Thursday, December 21, 2006

4, Count 'em, 4 New Evangelion Movies Coming Soon!


The news came out a couple of months ago, but details are finally starting to emerge, so it's time to post. I know Joey's the only other one of my readers (AFAIK) that has seen the original Evangelion series, but I love it, so I'm gonna post about it. From the original press release:

When the shocking news first broke, it sent anime fans around the world into a frenzy: Neon Genesis Evangelion, widely regarded as one of the best anime series ever made, was being adapted into four brand-new films! Who would've ever thought we'd see another Evangelion?


Here's what I know:

The first 3 movies will be a "re-telling" of sorts of the first 23 episodes of the series. The final movie will be an all-new ending, hopefully clearing up at least some of the craziness of End of Evangelion. Speaking of crazy...

It’s going to be crazy. Crazy like the Eva that we love and hate. Apparently, Mr. Anno (the creator) is working full steam. He’s happy that he can finally recreate Eva “as he wanted it to be”, because he’s no longer limited by the technology of 12 years ago, ergo lots of 3D CG this time. In fact, it’s so crazy that you will need to watch the first movie at least 3 times to “get” it. (Or so they say.)--From DarkMirage


The first movie will revolve around the events covered in episode 6 of the TV series, basically Operation Yashima where Eva-01 takes down the angel with a positron rifle. That episode did not turn out the way Mr. Anno wanted it to, due to last-decade technical limitations, and he wants to make it right this time. Operation Yashima will be the climax of the first movie. Mr. Shinji Higuchi, the director of Sinking of Japan, will be in-charge of the Yashima portions of the movie.


"It'll be something viewers can enjoy if they've never seen the TV series," Otsuki continues. "I want everyone--from hardcore fans of the original work to people who only know it because of the licensed stuff--to look at it as a standalone film series.

The complexity has been somewhat lessened to make it more accesible to newbies, but it'll still take a bit of thought to understand." Otsuki adds that they're removing much of the deliberate obfuscation that made Eva infamous: "Filling works with difficult works and concepts in order to create confusion among viewers was a good technique 12 years ago, but not anymore, and one of our primary goals for this project is to turn everyone's expectations upside down."


The first movie comes out in 2007, with the others following later.



Note: This is not a series for the faint of heart. Extremely thougt-provoking, shocking, disturbing, and mind-bending, it takes a LOT of effort to grasp. I've watch the whole series 3 times, and done countless reading on the net on theories and discussion about Eva, and just now think I "get" enough of it to make watching it no longer a chore. I really hope these new movies add to the greatness that is Evangelion.

Friday, December 15, 2006

Shrek the Third Full Trailer Online!

The trailer to the third Shrek is also out! No YouTube link yet, so here's the original link (WARNING: She's a big'un)! If I can find a smaller trailer, I'll post it. Looks pretty cool, although one of my most despised plot points is "character-swithing." I hate that. Anyway, I really enjoyed the first two films, so I'm looking forward to this.

Live Free or Die Hard Teaser Online!

Oh yes, the Die Hard 4 trailer is up! Doesn't tell us much about the story, but looks cool anyway. One last "Yippee-ki-yay" for John McLain:

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Rest In Peace, Peter Boyle

We have lost one of the truly great comedic actors. Peter Boyle, best known for his work as "the Monster" in Young Frankenstein, and for his role a Frank Barone (the man I aspire to be) in Everybody Loves Raymond, died yesterday at the age of 71 due to bone cancer. He will be sorely missed. As a tribute, I have posted what may be his best "scene" ever, the "Puttin' on the Ritz" scene from Young Frankentein. For those that don't know, Peter wasn't supposed to have any lines in this scene, but he ad-libbed the "Puttinonareetz!!" and the "Oooper dooper!", and made comedic history. Here it is:



I ask everyone to say one last "Holy Crap!" for Peter. You know he'd love it.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Happy Birthday, MissSpeech!

It's MissSpeech's birthday today!



Love you!

Thursday, December 07, 2006

New Tactic: When Being Pursued, Drop Your Pants

I'm not sure what to make of this -- (Warning, picture slightly NSFW, mild nudity).

The woman bizarrely dropped her trousers when staff caught up with her as she tried to scale a fence.

She had left the Somerfield store in Exeter with three legs of lamb.

Ok, so here's the question:

Why?

What tactical advantage does one gain by relieving oneself of one's pants? Greater mobility? Lighter weight? Is there some "Shock and Awe" factor, perhaps? Your thoughts would be appreciated.

Note the expression on the cop's face (the one with the radio). "Right, this happens all the time, wot?"

20 Ways To Be A Jack@$$ This Christmas

I personally subscribe to the "be a crotchity old scrooge all season" lifestyle, but this list is a good starting point. Really, the list as a whole isn't that funny, but a few are pretty good:

2: Knock over the neighborhood kids' snowman because ... well, just because. The world's a harsh place -- they might as well learn that now.

8: Re-gift back to the original giver. On purpose.

Friday, December 01, 2006

Hot Fuzz Full Trailer Online Now!

The geniuses that brought us the absolutely brilliant Shaun of the Dead, have returned to give the world Hot Fuzz. Same actors and everything. I am so very, very stoked! Here's the first full-length trailer!