Archive for the ‘Watching’ Category

It was announced that the U.S. Government was going to change the anti-piracy notices on new DVDs and Blu-rays to include not one but two unskippable 10-second notices to further harangue the people who didn't steal the discs, telling them  not to steal.

Obviously, this is either a mistake or part of a larger scheme. Of all the people the studios and government might want to harass and shame, why pick on the only people still giving them money? Why make legal movies and TV shows even harder to watch, and pirated products (which have no notices, no commercials, no previews, no time-wasting menu graphics that are keeping you from watching the damn movie you paid for) even more attractive?

It's almost as absurd as the "You Wouldn't Steal a Car" video — also unskippable — before some movies, which, in a fit of almost crippling irony,  may be using music from Dutch composer Melchior Rietveldt without his permission. (Also? If I could click on the car and get one without taking yours away? And you keep yelling at me not to when I haven't? I just might, now.)

The studios can't be that stupid, so I assume the studios have decided that DVDs and Blu-rays are simply no longer cost-effective and streaming is the way to go and therefore they're going to lower the demand for discs by making them increasingly unwatchable. Future changes may include unskippable half-hour documentaries on how piracy leads to record profits for movie studios  the complete downfall of civilization into a brutal, post-apocalyptic wasteland, "Don't Steal, Dammit!" frames inserted every five minutes into movies, "shame placement" programs where anti-piracy diatribes are written into the actors' dialogue, and a point-of-sale rollout program where, after purchasing, an agent follows the customer from the register to their car yelling in their face the whole time, "You gonna steal that? Huh? You gonna pirate it? Answer me! I can shoot you, you know! I can totally shoot you, you legal owner, you!"

Later programs will instruct cashiers to physically rip purchased Blu-rays from the customers' hands and spit on them.

I wish them luck in their new, ineffectual effort. It'll give me more time to get some reading done.

Spoiler: There isn't much.

I'm not sure if I'm ready to stick Joss Whedon's Marvel's The Avengers at the top of my favorite based-on-a-comic-book movies or even at the #1 superhero movie spot (although it's damn near). It would have to share space with the first Superman movie (largely on Reeves' perfect nailing of Supes, and nostalgia), the second Spider-Man movie (great themes, the first perfect superhero movie fight scene, my love for Spidey), the second X-Men movie (better script, better acting, Nightcrawler), the first Iron Man movie (almost flawless) and Batman Begins (first version of Batman that villains might actually fear).

But it was far and away the most fun I've had in a movie theater in a very, very long time.

So why pick on it? Well, my love for Whedon is well-known. Many excellent reviews and essays have already been written — check FilmCriticHulk, and theonetrueb!X's look at sentiment as a theme — and I'm sure PopMatters is already gearing up for a collection. But I'm known for my amateur script-doctoring, so my self-appointed, unrequested task is to analyze this movie and see how it could have been improved, in my own unfair and uninformed way.

MAJOR SPOILERS ahead, probably, for those ten or twenty unfortunate people who were in a coma over the weekend and therefore did not see the movie. Doctors are, even now, feverishly working on ways to pipe The Avengers directly into their brains.

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So, I like the books. Not great literature, but fun and quick, addictive reads and just enough social commentary to add some weight and, most importantly, they are the perfect antidote for the Twilight series. And the movie trailers looked good and Jennifer Lawrence was a great choice for Katniss and I was excited to see what they had done. So much so that I braved the crowds to see a movie on opening night, something I do maybe twice a year.

And… I don't know. There were exciting scenes and moments I got misty and times I felt like cheering and when the credits rolled I felt mostly disappointed.

Spoilers abound so I'll put the rest after the jump. Guard your eyes!

(Photo: Lionsgate)

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Jane Espenson's hysterical webseries "Husbands," staring Cheeks, Sean Hemeon, and Alessandra Torresani, was one of the best things about 2011, and they've started up a Kickstarter to raise $50K for a second season. Since it's only a few hours old and they're already halfway there, I'm going to go ahead and call it now: more Husbands is guaranteed.

Which is a good thing. Their 11 2-minute shorts combine into the funniest sitcom pilot I've seen in a long time, easily better than just about any shows currently on the air. (Watch 'em all here!)

But you might want to get in on the fundraiser anyway, since they've giving away cool goodies such as autographed pics, screen credits, an appearance, lunch with Jane and Cheeks and more. Go get in bed with them, quick!

It's like "Where the Hell is Matt" without quite so much silly dancing.

So it's not as good as "Where the Hell is Matt." But it's still pretty cool.

Lust for Love is the story of an innocent guy (Fran Kranz) who wins the love of his childhood sweetheart (TBA), but since he’s been holding out for her his whole life, he's so embarrassing that he’s quickly dumped. Convinced he needs more experience with women to win her back, he convinces the sweetheart's girlfriend (Dichen Lachman) to teach him how to woo women.

It's also got fellow Dollhouse alum Enver Gjokaj, plus Maurissa Tancharoen, Caitlin Stasey, and (because she is federally required to be in all indie-Whedony-webby productions) Felicia Day. It's written and will be directed by Anton King, the guy who did the amazing music video for Tancharoen and Jed Whedon's "Remains." So yeah, I want to see this.

And I will; it's already funded. But a basic budget, while cool, isn't enough. I'd like to see higher production values, better distribution, maybe even (gasp) a few bucks for the people involved. There's still 6 days left to contribute and be a part, and you can get lots of great stuff by doing so. Copies of the movie, access to the behind-the-scenes stuff, posters, even private screenings if you've got the bank for it.

Indulge your lust for "Lust for Love."

It's been making the rounds so you've probably seen it, but just in case… the cast and crew's goodbye to David Tennant. Watch closely and you can tell who knew the words already and who didn't!