FANFLASH is the title for our original articles that dive into different aspects of popular culture and entertainment. Today Jordan Tunney discusses the massive amount of hype surrounding James Cameron’s new film Avatar which hits theaters this December.

From time to time, movie web sites get caught up in the hype concerning certain movies. This summer, it’s looking like James Cameron’s Avatar is that film. Now I am a fan of James Cameron films, especially The Abyss and Aliens. But concerning Avatar, only snippets of concept art, a few behind the scenes photos, and details about the 3D technology have surfaced. If Cameron’s involvement is the sole thrust of excitement behind Avatar, I am still reserved. Does a famous director make a movie already groundbreaking before anyone has even seen footage?

I have asked a few people about the movie, but to be honest not a lot know what the movie is about. The movie tells the story of an ex-marine who is caught in a war on an alien planet. In a distant system filled with riches and exotic life forms, Jake is caught between his people, who may be attempting to use the planet’s resources for their selfish reasons, and the aliens who hold the key to their salvation or destruction. The movie is slated to release in IMAX and conventional theaters December 18th.

The following pictures are the only authentic released pictures from the movie:

These are the only things fans have to look at to get excited about Avatar. The concept art for the planet looks pretty cool, but that does not necessarily mean it will look good on film. Jon Favreau has called it a “game-changer” after seeing some footage and Stephen Soderbergh agreed. As to whether the footage they saw was in IMAX or 3D, I cannot say. However, both Favreau and Soderbergh know their stuff, so it could be Avatar is shaping up to be a leap forward in film making.

My feelings on the hype surrounding Avatar is that as a fan, I haven’t seen anything to make me feel that Avatar is the next big groundbreaking movie. Yes the concept art looks cool and James Cameron is a fantastic director, but the movie hasn’t been sold to the fans yet. Industry insiders and directors have seen footage and are raving about it, but I will make my decision when we see something ourselves. Sam Worthington as a leading man made me skeptical till I saw Terminator Salvation, and he did well as Marcus.

What do you think? Considering this is almost all that fans have to get a feel for the movie, how excited are you?

Photos Courtesy of Marketsaw

By Jordan Tunney
April 13, 2009

I am a movie trailer junkie. I’ll watch any trailer for any movie. Typically I hold my tongue about whether a movie is any good or not till I see the whole thing, but a good trailer can get me pumped up for a movie, and a bad one can lead me into a predetermined view that a movie won’t be any good. Sometimes a great trailer is filled with various aspects that successfully get the audience psyched for a flick, like the scenes they choose, how much of the story they convey, whether the graphics look good, or if there is one of those “did I just see that?” moments. For me, though, I’m all about the music.

Some movie trailer songs get stuck in my head and I can’t help but have to find them and download them. One of them is Iron Fisted Mutha by BT. It played in the Speed Racer theatrical trailer and made for a great song to coincide with the epic scale of the races as well as the frantic and stylistic movements of the cars in the movie. When I got my new car last year, I put that song on a CD and went driving back from a town out east. It completely works as a great song to listen to while driving, but when I saw the odometer I had to change tracks.

I’m not going to lie, I didn’t like Miami Vice. And unless you’re Colin Farrell or Don Johnson, chances are you didn’t either. However, the trailer showed awesome action and was mixed very well with great music. Encore by Jay-Z and Linkin Park is a great combination of music styles, and the harmony of Numb and Jay-Z’s smooth rapping play great with the intensity of the trailer.

As a history major, I enjoy a good history movie. Although I am not particularly a fan of Cate Blanchett, I do like Clive Owen and Geoffrey Rush and movies about royalty. My Name is Lincoln by Steve Jablonsky was originally scored for the soundtrack to The Island, but it works best for the movie trailer to Elizabeth: The Golden Age.

As soon as I watched the Public Enemies trailer, I loved the song near the end of the trailer. It’s a banjo/electric guitar song that has a 1920′s Midwest feel to it, perfect for a story about John Dillinger. Then it dawned on me, I must really like Michael Mann trailers, as Miami Vice and Public Enemies already made the list. The Kingdom earns an honorable mention.

One of my favorite songs is Sweet Child O’ Mine by Guns & Roses. When I first saw the trailer for The Last House on the Left, I was blown away by Taken by Tree’s cover. For the trailer, it adds to an eerie and sinister sound, playing up the whole family aspect of the film. By itself, it could put a baby to sleep. And that’s the sign of a good song.

If you have seen an epic movie trailer, video game, or TV commercial, you’ve heard this song. Many know it as Requiem for a Dream, it was first composed for that movie for the score. It then was placed in several movie trailers, including an altered version for Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. The reason I selected Sunshine’s use of the song is that it is greatly edited with the hectic footage of the crew’s attempt to jump-start the sun.

Below are a list of links to watch the trailers for these movies and hear the music that makes them so appealing. After you watch the trailers leave us some feedback as to what your favorite trailers are that utilize great music.

Speed Racer – Iron Fisted Mutha by BT – 1:09
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehpxIrCNiVI

Miami Vice – Encore by Jay-Z and Linkin Park – 0:38
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4xSA7_aEtI

Elizabeth: The Golden Age – My Name is Lincoln – Steve Jablonsky – throughout
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFojixOc8Hc

Public Enemies – Ten Million Slaves – Otis Taylor – 1:55
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BawY4gjAdM

The Last House on the Left – Sweet Child of Mine – Taken by Trees – 1:24
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl2lmFPBGN8

Sunshine – Lux Aeterna (Requiem For a Dream) – Clint Mansell – 0:40
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZ2-xR54UDU

By Jordan Tunney
April 8, 2009

Recently, I was discussing the differences between Blu-ray and DVD with a friend. I explained that although I have a HDTV and a small but growing Blu-ray library, I believe Blu-ray discs will not catch on for a while. He said they will because people are looking for the best picture and to save money from going to the theater. I told him that if that were the case, people would have stopped going to the movies since VHS and Beta came out. Because of three reasons, I believe, Blu-ray movies will become the standard as DVDs are now, but it won’t be as quick as DVD caught on.

1. Blu-ray movies require additional hardware - when DVDs were first released, all that was required was the DVD player and DVD movies. For Blu-ray movies, a HDTV, HDMI cable, and a Blu-ray player are all required. Our first DVD player was a 5 disc changer and my family was all blown away with the picture quality. My Dad kept asking if we need to rewind the DVDs before returning them to Blockbuster. My brother and I sprung for a PS2, the first videogame console that played movies. The price was a bit of a problem at the beginning, but when movies fell near $20 a piece, it wasn’t much of an issue. Considering a HDTV can easily run $1200 for a full 1080p 120hz picture, a standalone Blu-ray player is near $200, and a good quality HDMI cable around $70; a $500 DVD player was a much better deal especially considering the quantum leap between VHS and DVD.

2. DVD to Blu-ray is an aesthetic jump only - When picture quality on a VHS tape began to decay, the white lines and tracking would come up. On top of that, kids often could pull out the tape, like I did when I was a kid. DVD eliminated the tape problems that came with VHS, gave a much better picture quality, and only had to worry about scratches and fingerprints. Blu-ray is different from DVD simply in picture quality, for now at least. With companies like Warner Bros. pushing BD Live technology, like being able to webcam chat during a movie, there have been attempts to branch out and move forward with Blu-ray discs. However, for now, Blu-ray and DVDs are simply only differentiated by HD picture and sound. It is incredible, yet not enough to convince the market to move sharply to HD integration.

3. Not enough “bang for buck” – If I purchase Quantum of Solace on Blu-ray new at a retail store, it’ll run me around $30. For DVD, I found it for under $20. The DVD is next to bone dry with subtitles and alternate languages being the only features beside the film, but just like Casino Royale, a two disc set for under $30 has all the features the Blu-ray release has. In this market, people looking for the special features would probably lean towards getting the DVD set with the special features to save a few bucks. Blu-ray could edge out DVD sales from Blu-ray owners by offering special features exclusively on Blu-ray, but that won’t open the market up to people getting into HD.

The jump from VHS to DVD is not the same as the jump from DVD to Blu-ray has been. Eventually, I believe, the market will move to High Definition as the standard, but this will take more time as DVDs are still a good deal and offer a good picture quality, albeit not the best out there.

By Jordan Tunney
April 6, 2009

When the lights dim down and the curtain draws back, I always get excited for the start of a movie. No matter what genre or cast, there’s just something about the start of a movie that gives me that feeling like climbing up the first steep part on a roller coaster. And so, I decided to share with you my top 5 favorite opening scenes.

5. Casino Royale – Everyone was wondering how Daniel Craig was going to do as James Bond. When the movie opened to black and white I didn’t know how they were going to introduce the new Bond to the world. We see James sitting in a British intelligence officer’s office, waiting for him to arrive. We get a back and forth between the two explaining that the intelligence officer is “bent”, and that M should have sent a 00 agent. Between their banter we see James killing a contact of the officer, and then Bond kills the officer. Lastly, the credits begin with the franchise staple, the turn and shoot. Brilliant way to bring Bond back to life.

4. Raiders of the Lost Ark - Whenever anyone thinks about Indiana Jones, they will almost always picture him walking up to the golden idol with bag of sand in his grip. The rolling rock has become a pop culture icon, most memorably for me is “The Simpsons” version with Homer falling down the stairs like the boulder. Alfred Molina, later to portray Doc Ock in “Spiderman 2″ gets Indy to throw him the idol, then walks away to leave Jones to die. But he gets a spike trap through the face, so I guess that’s karma. Ending the scene Indy sits in the plane with a snake around his feet. He hates snakes, and we’ll never forget it.

3. Ghostbusters - The old librarian walking around the basement level of the New York Public Library is a classic scene. Books floating behind her index cards shooting out of holders, and all sorts of eerie sounds and music. Ghostbusters is part sci-fi, part comedy, and one of the best blends of both. The opening sets the stage for some paranormal activity that relies on both visual and special effects, and still gives me chills.

2. X-Men 2 – Nightcrawler taking out Secret Service agents in the White House. Enough said.

1. Back to the Future - ticking clocks and a garage serving as a bedroom/laboratory open one of my favorite movies of all time. Marty arrives to play his guitar and blows out the sound system. It has resounded with me ever since I was a kid, especially Marty skateboarding to school while “Power of Love” rocks out the opening to my favorite trilogy.

By Roman Chavez

April 4, 2009

Hello comic book fans! This week I have two comic book cover images to show that I think are really great.

First up we have Buffy the Vampire Slayer #24. This cover was drawn by Jo Chen. It is a very well done representation of Eliza Dushku’s character Faith. Having Giles (actor Anthony Head’s likeness) in the background conveys a sort of mentoring roll.  I love trying to interpret what an artist is trying to do, but most times they are just trying to draw a bad ass picture.

Speaking of bad ass pictures, here is the cover for Flash: Rebirth #1. There are many people who have taken the mantle of the Flash over the years, but few inspire the feeling of respect like Barry Allen. On this cover, drawn by superstar artist Ethan Van Sciver, we get the feeling that this Flash is “lacing up” his boots, so to speak, and gearing up for some action. It’s a little heavy on the lightning for me but it does convey that he is really fast, or about to have a horrible electrical accident.

I want to try to keep this column as broad as I can and not just stick to the main companies of Marvel and DC. If you guys have any suggestions for Cover of the Week please let us know.

What do you think of these covers? Post a comment.

By Jordan Tunney
April 1, 2009

A few weeks ago, I went and watched My Bloody Valentine 3D. And it was a terrible film. But some scenes in 3D were actually pretty entertaining. That got me thinking, is 3D really worth it? Considering the movies in 3D coming up this summer, we will discuss the 3D event and whether it has a place with good film making. Movies are meant to be entertaining. If a film were made strictly to be informative or educational, it wouldn’t sell. Some movies do play more towards being entertaining or informative, but they have to have some reason for you to stay in your seat. What has always attracted me to movies has been their ability to use mystery to keep me entertained. If we all carefully examine movies, we see the sloping action, the failure, and the redemption all stories tell. But most of us aren’t going into every movie expecting The Dark Knight or The Shawshank Redemption. Sometimes, we just want something to keep us entertained for 90 minutes. Insert 3D.

I’m not going to go far back into the history of 3D film; I am going to stay relevant. And what better place to start then with Superman Returns. This was the first movie I saw in 3D at my local IMAX Theater. And I felt a bit like Clark Kent, taking my glasses on and off. Nothing starts off a great action scene like the drawing of green glasses flashing on the bottom of the screen. And once your glasses are on, you get treated to a mediocre sequence. So rule number one about 3D: if you are 3D, stay 3D till the credits. It’s like being in an argument with your girlfriend, don’t start it unless you’re going to finish it.

Say what you will about its use of motion-capture cinematography, Ray Winstone’s voice work, Angelina’s golden booty, or casting George McFly, but Beowulf had some awesome action. It stayed full 3D, which was nice since it never really broke the “illusion” of being in that extra dimension. However, it did break another 3D movie rule. Rule number two states: if you want good looking 3D action, stick with real people. I’m pretty sure that’s why God made us like this and not like animated Barbie dolls (sorry Robert Zimeckis).

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix worked well in 3D. Although it was still not fully in 3D, at least the 3D portion was at the end and dampened the amount of up and down.  Another decently made movie with 3D was Disney’s Bolt. It almost broke the third 3D rule: no John Travolta in 3D, but playing an animated dog made it passable.

Now, My Bloody Valentine 3D was a terrible horror film. The acting was atrocious, script was a mess, premise was laughable, and had obvious plot twists. Having said that, the 3D in the movie was quite entertaining.  I sat back as the killer got each of the hicks one by one in gruesome fashion, and from time to time found myself cheering at the 3D gore. MBV3D was shot to be in the 3D format, and perfectly achieved a great violent, bloody 3D experience.

Recently, Coraline had stunning visuals in 3D, mostly because of the interesting design and stop-motion filming. In the style of Nightmare Before Christmas, stop-motion filmmaking combined with 3D will be interesting to say the least. Though I haven’t had a chance to check out Monsters vs. Aliens, there has been a lot of mixed reviews on the 3D experience of the movie. This summer, moviegoers will be treated to several 3D movies, including Up, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and news suggesting Toy Story is coming back for 3D treatment and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen having select scenes in 3D. Fans of 3D have a lot to look forward to this year.

What are your thoughts on the 3D experience? Is it worth paying the extra admission price to see a movie in 3D? Leave us your thoughts below.

By Roman Chavez

March 28, 2009

Hello comic book fans! It was a good week for readers, but this week I want to share with you a really awesome comic book cover.

This is the cover to Dark Reign: Elektra. I love this cover! According to Marvel.com the cover artist is Clay Mann and it was colored by Matt Hollingsworth. I really like his use of light in this cover. It looks like light is being blown upwards. The flowers and the fire are a nice touch too.

What do you think? Let us know.

This week we introduced Fanflash to bring you original articles for your reading pleasure. Today, our contributing writer, Andy Adair, has created a profile of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Andy asks the question: Do you think you can act? Check out if the Rock has what it takes to continue as a professional actor.

By Andy Adair
March 13, 2009

Got his start: In college, Dwayne Johnson was a defensive end for the University of Miami.  His senior season, he hurt his back, forcing him to leave his dreams of the NFL and pursue a career in Canada playing for the CFL (Canadian Football League).  After 3 years there, he began his career in professional wrestling, first with the USWA and then later with the WWE.  After a long career in wrestling, Dwayne finally broke into the movie business with a small role in 2001′s The Mummy Returns.  In 2002, he was the star of The Scorpion King.  From that point on, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has been tearing through Hollywood, being credited in over 9 films since then.

Where he is at now: Race To Witch Mountain hits theaters this Friday, and his roles for the future include the Tooth Fairy in, that’s right, The Tooth Fairy.

Can he act? In his debut in The Mummy Returns, he was terrible.  It was more of a bad CGI rendering of him that we saw the most.  However, after that, in his films like Scorpion King, Walking Tall, and even the Disney film The Gameplan, Dwayne Johnson showed his chops (minus his role in Be Cool, which was awful).  He does a good job of getting the audience involved (an attribute I believe he received from his years in wrestling), as well as making you care about his character.  In the areas where most other wrestlers turned actor (i.e. Stone Cold, etc. whom I will explore later) tend to fail, I find that The Rock does in fact succeed.

Verdict: YES! Dwayne Johnson CAN ACT!  What do you think?  Is Dwayne Johnson an actor, or a fraud?

Today we introduce a new segment we have titled Fanflash. Our staff of writers enjoy writing original articles, so when you see the Fanflash title, you will know what to expect. We enjoy writing funny, creative, and unique articles that are relevant to pop culture. Today, Jordan Tunney has compiled a list of Nicolas Cages’ roles that were bad because he had long hair. Sounds crazy, but Jordan may be on to something. Check it out and we hope you enjoy Fanflash!

By Jordan Tunney
March 10, 2009

Film Equation: Nicolas Cage + Long Hair = Bad Movie

The following is a list of films which Nicolas Cage had long hair in; and while we are not completely sure there is a direct correlation between hair and performance, these movies were just plain awful. It does appear there is a connection between Cage’s long locks and bad movies. Of course, there are a few exceptions to this equation. Continue reading to check out the worst of Nic Cage.

Peggy Sue Got Married (1986)

I’ve always thought Kathleen Turner was actually a man. If this were the case, this movie would have been more interesting.

Vampire’s Kiss (1988)

“Ok Nic, we have an idea for a movie…you have an encounter with a vampire…then you think you’re becoming one…oh, well there’s you and then the girl from Flashdance…yes, we’ll pay you as much as we can…”
Snake Eyes (1998)

Have you ever gone to watch a boxing match, and the Secretary of Defense is assassinated? You might be a shady and moderately corrupt cop, but you’ll get to the bottom of it. Oh, and the woman who is supposed to blend in but actually stands out like a Jew in a Mel Gibson movie, is involved somehow. Your military friend has to be involved somehow. And the boxing match is fixed.

Ghost Rider (2007)

When I was 4, a magician at a birthday party fooled me. He put a rabbit into a hat, but when he showed it to us, there was no rabbit in the hat. Now, all grown up, I have never allowed myself to be tricked again. So when Nic did Ghost Rider and was supposed to look younger then he was in It Could Happen to You, flashes of that rabbit made me tremble. Bade hair, bad hare.

Next (2007)

I’ll be the first to admit, I never actually saw this movie. I’m pretty sure what happened was myself in the future successfully prevented me from seeing it, and therein, saved humanity.

Bangkok Dangerous (2008)

Does anyone else feel the “Hitman has a change of heart about his occupation and begins to protect those who he normally wouldn’t care about” cliché has been a tad bit overused? They have their own genre on the wall at my Blockbuster.

Exception
As with all math equations, there are always exceptions (therefore, I didn’t deserve a D in Geometry, Mr. Daniels). Nicolas Cage movies that involve him having long hair typically aren’t good films, but the exception to the rule is facial hair. Therefore:

Nicolas Cage + Long Hair + Facial Hair = Good Movie

Raising Arizona (1987)

Good move, great mustache. An early score for the Cohen Brothers, Cage joined a great cast that cemented his status as a great actor.

Con Air (1997)

Remember Con Air? It’s that movie where all the bad guys have nicknames. If I were an ex-con, my nickname would be Jordan “Rocky Road” Tunney, mostly because I’ve always pushed for better road construction. Con Air had awesome action, a great villain, and Las Vegas. What more could anyone want?

With the release of Knowing just days away, what can Nic fans look forward too? Well the equation suggests the movie isn’t going to be very good, but who knows, math isn’t an exact science right?