathered up in Iceland where the Giant is rebuilding himself. Some of my friends said that they didn`t like that the Giant lived...saying that it cheapened his sacrafice. I, personally, like that the Giant lived, because it hammers home the point that souls don`t die, and the Giant does indeed have a soul.

What more can I say about this film that I haven`t said in the past? I like it when my animated films give me something different, and this film is full of "different" moments. Where the character of Dean says, "I'd like to apologzie in advance for what I'm about to do," and then unzips his pants to let a squirrel out. Or the scene where Hogarth drops his pants in the bathroom and pretends he's having trouble on the toilet in order to cover for the Giant. And how that scene concludes, when Kent says, "This is why it's so important to chew your food," and that amazingly, wonderful, look of disgust that Annie shoots Kent. Brilliant.

Oh, and the game of chicken that Hogarth and Kent play. Where they stare at each other all night waiting for the other to fall asleep. Watching this film again, I know that the events must take place over months. Hogarth and Kent must have had some great games of cat and mouse as Kent tried to get Hogarth to spill the details about the Giant. That's something for the fanfic authors.

But yeah. I don't know how many times I've seen it now, but the ending always gets me. "Superman," the Giant whispers. as he plows into the nuclear missile. I always tear up a little. Must be a geek thing.

The Iron Giant. It's awesome. See it.

Let's Roll Out the Targ

2012-02-12T00:30:00.000-07:00

Greetings from the past! I actually recorded Episode 5.12: The Third Kind of Heat two weeks ago, but only now am I posting it online! Procrastination. What a mircale!

But in this one, I try to find the Canadian connection to Doctor Who, I fondly remember Heritage Moments, and, even though I know next to nothing about sports, I regurgitate some stuff about the NHL All-Star Game.

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New Spider-Man Trailer!

2012-02-07T11:32:00.000-07:00

So, some people were wondering why we didn't get a new trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man with the Super Bowl this past Sunday. Well...it's because they were waiting for today to give us a new trailer!

I've blogged about it before, so I don't think I need to go into too many details. After three films, Sony figured it was time to reboot Spider-Man. Good-bye, Sam Raimi, hello Mark Webb, director of romantic comedy (500 Days) of Summer. Andrew Garfield, last seen as Eduardo in The Social Network takes on the role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man, everyone's favourite new star Emma Stone is Peter's first love Gwen Stacey, and Rhys Ifans is the villain of our piece, Curt Connors/The Lizard. Rounding out the cast are Denis Leary as Capt. George Stacey, Gwen's father and the police officer who heads up the task force to bring in Spidey, and Sally Field and Martin Sheen as Aunt May and Uncle Ben.

Enough rambling, the trailer!

What I like: Like a lot of other online critics, I'm so glad they brought back Spidey's witty one-liners. That's something that was missing from the Raimi films. And also, with building the webshooters once again, looks like Spidey is back to being a hardcore science geek, also something that seemed glossed over. Apparently, the screenwriters were told to draw mainly from the Ultimate Spider-Man comics, and you can see that influence, with Parker's parents being more prominent, and them having some shadowy ties to Oscorp. And Denis Leary. Dude. The delivery of that line, "38 of New York's finest losing to man in a unitard." That's such a Leary delivery!

What I don't like: STOP MAKING IT LOOK LIKE TWILIGHT, DAMN IT!!!!

The Amazing Spider-Man hits theatres on July 3.

The SuperBowl Movie Spots

2012-02-06T13:12:00.000-07:00

So, there was some kind of football competition yesterday, and, as always, it was filled of all kinds of amazing commercials. And, being the movie guy that I am, I'm sifting through all of the movie commercials that were shown! It's become common practice for the movie studios to put together a 30-second spot for the big game to showcase their upcoming spring and summer blockbusters. So, let's see what we've got....

First up, Battleship. With the success of G.I. Joe and Transformers, Hasbro started looking for other properties they own that could be turned into movie, and they settled on the classic board game Battleship.

In the movie version, alien invaders fence off a giant section of the Pacific around Hawaii, as part of phase 1 of an invasion. Luckily, also trapped inside that force field is an American Nany fleet. Commanding this fleet is Gambit from X-Men Origins: Wolveriene, one of the sexy vampires from True Blood, Rihanna, and the wolf puncher himself, Liam Neeson.

Looking at the designs of the alien ships, and the sound design in this spot...dude, they are trying hard to make this look like Transformers 4.

Battleship hits theatres on May 18.

And speaking of Hasbro, next up we have G.I. Joe: Retaliation, aka G.I. Joe 2. In this second adventure, the Cobra-controlled President of the United States (yeah...that's how the first movie ended) orders the Joes terminated with extreme prejudice, and the remaining Joes band together to clear their names and stop Cobra. It's a largely new squad of Joes this time out, including DJ Catrona as Flint and Adriene Palaki as Lady Jaye, and their led by Dwayne Johnson as Roadblock. Bruce Willis also shows up as General Joseph Colton, the man who founded G.I. Joe.

Much like the first film and the first trailer, my inner child is going nuts for this. G.I. Joe: Retaliation hits theatres June 29.

We also have Disney's John Carter. Based on the legendary series of sci-fi novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs (yes, the Tarzan guy), this film is mostly based on the first novel in the series A Princess of Mars. It follows the adventures of John Carter, a hero of the American Civil War, who is somehow spirited it to Mars, and finds it to be a fantastical land at war, a war in which he is quickly drawn in.

Movie versions have long been attempted since the 1930s, but it has long been considered unfilmable because of the amazing creatures described, such as one Martian race, the Tharks, who are 10-feet tall with four arms and tusks. But, if there's anything that The Lord of the Rings and other films of the past 10 years have shown us, the unfilmable has quickly become filmable.

Our hero John Carter is played by...Gambit from X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The guy has a name, I should start using it. It's Taylor Kitsch. Using the Avatar performance capture technology, Willem Dafore plays Tars Tarkas, the leader of the Tharks.

I've never read the books...hardly heard of them until I started reading about this film. I'm curious about it because the director is Andrew Stanton, the veteran Pixar animator who directed A Bug's Life, Finding Nemo, and Wall-E. He's making his live-action debut with this.

John Carter hits theatres on March 9.

And lastly, the superhero film no one thought would ever happen. The Avengers. The Marvel Comics supergroup bands together to fight off the threats that no one hero can handle alone! Robert Downey Jr is back as Tony Stark/Iron Man, Chris Evans is back as Steve Rogers/Captain America, Chris Hemsworth is back as Thor, Jeremy Renner is back (he cameoed in Thor) as Clint Barton/Hawkeye, Scarlett Johanson is back as Natlie Romanov/The Black Widow, and Samuel L. Jackson is back as Nick Fury. New to the team is Mark Ruffalo, who takes over Edward Norton as Bruce Banner/the Hulk.

Fun trivia fact: Ruffalo is the first guy to fully play both Bruce Banner and the Hulk. In Ang Lee's Hulk, the Hulk was completely computer animated, with Lee doing some of the motion captures. For The Incredible Hulk, Norton provided the motion capture. But for The Avengers, they put Ruffalo in the full Avatar performance capture rig so he could fully play the Hulk.

Fan favourite Joss Whedon (creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly/Serenity) is the writer and director on this one.

It's looking really good...Cap's updated costume looks kind of cheezy to me, but I can live with it.

The Avengers hits theatres on May 4.

The Targ Comes Targing Along

2012-02-05T00:30:00.000-07:00

Happy new month! And what better way to celebrate this shortest month of them all than with a brand new episode of U62: The Targ!

In Episode 5.11: CondorBat, I take some time to reminisce about the classic Disney movie Condorman, ponder the best way to end a superhero film trilogy, and share my fanboy musings about how to reboot Batman.

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Here Comes the Targ!

2012-01-29T00:30:00.000-07:00

It's that time of the week again! Time to take your MP3 player and stuff it!...with a new episode of U62: The Targ!

Got a very busy show this week in Episode 5.10: Midnight Music. I offer up a lesson for the artistic types out there, I take a look at the growing intercontinental feud between TV networks, I reminisce about the old days, take a long hard look at the Internet dating scene, and end by wondering what Pixar did wrong in 2011.

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Scarecrow's Oscar Picks: 2012 Edition

2012-01-25T06:27:00.000-07:00

It's time for my annual tradition going back all the way to when I first stared developing my online presence oh so many years ago. Oscar nominations were announced today, so that means it's time to roll out my Oscar picks!

I'm feeling kind of guilty looking forward to this year's Oscars when I still have to catch up on last year's Oscar winners. I've been saying for a whole year now that I'm going to kill a Sunday afternoon by heading down to the video store and renting The King's Speech and Black Swan. I've still got time...hopefully before this year's ceremony.

Now, for those who might be new here, I've always done my Oscar picks a little bit different. Best Director? Best Actor? Best Screenplay? Pfft! You're going to be flooded with those predictions in the media between now and when the big show is on TV on February 26. Instead, I tend to focus on some of the smaller awards that I tend to geek out over. And those two awards: Best Visual Effects and Best Original Song.

Let's take a look at those categories, shall we?

Best Visual Effects

My Thoughts: Hugo has been getting lots of love for it's imaginative use of 3D effects. Real Steel has ass-kicking giant robots. But the one that everyone is raving about is Rise of the Planets of the Apes, where virtually all of the apes were done with performance capture animation.

My Predictions: Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Best Original Song

Hey! Thanks to YouTube, I can post the nominations! The nominees are:

"Man or Muppet" from The Muppets

"Real in Rio" from Rio

My Thoughts: Wow. Only 2 nominations in this category this year? I have no idea how this category works. Help me Wikipedia...OK. Apparently, eligible songs are ranked on a scale from 6 to 10, and to get a nomination, you have to get higher than 8.5. And these are the only songs that scored higher than 8.5 this year. Bit of a surprise with The Muppets...everyone knew it would score at least one nomination, but everyone thought that one nomination would be the film's opener "Life's a Happy Song." Either way, everybody loved the songs in The Muppets...this is their category to lose.

My Prediction: Man or Muppet

Best Animated Film

Threw this one into the mix when the category was created 10 years ago because I do so love animated films. As I've blogged before, there was a time in my life when I'd run out to the theatre and see every animated film that came out, but I stopped doing that when every animated film became talking animals making pop culture references. Which talking animals will be honour this year? The nominees are:

My Thoughts: For the first time since this category's inception, Pixar doesn't get a nomination. That's what you get for making Cars 2! Oh, well. Pixar still gets some love, though, as their short film La Luna got nominated for Best Animated Short Film. (La Luna made the rounds on the film festival circuit last year...it's going to be in front of Brave this summer.) As always, there's a couple of art house picks that have people scratching their heads. A Cat in Paris is a French animated film, about a little girl and her cat solving a mystery on a warm Paris evening, and Chico and Rita is a Spanish/UK co-production about two gifted musicians in the 1940s and 50s as they bounce around from Havana, New York, Vegas, and Paris as they try to achieve their dreams. There's some controversy that The Adventures of Tintin didn't get nominated, once again sparking debate as to whether performance capture counts as true animation. And Rango made the list as expected. I know Rango got a lot of love, both commercially and critically, but when I finally saw it I found it fairly typical and didn't see what all the fuss was about. But because of all that love, it's the frontrunner.

My Prediction: Rango

Best Picture

Well, enough of my hipster Oscar predictions, I guess I should do at least one mainstream one, so why not the biggest one of them all? I really have no idea how this category works anymore. It used to be just 5 nominations. Then, a couple years ago, they expanded it to 10 to try to include more mainstream films and less art house picks that no one had heard of. This year, they're trying a new system where a film has to get a certain number of points to qualify, and there'll be as many nominations as there needs to be. 9 nominees this year, and they are....

My Thoughts: Well, the whole point of doing this was to allow more mainstream films, and we can see that here. The Help was getting a lot of Oscar buzz when it became the sleeper hit of the end of summer. However, with the Golden Globes and all the various critics awards across the USA that tend to be the indicator, it seems to be coming down to Hugo and The Artist. And many are pointing out that The Artist was brought to North American shores by the Weinstein Company, who are using many of the same successful Oscar campaigning techniques that they used last year for The King's Speech.

My Prediction: The Artist

2012-01-22T00:30:00.000-07:00

It's that time of the week again! Time to take your MP3 player and stuff it!...with a new episode of U62: The Targ!

I feel like I need to apologize in advance for this week's episode, Episode 5.09: Flame War. See, we're having a by-election up here in Athabasca, and I take a large portion of this week's episode ranting about one of the issues that's very important to me: affordable housing. Once that's out of my system, I also share one of my favourite stories of the making of Star Trek IV, and ponder the meaning of George Lucas announcing his retirement.

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Happy Birthday, DeForest Kelley!

2012-01-20T07:04:00.002-07:00

As Facebook now allows for longer and longer status updates, I find the silly little blog entries I used to do are getting passed over for just simply posting it straight to social networking sites.

But, since I still want to keep this blog running, maybe I should post this stuff to the blog and then just share the links on all the social networking sites. Oh, Internet, why are you so big and complicated?

Anyway, the simple little entry I want to say today is happy birthday to DeForest Kelley, still best remembered as Dr. Leonard H. "Bones" McCoy on the original Star Trek. Kelley passed away in 1999, but were he still with us, he'd be 92 today.

I'm sure lots of folks will be rolling out "He's dead, Jim" and "I'm a doctor, not a ______" montages in tribute today, so instead, I wanted to put out there one of my favourite quotes from Bones:

"In this galaxy, there's a mathematical probability of three million Earth-type planets. And in all of the universe, three million million galaxies like this. And in all of that and perhaps more, only one of each of us. Don't destroy the one named Kirk."

Although, for your own inspirational purposes, I'd suggest replacing Capt. Kirk's name with your name.

And, thanks to YouTube, here's one of my favourite McCoy moments. It's McCoy's return to Enterprise from Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Once you get past the pure 70s cheese of what McCoy is wearing, it's just a great little character moment.

The Muppets Review is Online

2012-01-17T15:54:00.004-07:00

So, this past weekend, I finally got a chance to head into the city and this new Muppet movie everyone's talking about.

Long story short: it rocked.

My complete review is now up on the main site. Click on over and have a read!

It's Targ Time!

2012-01-15T00:30:00.000-07:00

Time for a new week, that means it's time for a new episode of U62: The Targ!

Today, we break out Episode 5.08: Pound Pound Pound It Out, in which, after we struggle with what to talk about, we start chatting up the sad remnants of dying fads, ponder building new tourist attractions in our national parks, and ask the age old question: "What am I doing with my money this month: paying the rent, or buying new DVDs?"

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Red State Review

2012-01-13T22:00:00.000-07:00

As I've previously blogged, two of my favourite filmmakers were out with new films in 2011 that I never got around to seeing. So, of course, I went out with my Christmas money and bought those films on Blu-Ray a) to finally see them and b) so I wouldn't have any gaps in my collection. A week ago I saw the first of those two films. The filmmaker was Pixar, and that movie was Cars 2. The second one was Kevin Smith, and that film was Red State.

Being a Kevin Smith fanboy, I'd been tracking this one online for a while. He sat down and wrote it after Clerks 2. Hoped to make it his next film after Clerks 2, but his usual studio the Weinsteins chose to pass on it. "It's a bleak, unrelenting film with no redeemable characters and everyone dies at the end! I don't understand why they wouldn't want to make it," I heard Smith joke in his famous Q&A sessions. So Smith went off and made Zack and Miri Make a Porno (ignore the critics and the box office returns, it's a damn funny film) and Cop Out (listen to the critics and the box office returns because it's a God awful film) before deciding to go back to his indie beginnings and make Red State independently.

It was about a year ago when he premiered it at the Sundance film festival and announced that he'd be distributing it independently as well. Many thought his distribution method was unique. Rather than pass it off to a distributor and put it in thousands of theatres, he was going to take it personally from theatre to theatre, screen it, and then do one of his famous Q&A sessions afterwards. Many thought this was revolutionary, but I looked at that and went, "Hey! Didn't Tim Allen do that a couple of years ago?" And he did. Allen made his directorial debut a few years back, and he personally took it theatres and screened it. Only instead of a Q&A, he busted out some new stand-up material and did his stand-up show. So it was hardly revolutionary. And, for a director like Smith, with a very dedicated fanbase, it made a lot of sense.

Smith brought his Red State show to Edmonton back in August or September...I can't remember exactly when. All I remember is I couldn't get the time off work to go, so I knew I'd probably just have to buy it on Blu-Ray when it came out and kick back some evening and watch it. That kind of didn't bode well, though, because the only other Smith film I'd ever seen without seeing it in the theatre first was Jersey Girl and...well, I can't make the expected joke. You can tell I'm a dedicated Kevin Smith fanboy, because only the dedicated utter these words:

"Ya know, Jersey Girl's actually not that bad."

You can't deny though that Jersey Girl and Red State have similar origin stories. Both were touted by Smith as being efforts to break out of his safety zone and try something new for him. With Jersey Girl, he was wading in the shallow end...just out of his comfort zone, but able to retreat quickly would things go on. With Red State, though, he did a cannonball off the high dive.

So, let's take a look see, shall we?

Red State

Directed by Kevin Smith

Starring Michael Parks, John Goodman, Melissa Leo, Kerry Bishe, Kyle Gallner, Michale Angarano, Nicholas Braun, Ralph Garman, Stephen Root, and Kevin Pollack

Backstory: Well, I pretty much covered that above, so no need to repeat myself

Plot: This is a tough plot to summarize briefly. Three teenagers go off into the woods one night to lose their virginity to a woman they met on the Internet, but it turns out to be a trap lain by a religious fundamentalist organization that's a borderline cult. Things quickly spiral out of control and our borderline cult is soon in the midst of an armed standoff with federal agents. The film could more accurately be described as a series of character portraits as this Hell on Earth starts to break out. There's the small town sheriff, played by Root, who gets all jittery because this incident could reveal some of his secrets. There's one of the eldest children in the cult, played by Bishe, who's only thoughts turn to saving the children when things start falling apart. There's the lead federal agent, played by Goodman, who desperately tries to do the right thing. There's our three teenagers who kicked off our story, wondering desperately if they'll make it out alive. And, the most talked about performance in the film, Michael Parks as our cult leader Abin Cooper, who is very much the face of evil in this film.

What I Liked: Visually, this is nothing like Smith has done before. He'd always been reluctant to direct action sequences, citing his own inexperience, but for most of the action scenes in this film, he does a pretty good job. In fact, there was one camera shot that, while not Earth-shattering, was just out of Smith's norm enough to make my jaw drop. Make no mistake though, it is still a Kevin Smith film. There'll be a line of dialogue and the delivery of that line that'll make you smile and go, "Yup, that's Smith." As I said, everyone's raving about Parks' performance, and deservedly so, but I was rather impressed with Goodman as the flustered federal agent in over his head. Being largely familiar with Goodman's comedic work, I'd never seen him do something dramatic before, and he was good. And there were some wonderfully tense moments.

What I Didn't Like: Well, it's still a Smith film, and as such, it does get a little too talky for an action/thriller. As riving as Abin Cooper's sermon is, it does kind of bring the plot to a halt.

Final Verdict: Despite its preachy moments, I found Red State to be a tight little action thriller. It was tense, it was scary, and it was enjoyable.

3 Nibs

It's a New Targ!

2012-01-08T00:30:00.000-07:00

Let's see if we can keep this streak of new episode going in the new year with Episode 5.07: Overtired.

In this week's episode, we're chatting about the recent World Juniors, building monuments to TV shows, and sampling black burgers!

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Cars 2 Review

2012-01-06T22:20:00.001-07:00

So, as I'm sure has become very obvious by now, I'm a big, big fan of Pixar. Love their films. However, this past summer, I skipped their latest film. The commercials just held no interest for me. It was the first time I'd missed a Pixar film in the theatre in...ever. I'd seen every Pixar film in the theatre! Except this one. However, with my pockets filled with Christmas money, I went out and I bought it on DVD. I mean, I also own every Pixar film on DVD, so I can't have a gap in my collection.

Tonight, I finally sat down to experience the mediocrity that is....

Cars 2

Directed by John Lasseter; Co-directed by Brad Lewis

Starring the voices of Larry the Cable Guy, Owen Wilson, Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, Eddie Izzard, John Turturo, Jason Issacs, Thomas Kretschman, Tony Shalhoub, and Bruce Campbell

Backstory: So, when this film was first announced, the question that every Pixar geek had was, "Out of all the fantastic films that Pixar has made, why does Cars get a sequel?" That question is best answered by Yogurt from Spaceballs: "Merchandise!" Granted, while Cars was Pixar's lowest grossing and not-best-reviewed film, it was also Pixar's biggest hit ever...in terms of merchandise sales. And since merchandise sales are one of the biggest parts of a film's revenues these days, a sequel was pretty much assured. But hey, we were all cynical towards Toy Story 2 & 3, and they turned out to be good, so Cars 2 could be good...right?

Plot: In the freakish nightmare world where cars rule and humans are nowhere to be seen, the fuel magnate Sir Miles Axelrod develops a new alternative fuel call Allinol, and to promote the usage of this fuel, holds a race known as the World Grand Prix. Of course, our hero from the first film, Lightening McQueen, is invited to race, and he brings along his best friend Mater the Tow Truck. Mater, simple country bumpkin that he is, has all kinds of delightful culture shock misunderstandings, which eventually causes him to be berated by McQueen. However, Mater is soon mistaken for an ace secret agent by two British spies, and is enlisted to help them in their latest adventure. Seems that a crime syndicate made of history's greatest lemons is out to sabotage the World Grand Prix. Can Mater and his two new spy buddies save the day? Will Mater reconcile with Lightening McQueen? And who will win the World Grand Prix?

What I Liked: Well, it is Pixar, so the animation is gorgeous. My current favourite composer, Michael Giacchino, did the score, and it's a great pseudo-James Bond score. John Turturo voices McQueen's chief rival, a Formula One racer named Francesco, and he is hilariously over the top.

What I Didn't Like: PREACHY. This film is very blunt with its messages. Look, I appreciated trying to whip a little wisdom at the kids, but it doesn't have to be this blunt. The plot is kind of muddled, as we cut back and forth between McQueen on the race and Mater in his spy adventures. Owen Wilson is really phoning it in this time out as the voice of McQueen. And, as always, the humour of Larry the Cable Guy is an acquired taste.

Final Verdict: Well, what can I say? Pixar's four films prior to this all had me in tears at the end. No tears were shed at the end of Cars 2. The typical Pixar effort just doesn't seem to be there this time out. It's just...a sequel.

2.5 Nibs

Now, I've got a busy weekend ahead, but hopefully I'll be able to sit down and watch my other new DVD. Another of my favourite filmmakers had a new film out in 2011 that I never got around to seeing, so hopefully I'll be able to find a few moments over the weekend to watch and review it as well. Keep your eyes on this blog for when I finally check out Kevin Smith's Red State.

2 New Movie Review for the New Year!

2012-01-03T20:27:00.000-07:00

So, before this whole crazy Christmas/New Years period came to a close, I knew I had to get out to the movies. So I figured it was time for a good ol' double feature day, which I did back on Monday!

First up, I wanted to check out the new Sherlock Holmes sequel. I liked the first one well enough, and I found the second one to be...well, as the ol' cliche goes, "If you liked the first one...."

Next up, I wanted to catch the latest Mission: Impossible. As I'd previously blogged, I'd been very curious to see this, because one of my favourite directors, Brad Bird (The Iron Giant, The Incredibles, Ratatouille) was making his live-action debut with this. And for his live-action debut, he did a stellar job.

I've got complete reviews over at my main website, so click on over and give them a read!

It's Time for the Targ!!

2012-01-01T00:30:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2012, and I can think of no better way to ring in the new year than with a brand new episode of U62: The Targ!

We start the new year with Episode 5.06: A Week Full of Thursdays. I discuss the pains of being recognized, I lament the end of Batman: The Brave and the Bold, and I spend my time dissecting the trailer for The Hobbit.

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News from Markworld: 2011 Edition

2011-12-30T20:07:00.001-07:00

So, once a year, I decide to e-mail out a letter to friends and aquaintiances just to update them on what's going on in my life. Since e-mail address change and go defunct and all that, I decided to post it to the blog this year, in the hopes that maybe, some long lost friends who are curious as to what happened to me, may Google my name some night. Here's my 2011 letter.

Good day, ladies, gentlemen, and various other individuals I haven’t e-mailed in over a year.

‘Tis I, Mark Cappis, with my annual note updating you on all the occurrences in my life. Usually, I send this out at the start of December, to get snail mail addresses and weed out my Christmas card list. But, life got busy and I wound up putting this off for most of December. It’s too late now to be a Christmas letter, so I guess it’s a New Years letter. All for the best, really. I’ve always felt that New Years was a more universal and inclusive holiday.

Writing this letter reminds me of the classic fantasy comic book The Sandman. In one issue, a man comes up with the ultimate scheme to live forever. When Death comes to collect his soul, he’ll simply say, “No thanks. I’m not going.” Death, overhearing this conversation and being a cheeky character, decides to grant this wish for immortality. Death’s brother, Dreams, not having much of a life, decides to strike up a friendship with this newly immortal person, and they vow to meet every 100 years, have a drink, and catch-up.

So what I’m trying to say here is, it’s been a hundred years. Who’s buying this round?

What’s Going On In My Life

My life is still very much uneventful. You’ll still find me up in Athabasca, working at 94.1 the River. I’m still the wacky morning guy, and you can hear me on the air every morning from 6AM to noon. Back in April, I celebrated 5 years up in Athabasca, and I’m still loving every minute of it.

The job really showed me how important a radio station can be to a community. You may recall that back in May, Slave Lake was victim to some devastating wildfires that burned down a portion of the town, resulting in the entire town being evacuated. Athabasca became home to the largest evacuation centre. Every day, on the air, I’d provide daily updates on what was needed at the evacuation centre, and every day, the listeners would provide it in droves. It was a very busy couple of weeks, but really reminded me that this job does have certain great powers, and great responsibilities, to paraphrase an old comic book.

This year, I also ended my time with the Magnificent River Rats Festival, Athabasca’s Canada Day celebration and music festival. I spent two years as treasurer, and I was really starting to find the job very taxing. I’m proud of my work with the festival, and I’m sure it will be very successful in the years to come. But rather than kick back and relax, I quickly found something else to fill my time.

Like a lot of other facets of the entertainment industry, radio tends to be full time work for part time pay. I’ve spent my five years in Athabasca living on a very tight budget, and I had some cost-of-living increases over the past year that threw my budget out of whack. So, I finally had to break down and, like a lot of my radio brethren before me, get a second job. I now spend my evenings down at Buy-Low Foods keeping the produce section stocked. It’s created some interesting reactions from listeners who recognize me. One assumed I was starting some kind of Dirty Jobs segment on my show and wanted to know when I’d be coming down to her business. Another seemed genuinely angry that I have to work two jobs and threatened to call my radio boss and demand I get a raise. I never got a befuddled memo from my radio boss about that, so I’m guessing he never called.

That’s the main reason why this letter is so delayed. Between Christmas events that I was broadcasting live from, and working double shifts at the grocery store for the Christmas rush, I was run pretty ragged this December. But now, I’m looking forward to a quiet January and things settling back into some sense of normalcy.

Favourite Quote of the Year

“Didn’t you go to NAIT? Didn’t you run for president? Dude, your campaign was hilarious.” – An Edmonton Oilers PR exec, when the Oilers came to Athabasca for an event. Turns out he was taking some business courses at NAIT when I decided to...make an impression. Let this serve as a reminder that you never know when, where, and what you’ll be remembered for.

“How on Earth can I find you?” “Just make a wish. That seems to work.”

As always, my online footprint is massive, so if you ever want to catch up with me, a quick Google search will turn up all manner of options.

Chaos in a Box.com (my website): www.chaosinabox.com

Midnight Ramblings (my blog): chaosinabox.blogspot.com

U62: The Targ (my podcast): www.chaosinabox.com/targ

My work blog: www.941theriver.ca

Facebook: www.facebook.com/chaosinabox

Twitter: www.twitter.com/chaosinabox

My YouTube Channel, where I sometimes make videos: www.youtube.com/mcappis911

...And the Adventure Continues...

And that pretty much sums up my 2011. No runs, no hits, no errors, as my dear ol’ Dad would say. All in all though, I’m starting to find that Dr. Johnny Fever summed up the radio announcer lifestyle quite accurately on a rerun of WKRP: “Pushing 40, and still living like a college kid.” But when all is said and done, I can’t imagine doing anything else.

See you again in 100 years. Next time, you’re buying.

Mark Cappis

Prometheus Trailer

2011-12-22T19:56:00.001-07:00

Well, today, we got our first official look at one of the more mysterious blockbusters coming in the summer of 2012, Prometheus.

Why is this film so mysterious? As we all know, in this day and age, everything is preqeuls, sequels, and remakes. So, 20th Century Fox eventually decided to make a prequel to their best-know horror/sci-fi franchise, Alien. The general concept was to tell the story of the "space jockey," the pilot of the downed ship that our brave humans discover in Alien where they eventually unleash the Alien.

People were ready to shrug this off as just another shameless cash-in for the franchise. But then, things got interesting. Fox was actually able to convince Ridley Scott to come on board and direct this. Scott, of course, director of such blockbusters as Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, Black Hawk Down, the recent Robin Hood and...the original Alien way back in 1979. This is Scott's return to the sci-fi genre even since he made the cult-classic Blade Runner way back in 1982. The Alien fanboys have longed for Scott to return to the universe he created, and Scott's involvement brought a new excitement to the project.

So, the development stage went on. The script was refined. And then, Scott and the writers and producers started saying that things had taken a turn. As they continued exploring the story and its possibilites, it evolved into something new. Scott went on record as saying that the film had changed so much that it was no longer an Alien prequel, but that the fans would be able "to see the strands of Alien's DNA." Adding to the confusion was that many Fox higher-ups and several of the cast members continued to refer to it as an Alien prequel.

And that's what makes this film so mysterious. What exactly is it about? Just how much of a connection is there to Alien? Yeah, there's been a spoiler-filled script review circling the Internet for months now, and I could go read it, but where's the fun in that?

The first trailer went online today, and the questions continue.

Well, one thing people seem to be agreeing on...based on the visual asthetics in the trailer, it at least takes place in the same sci-fi universe as Alien. Many have pointed out that the trailer itself seems to be an homage to the original trailer for Alien.

Needless to say, I am intrigued by Prometheus. The mystery that's been surrounding this film is starting to get to me. What little we see in the teaser does some intriguing...it's almost like Scott finally has the budget, or the special effects technology, to really open up the universe he created, rather than the minimalist approach he had with the original film.

It's gotta a pretty star-studded cast, too. Noomi Rapace, the original Swedish Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, is Dr. Elizabeth Shaw, an archeologist heading out to the stars to discover the origins of mankind. Charlize Theron is along as Meridith Vickers, a corporate figurehead, and Michael Fassbender, who was the young Magneto in X-Men: First Class, is David, the Alien stock character of the cold-hearted android.

I think I'll be seeing this this summer. It's been enough of a tease so far that I'm hooked.

How exactly does this fit in to the Alien universe? I guess will find out on June 8.

First Trailer for The Hobbit

2011-12-20T21:39:00.001-07:00

So. Let's talk about The Lord of the Rings. Truthfully, not much of a fan. Don't get me wrong, the movies are good, and I respect that it sparked this whole trend of "filming the unfilmable" that's getting such upcoming movies as John Carter.

But I've never really been able to get into them because of the books. I've tried many, many times in my short life to read the books, but I find them so boring. That's why I've avoided the extended editions of The Lord of the Rings. From what I gather, all they really did for the extended editions was put in all the exposition and back story that brings the plot to a halt in the books.

22 years ago -- Christmas 1989 -- I got this handsome boxed set of The Lord of the Rings, and just by looking at the spines on my bookshelf, you can see all my previous attempts to read the trilogy. The Fellowship of the Ring is well-worn, like it's been read a dozen times. The Two Towers is in pretty good shape, like it's been read once or twice. And The Return of the King is as pristine as the day I tore off the wrapping paper.

However, also in the boxed set is the prequel to The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit. The Hobbit is beat-up, dog-eared, slightly torn like it's been read a thousand times. And it has. Despite my distaste for The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit remains one of my favourite books. It's just such an easier read...it's nowhere near as dense. My fantasy-loving friends once told me that The Lord of the Rings is simply The Hobbit with every single footstep described in painstaking detail. I haven't read The Hobbit in a few years...I think I'm due to read it again.

So, then, like a lot of nerds, when The Lord of the Rings started making serious coin at the box office, we knew it was just a matter of time before they made The Hobbit in order to keep the franchise going. There was some legal stuff to sort out first...the movie rights to The Hobbit were owned by MGM, and The Lord of the Rings was owned by New Line. Eventually, they figured out the legal stuff and resolved to work together. Peter Jackson, director of the trilogy, was on board...as a producer.

To direct The Hobbit, Jackson selected Guillermo Del Toro, the director of the Hellboy films and fresh off the Oscar-winning fantasy epic Pan's Labrynth. The plan at the time was to make two films: the first one, a straight up adaptation of The Hobbit. The second one, they were going to pour through all the various appendicies and footnotes that J.R.R. Tolkien wrote and concoct an original story to fill in the gap between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

However, MGM was going through some financial woes, and Del Toro got fed up just standing around, waiting for the bankruptcy thing to sort itself out. So, Del Toro quit the project. And Jackson said, "Well, I guess it's up to me," and decided to direct The Hobbit. Also around this time they tossed the original "bridge the gap" film idea...instead, they were just going to cut The Hobbit in two and make two movies.

Of course, we have some returning cast members from The Lord of the Rings. Sir Ian McKellan is back as Gandalf, Andy Serkis is back as Gollum, Hugo Weaving is back as the Elf king Elrond, and they even worked in some cameos for Elijah Wood as Frodo and Orlando Bloom as Legolas.

Our hero, Bilbo Baggins, will be played by Martin Freeman. This isn't the first time that Freeman has played a cult-classic literary character...he was also Arthur Dent in the film version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and on the new BBC production of Sherlock Holmes (you know...the one that's supervised by Steven Moffat of Doctor Who fame), he's Dr. Watson. He was also Tim Canturbury, the original British version of Jim Halperin, on the original British version of The Office.

The first film, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, hits theaters on December 14, 2012. The second film, The Hobbit: There and Back Again, comes out December 13, 2013.

And the first trailer just went online.

I do get a little goosebumpy watching this. It's truly nice to see a return to this cinematic world. And as I've always enjoyed The Hobbit, I'm more familiar with it.

I think it's time to re-read The Hobbit to get ready for this film. And who knows? It might even give me enough of a running start to finally tackle The Lord of the Rings.