Jul 24

Trailer: John Carter

Here is the first trailer for Disney’s adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter of Mars, simply called “John Carter”. We’ve been trying to play and discuss this trailer on the Film Actually show for the last two weeks and for some reason we just never get to it so I thought I’ll just post it up here and be done with it.

This adaptation has been kicking around Hollywood for some time and now it is finally coming to cinema screens. The only problem is that the film looks a little cheesy and camp. I am starting to get a little bit of a “Flash Gordon” vibe from this but it is early days and this is only a first trailer. I’ll reserve judgment when I see a little more.

“John Carter” opens in March 2012.

Jul 24

Geek Actually Ep140 – The Hot-Can Experiment

Hosted by: David McVay & Josh Philpott with guest Richard Gray

This week on Geek Actually, David and Josh are again joined by Richard Gray from theReelBits.com for a look at the weird and wonderful world of the geek. This week topics include the R18+ rating for games is a go in Australia, Apple’s latest operating system, a fake Apple Store in China, the LOLspeak Bible and are Microsoft and Sony teaming up? We discuss these topics and many more plus our picks of the week and a live demonstration of the self heating can of coffee. Enjoy.

Geek Actually is the fusion of the old Tech Actually and Geek Actually After Show podcasts. All the tech and geek goodness that you have come to expect from the old shows wrapped up and made easier to swallow as one simple, little, tasty podcast. DeltaKnight (AKA DAvid Murray) continues to supply us with some of the geekiest stories on the web and Josh and David love to play with the tech news.

Geek Actually is recorded live on Saturdays around 12pm (AEST UTC+10). Go to geekactually.com/live to watch it live.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Your show links follow: Continue reading

Jul 22

Trailer: Martin Scorese’s “Hugo”

Just when you think Martin Scorsese’s bag of tricks is just about done, he reaches in a little deeper. For awhile I was starting to think that Scorsese was repeating himself… a lot. Sure the plots to his many films were different, but the filmmaking style was pretty much set in stone. I have been a long time fan of Mr. Scorsese and I list “Taxi Driver”, “Raging Bull”, “Goodfellas” and “After Hours” as some of my favourite films of all time. I was not a huge fan of “Age of Innocence” or of “The Aviator” (they were pretty films but I didn’t get much out of them) and, I know many of you will disagree, I felt that “Casino” was pretty much a carbon copy of “Goodfellas” in tone and style. In the last couple of years I have felt that Scorsese himself wanted to stretch a bit and I enjoyed his “Shutter Island” mainly because it was something a little different for him. It is important to note that even if I sound like I am being hard on the man, I always have time for a Scorsese picture.

All that being said, Scorsese has never made a film quite like “Hugo”. This film looks to be a storybook fantasy about love and hope, not themes that he tackles often, if ever. I am really looking forward to seeing “Hugo”, although it doesn’t look like the film is aimed at me or my age group, I think it might just be the creative kick in the pants that Scorsese needs. This also marks the first 3D film Scorsese and that is something I have to see. Continue reading

Jul 22

A New Poster, Clips and Images: Captain America: The First Avenger

We are getting close now, only another week or so and it is time for the next Marvel comic book character to come to life. I am talking of course about “Captain America: The First Avenger” directed by Joe Johnston.

Chris Evans stars as the good Captain and he is surrounded by a great supporting cast including Hugo Weaving, Tommy Lee Jones, Stanley Tucci and of course Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.

The official synopsis is:

“Captain America: The First Avenger” will focus on the early days of the Marvel Universe when SteveRogers (Chris Evans) volunteers to participate in an experimental program that turns him into the Super Soldier known as Captain America.  As Captain America, Rogers joins forces with Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) to wage war on the evil HYDRA organization, led by the villainous Red Skull (Hugo Weaving.)

Starting with “Thor” and followed up by “X-Men: First Class” (I know it isn’t in the same universe, but it is a Marvel property), this has been a good year for Marvel so far and I’m getting so excited about this film that I can hardly contain myself. Thankfully our friends over at Paramount Pictures Australia have supplied us with a new poster (click the thumbnail above to see a hi-res copy) and a few great clips (watch them below) to help pass the time. Continue reading

Jul 21

Cool Clip: 3 Minutes of Rise of the Planet of the Apes

A couple of weeks ago we were invited by Twentieth Century Fox to see about 20 minutes of the new film “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” and we were very impressed by what we saw. You can read all about our opinions of the that footage by reading the original post here.

Now Fox has released an extended 3 minute clip from the film and it is one of the clips we saw at that preview, in fact it was one of the scenes that really impressed us. Watch the clip below and pay close attention to the expressions on Caesar’s (the ape) face. It really is impressive stuff.

“Rise of the Planet of the Apes” opens across Australia in August.

Jul 21

First Look Trailer: The Amazing Spider-Man

Wow what a week for geeks, first “The Dark Knight Rises” teaser hits and then, just a few days later Sony Pictures has released the first teaser for next year’s “The Amazing Spider-Man”. This actually looks pretty good, we have a radioactive spider, mechanical web shooters and a bumbling awkward Peter Parker.

I also love the first person perspective of the run/swing through the city. I was skeptical about this reboot but suddenly I find myself looking forward to it.

“The Amazing Spider-Man” is based on the Marvel comic and is directed by Marc Webb, best known for the quirky romantic comedy “(500) days of Summer”. The new reboot stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Martin Sheen and Sally Field. It opens July 3rd 2012.