In our latest ViralCast, the staff reviews Transformers 2 (the viral and the movie), and discusses viral news and the recent death of some of our most beloved celebrities.
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ViralCast #11: Transformers 2, District 9, Recent Deaths and More!
June 30, 2009 By
D-9.com Viral Updates – Videos and Target
June 29, 2009 By
D-9.com has two new interview videos up with more of the local human population in District 9. Just click on the two yellow dots on the map to access the video. One begins with the title card “DO YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THE WAY NON-HUMANS COMMUNICATE”. In it, three clips of three different human locals talk about the difficulties in communicating with the non humans. The second has the title card “DO YOU THINK THE NON-HUMANS ARE COMMITTING TOO MANY CRIMES”. Similar to the other video, three clips of interviews show people talking about how the non-humans commit crimes, including one confirming the non-humans do not have fingerprints. Interesting stuff.
There were two things I noticed specifically after watching these videos. One is, these (and other) interviews look incredibly authentic. Second, no one in the videos ever uses the term “non-human” or “aliens” or anything like that. It’s always “Them” and “They”. Not sure why that is, but I have a rather abstract theory that ties my two observations together. My theory is that these are genuine interviews, but they are about something else. The filmmakers actually interviewed locals in South Africa, but they weren’t talking about the movie, they were talking about real events. Why? To make the interviews authentic. Maybe locals wouldn’t talk about an alien movie, but real issues, sure. Who knows.
Our other District 9 update comes from Christopher the non-human at mnuspreadslies.com. When you go onto D-9.com as a human and type in “target” in the access code, you get a printable version of the non-human target seen on the film’s posters. Click on the image below to download the target in PDF format.
Remember to let us know if you find any District 9 viral updates. There’s a lot out there, so we need your help. The film opens August 14th.
Review: The Hurt Locker – War Is A Drug…
June 26, 2009 By
This film starts with a bang. It never lets you go from start to finish. That’s what great films do. Set in Iraq, this is a story with a message unlike typical Iraq war movies in the past; it’s a story about a company of U.S Army EOD Bomb squad. The hell they have to go through is haunting and captivating. The film starts with a quote i dearly love because it fits with the film:
‘war is a drug’
It truly is for these soldiers. It’s a story of survival and the hunting not being the hunted. A cat and mouse game, making the overall theme of this film tense and suspenseful. The harrowing things these GIs go through are realistic as possible. This might be the most realistic, tense modern war movie since ‘Black Hawk Down’ and it’s the best Iraq war film HANDS DOWN.
There are several well known cameos in this film. One of them is really surprising, but his role is a shocker for sure (i’m not giving out the details). Jeremy Renner is truly the man in this show of men, being a cocky cowboy in the war zone but his attitude pays off throughout the film. The whole cast is excellent, having the chemistry of a disciplined Army squad ready for war. There are some scenes in this film that grip you with your seat, making sure you didn’t s*it yourself. That’s how tense it is. The sound for this film is marvelous, making Marco Beltrami’s score a perfect dose of war and making the overall feeing for this film a helpful cause. The bomb scenes are the best action-played war scenes in cinema. I take this any day than crazy stupid Micheal Bay explosions. Adding in some slow motion was also just right, unlike Zach Snyder’s addiction to that gimmick we all are now tired of.
I respect and credit to Kathryn Bigelow, making this film about the Iraq war or war in general, joining in a genre made by men and an all-male zone in the movie industry. She clearly pulled it off in a nice and great way. Overall this film wasa great war film period and that’s saying something. In this decade of war movies, it’s the second best behind Black Hawk Down but it offers one thing B.H.D didn’t, a psychological view of war and torment, realizing that they way you live, that’s the way you die because, as they say, war is addicting because it’s a drug.
The Hurt Locker is currently showing in these cities: Los Angeles and New York. It will be wide released on July 2009. You can also visit the film’s website here for more details.
Overall MovieViral Rating:
9/10
Posted by David Alexander, follow him on Twitter. New to the site? Check out the About Us page. Register at the MovieViral.com forum, which is located at www.MovieViral.com/forum.
*Photos courtesy of Summit Entertainment.
Review: Transformers 2 – Spectacle Of The Summer
June 25, 2009 By
The buildup is huge, the TV spots are on every commercial break, the toys are on the shelves, and my ass is in the seat. God, did I love this movie. It was just too amazing. I know that makes absolutely no sense, but I don’t think I have ever seen action scenes that are so awesome that it completely negates the rest of the story. Which is a completely good thing. Since the plot is terrible (I really expected more from Orci and Kurtzman), it might have something to do with the Writer’s Strike, as I have heard that the script was rushed to beat the strike.
Now onto the action. The fight scenes in here are almost perfect, especially in IMAX (Which you have to see the film in; it’s totally worth it.). The IMAX screen really does add to the film, although the transition from IMAX resolution to up-converted 35mm can be a little rough. But, you get your moneys worth. I mean, I’m the kinda guy who’d pay $20 JUST to see Optimus Prime in life size, and to see Devastator on the huge screen, but like I said earlier, see it in IMAX, it’s completely worth it. (Make sure you go to a real IMAX screen, there is a Google map of real locations and the “LieMAX” locations at http://destroyfakeimax.blogspot.com)
Now onto the “plot”, not that anyone cares. The story follows Sam Witwicky, as he loses his mind, gets chased around New York, ends up in Egypt, goes all Indiana Jones on the pyramids, and he’s tapping Megan Fox. This part keeps your interest until the Transformers are on screen again. However, the sequences with Josh Duhamal’s character and Tyrese Gibson are very entertaining, its the closest thing to and actual plot in this film. Overall, the plot was very weak, yet it kept me interested, and that’s all it really needed to do.
Everyone knows why you want to see this movie: the Transformers, and are they awesome. Sure some autobots are shoved into the background after one big moment (Sideswipe, Ironhide, and Ratchet). But the main robots are funny, awesome, and they kickass. Now, I’ve heard some people complain about ‘The Twins’, saying they’re the racist/Jar Jar character in this film, and I honestly do not think they are racist. I will cover it in deeper detail on this weeks Soapbox. The real shining star in the film is Optimus Prime, who is the biggest badass of them all. Really, he is just that damn awesome here.
Overall, the film is good. Really good, but it’s definitely not for everyone. So check it out of you can (Preferably in IMAX).
I give Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen a solid 8/10
District 9 is rated ‘R’ by the MPAA
June 24, 2009 By
Rope of Silicon has posted an update of various ratings of upcoming films, one of them is District 9.
Here’s the description of why District 9 is rated R:
Rated R For bloody violence and pervasive language.
Interesting. It may seem those rumors of this film being grittier are coming true. While the PG-13 may have helped in the box office and attracting a more general audience, I think your ‘general audience’ won’t understand this type of a film anyways, if you know what I mean. I fully respect Sony’s stance on this film and it will be turn this film up a notch as not a Sci-Fi doc which has limited violence and representing a National Geographic program but a serious Sci-Fi hardcore film that, in my opinion, will bring in surprises to us and the film world.
New District 9 Videos on YouTube
June 24, 2009 By
So, I’m surfing YouTube at 1:00 AM and I notice that Sony Pictures has an MNU video on their YouTube page. Then I go to their page and realize there are actually three new District 9 videos in the last 24 hours. Here are all three videos:
The first video is pretty benign, just a commercial for Multi-National United. Some of you may have noticed it on the MNU website. The second two are MNU alerts found on D-9.com and give us some pretty good looks at the Non-Humans. Here are a couple screenshots I was able to pull. If I can get higher quality images, I’ll update this post.
What do you think of the videos? I think they’re pretty cool. Definitely great to see more the of the non-humans and how they move. Let me know if you see any more videos.
Check it Out: M. Night Shyamalan Website
June 23, 2009 By
M. Night Shyamalan, director of such movies as ‘Unbreakable’, ‘Signs’, ‘The Sixth Sense’, and ‘The Happening’ has launched an official website, which is more of an experience than a website.
Go to www.mnightshyamalan.com, where you will be taken into a room and given simple instructions: use your arrow keys to move around. Rocket science right there, folks. Now, onto the actual contents.
I will say now, that this is NOT a flash site where something will pop out at you (the atmosphere and look of the site implies such a thing). When you move around, there is generally something in your field of vision that you can pick up, move and place somewhere to unlock a special commentary from Shyamalan with his own thoughts on his films, tidbits of trivia about them, and his favorite scenes from each of his films.
Since the site is running particularly slow for me for some unknown reason, I couldn’t do everything there was to do on the site. Therefore, see what you can find inside this ‘experience’ and let us know in the comments if you find anything interesting or peculiar in there!
It is worth noting that M. Night’s next movie, ‘The Last Airbender’, has a teaser trailer out now (which is playing in front of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, along with the new 2012 trailer). The film is currently slated for a July 2nd, 2010 release.
Review: The Proposal – Reynolds Makes a Chick Flick Semi-Funny
June 22, 2009 By
DISCLAIMER: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE SPOILED PLEASE DO NOT CONTINUE TO READ ANY MORE PAST THIS POINT.
Andrew Paxton (Reynolds) has hopes and dreams of becoming a big shot editor and sacrifices a lot to accomplish his goals. His biggest obstacle is dealing with his boss, Margaret Tate (Bullock), on a day-t0-day basis. She’s known around the office as a she-devil. As things play out we find out that Margaret’s temporary visa has expired and she will be de-ported if she doesn’t get her self cleared by the INS. She then con’s Paxton into a fake engagement. However, in order to be legally cleared by the INS, Margaret and Andrew have to learn everything about each other so they can “pass” the interviewed. But if their answers don’t match up, they’ll see the consequences. Andrew, being her assistant, already knows everything about her whereas Margaret is left clueless about Andrew.
Over the weekend in Alaska, at a Paxton family party, we meet the rest of Andrews family. The typical “you were never good enough” dad (Craig T. Nelson), the nice mother (Mary Steenburgen), the funny, lively Grandma Paxton (Betty White) and Andrews high school sweet-heart (Malin Akerman). In a storyline of typically predictable events, but still funny as they play out, Andrew and Margaret tell the entire family that they are engaged, taking everyone by surprise. Over the weekend, things between Andrew and Margaret actually do begin to develop and Margret is the first to realize she may love him when she sees Andrew with Gertrude. Oscar Nunez ( Oscar from NBC’s “The Office”) makes a few hilarious appearances throughout the movie, adding to the humor of this overall predictable movie.
Eventually the engagement is found out to be fake, and Margaret leaves a note to Andrew where she basically confesses her love for him. Andrew also confesses his love for her after his ex, Gertrude, makes him realize he’s in love with her. Andrew and his dad (Nelson) begin fighting and Grandma Paxton has a heart attack. They rush her to a plane to take her to the hospital. On the ride there, Andrew and his dad make up after twenty plus years of fighting in literally five seconds – a pinkie promise at 10,000 feet. Grandma Paxton then reveals she faked the heart attack – classic Betty White.
Margaret is sent back to New York to gather her things and catch the quickest flight to Toronto. At the office she worked while she is carrying boxes out of her room, Andrew shows up and you can only guess what happens.
Overall: The Proposal is without a doubt a chick flick. Ryan Reynolds is one of the only great aspects of this film, being an avid fan of his work and hoping he was portraying his character “Will Haynes” from the 2008 romantic comedy, Definitely, Maybe. I didn’t get that so much as I expected. Sandra Bullock in this movie was at most moderate, she gave a few laughs but was mostly there just to make sure the story went together. Still, she’s amazingly attractive, which sadly, added her to the ‘good’ side of the movie. Malin Ackerman is still attractive as she ever was, and was another good part to the movie.
I give The Proposal a score of: 7/10
