Next Up... Transformers, June 26'th

the critics don't get to see GI Joe before release, that's not a good sign

They were right to withhold GI Joe if it was going to have any chance to make good box office, but it got bollixed at the box office and by the critics in favor of, and I was wrong, "District 9" which did more than $ 32M and has an 88% approval by the Tomato Meter, and that's the top critics! I guess I should have know Peter Jackson doesn't get involved in losers -- the former special effects designer, Neill Blomkamp, is apparently also a very good director.

We finally got a good Sci-Fi for the summer, Yay!

And I'm especially happy because District 9 is a (relatively) low-budget production with unknown actors, and it was still a hit. I've always thought that you can get good actors without paying for star-power, and that you can have a good story with very good graphics without overspending on it.

The next big test will be Avatar. I'm not sure what the budget is on it, but Cameron will probably spend a ton. As long as they maintain a quality story, then I think low budget or big budget films can work.

Final ticket sales was $ 37.4, well over the studio estimate and not including international box office. The film cost about $ 30 M to make and it's the kind of sci-fi that really does well out of the US. It is all New Zealanders and the special effects are not overdone -- it's the story and the actors that count and I guess the lead played by Sharlto Copley (who ever heard of him?) is a real love 'im one minute and hate 'im the next.

I'm highly anticipatory of "Avatar" and hope more detailed info is forthcoming -- it's pretty sparse as Cameron is really got an Secret Service-like security surrounding this production. Just vague hints here and there.

The Apple Movie page reports that an Avatar teaser is due out in two days (and counting)...

http://www.apple.com/trailers

Although, I have to say, the Alien face depicted on the logo is immediately disappointing. It's too human.

Wow! I will wait with baited breath and I hope there is a high definition download (my computer processor and video card isn't quite fast enough for hi-def). I just saw "Iron Man" on Blu-Ray and it's in the theater ratio but even with the loss of resolution utilizing close to only half of the pixels, it looked fantastic. Great movie and what a lead-in to the sequel. Will everyone react the opposite way and it's only a psychological trick? The extras were great, featuring the creator of Iron Man and all the artists, story writers, etc. right up to the illustrated novel and how the suit evolved to being able to carry it in a suitcase (a malleable super metal). The sound was also great -- Dolby Tru surround which means there is no clipping of the high end. I think I need to upgrade to a speaker system with better tweeters. Bose is adequate but not crystalline (like the old Bosak's). My mouth waters every time I hear and see the newest B & W speakers.

I just visited the Apple site and it's apparently only released to Itunes. That might mean there's a small charge for it.

So I went ahead and downloaded the Itunes application which I lost during a computer clean-up (after about three years!)

The Avatar Thread

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don't know much about this, but it looks interesting