Archive for the 'Events' Category
August 24th, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
On Sunday, August 19th, at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica, CA, I was happy and intrigued to be able to sit in on a screening of the 1930 film Just Imagine. Just Imagine was an American science-fiction musical, which was made to counter the 1927 German science-fiction film Metropolis. It is a film that is rarely seen these days, but is one that has inspired many famed science fiction films since. Along with the screening of the film, this event also featured a pre-show honoring of the film’s production designer, Stephen Gooson, along with a post-show Q&A with Professor Nicholas Cull, who has written books about the effect of science fiction in pop culture. Continue on to learn more about this film and to hear audio of the pre- and post-show discussions that took place. Continue reading ‘‘Just Imagine’ Screening and Q&A’
July 18th, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
Along with being able to attend the world premiere screening of Starship Troopers: Invasion at Comic Con, I was also very excited to have the opportunity to interview Johnny Rico himself, Casper Van Dien, along with executive producer and screenwriter for the original Starship Troopers, Ed Neumeier, director Shinji Aramaki (Appleseed, Halo Legends), and producer Joseph Chou. It helps that I am a big fan of the original film and found a lot to like about this all-new CGI Animated feature, with its dynamic visual presentation, slick action sequences, and solid handling on expanding the Starship Troopers universe. Coming at the end of a long week, this was a fun one-on-four interview, which was shot on video no less, so be prepared to hear me (offscreen) do my best to talk to these guys about this exciting new feature. Continue on to watch this interview. Continue reading ‘Comic Con 2012: Starship Troopers: Invasion – Video Interview’
July 17th, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
I am a big fan of the original Starship Troopers film, so I was excited for the idea of an all new release that has come in the form of a CG animated feature from the director of Appleseed and Halo Legends. While at Comic Con, I got the chance to watch the world premiere screening of Starship Troopers: Invasion, which turned out to be a lot of fun. While more of a straight-forward sci-fi/action film, it looked great, featured some really cool action sequences, and was really able to delve visually into the world of Starship Troopers. I will have a video interview with the team behind the film posted soon as well, which includes the original Johnny Rico himself, Casper Van Dien. For now, continue on to read some of my reactions to the film along with information about the upcoming Blu-ray/DVD release of the film. Continue reading ‘Comic Con 2012: Starship Troopers: Invasion – Blu-Ray Release Date and Premiere Reactions’
July 17th, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
It was indeed a giant block of presentations for Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures. Taking up over two and a half hours in Hall H on Saturday at Comic Con, they had plenty of amazing things they were prepared to show audiences. Following a look at what Legendary had to offer, it then became Warner Bros. turn to add all of their work into the mix, which included heavy hitters that many people camped out the previous night to see – Man of Steel and The Hobbit. Along with one surprise that began this panel presentation, everything presented was very entertaining to see and featured a lot of exclusive looks that hopefully got people wanting to see a whole lot more. Continue on to read more about what went down under Warner Bros. watch, during these presentations. Continue reading ‘Comic Con 2012: Warner Bros. Pictures – Man Of Steel And The Hobbit’
July 16th, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
Between the Marvel Studios panel and the presentation that Warner Brothers and Legendary Pictures had lined up for Hall H on Saturday at Comic Con, fans were in for all sorts of greatness to be shown to them, given that they were able to get into the very packed room. All the waiting done by anyone that was able to get into Hall H certainly paid off for sure and first up was a look at two of Legendary Pictures upcoming films that, between them, feature colossal talent, robots, and monsters. While the first film presented was something everyone knew about and were excited to get their first look at, Pacific Rim, the second film announced was a big surprise, as no one quite knew what they were watching until it was revealed to be Godzilla. Continue on to learn more about this very exciting panel. Continue reading ‘Comic Con 2012: Legendary Pictures – Pacific Rim And Godzilla’
July 16th, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
Let’s get this out of the way now, Saturday at Comic Con was an exhausting time for anyone who wanted to get into Hall H. This is of course the biggest hall for panels at the San Diego Convention Center and Saturday proved to be the day that anyone who wanted to get in would have needed to arrive at least 4-5 hours early, as I did. It paid off however, as the first panel of the day was for Quentin Tarantino’s new movie, Django Unchained (The ‘D’ is silent). I previously wrote a post about this upcoming film already, which can be found HERE, but I was thrilled to be able to see the cast and writer/director Quentin Tarantino, along with whatever footage they brought with them. Continue on to learn a bit more about ‘Django‘s presence at Comic Con. Continue reading ‘Comic Con 2012: Django Unchained’
July 16th, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
Many people waited in high anticipation for what was going to be seen and possibly announced during the Marvel Studios panel, which took place towards the end of the day in Hall H, at Comic Con on Saturday. The description of the panel stated that Iron Man 3 would be the main presentation, however, many people were aware Marvel would most likely be ready to share a lot of information about many more of their upcoming projects. This turned out to be true, as the panel featured several official announcements, surprise guests, and footage that will keep many people who attended talking about it. Continue on to learn more about what went down at the Marvel Studios panel. Continue reading ‘Comic Con 2012: Marvel Studios – Iron Man 3 And Other Announcements’
July 15th, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
The Walking Dead has become a very big deal at Comic Con over the last couple of years. While the comic has been very successful, which is great for the readers and all involved, such as creator Robert Kirkman, the TV series has become a runaway success, consistently breaking ratings records for cable series. It is a huge win for AMC to have it air on their network and naturally, thousands of fans at Comic Con were excited to see whatever was in store for them at The Walking Dead Panel. Unfortunately, this panel was so incredibly packed that I was not able to make it in, but the brand new Season 3 trailer did make its debut. Continue on to see the new trailer and other glimpses of the upcoming and very anticipated season. Continue reading ‘Comic Con 2012: The Walking Dead’
July 14th, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
Friday at San Diego Comic Con, within the Hilton’s Indigo Ballroom, Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim had a block of its biggest shows all present panels at Comic Con, including a look at their newest series, the animated TV adaptation of Black Dynamite. I was only able to see the first three Adult Swim panels, which included The Venture Brothers, NTSF:SD:SUV, and Children’s Hospital, but each one was a very entertaining experience. The creators and various cast members were present for each panel and brand new footage, or in the case of the two live-action shows, whole episodes were presented during them. Continue on to learn more about the exciting and hilarious new seasons for each of these shows. Continue reading ‘Comic Con 2012: Adult Swim – The Venture Brothers, NTSF:SD:SUV, And Children’s Hospital’
July 12th, 2012 by Blu-ray Brian
Just announced today…Flixster will be giving Comic-Con attendees complimentary Ultraviolet enabled copies of certain Warner Bros. films. Movies include Mortal Kombat, Mars Attacks, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Green Lantern, Justice League: Doom and Green Lantern: Emerald Knights. Also, Flixster is proud to present free evening screenings of The Goonies, Beetlejuice and Friday the 13th (2009) at Extra at Comic-Con Stage in Bayfront Park. See below for more information. Continue reading ‘Comic-Con 2012: Free Digital Copies For Attendees From Flixster and Ultraviolet’
May 5th, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
Wrapping up my work at 2012’s Newport Beach Film Festival, the last film I was able to attend was the romantic-themed comedy-drama, Save the Date. Having just watched Lola Versus the previous night, I felt like I found myself more or less in familiar territory, except that Lola Versus took place amongst a hip bunch of New Yorkers, whereas Save the Date revolves around some of the exploits of a hip bunch of Los Angelinos. It is another independent film that deals with a woman coming out of one relationship and finding her way into another, despite the fact that everyone still hangs around with each other, occasionally. I can’t hold the film back for timing on my part, though I can be put off by the drastic tonal changes that take hold over the course of the film. I appreciated the performances, as it starred people I liked seeing, but a lot of the warmth this film has is brought down by the required drama of a film of this type. Regardless, it is the kind of film that I generally like when it comes to this familiar story and the film had enough in it for me to enjoy it overall. Continue reading ‘NBFF Review: Save The Date’
May 5th, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
I kicked off the last night of the Newport Beach Film Festival with a really offbeat piece of work. Doppelganger Paul (Or a Film about How Much I Hate Myself), to borrow a descriptor from one of my favorite NBFF programmers, is a sardonic, strange, occasionally humorous, and fairly introspective film that plays like an alternative type of buddy movie. It revolves around events that bring two very different people together in an effort to confront some of the issues they have and share, given that they would appear to despise themselves. Very much fitting the bill of an independent feature, it is the way the film’s moody sense of humor carries over with the players involved, which makes this somewhat slow film worthy of an open-minded viewing. Continue reading ‘NBFF Review: Doppelganger Paul (Or A Film About How Much I Hate Myself)’
May 5th, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
To go a completely different direction from Detention of the Dead, the first film I saw at the Newport Beach Film Festival on Wednesday night, May 2, 2012, the follow up screening was an offbeat romantic comedy, starring an actress who is currently a fixture of independent and art house features, Greta Gerwig. Lola Versus may play out in its own sort of way, but it very much follows a lot of the same patterns that these types of films tend to have. That does not make it bad, as I liked a lot of the film, save for some issues I had with the third act. Despite the disastrous nature of some of the romantic follies Gerwig’s character becomes involved with, the film had enough going for it to make it work for me. Continue reading ‘NBFF Review: Lola Versus’
May 3rd, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
Wednesday night, May 2, 2012, at the Newport Beach Film Festival gave me the chance to see something different for a change. As opposed to another independent comedy/drama (which was the type of film I saw at the next screening), the film I was able to catch a showing of was Detention of the Dead, a horror-comedy about high school students caught up in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. The film is very lighthearted, playing out as a riff on both The Breakfast Club and Shaun of the Dead, even though it never quite reaches those levels. Still, the film is a fun enough watch that is very cute overall, in a gore-filled, dumb comedy sort of way. It does not really add much to the genre, but it’s a fun little ode to the joy of seeing zombie movies. Continue reading ‘NBFF Review: Detention Of The Dead’
May 3rd, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
After seeing Supporting Characters at the Newport Beach Film Festival, the next film I saw that Tuesday night was Le Skylab, written and directed by Julie Delpy. The film is a French comedy/drama that features Delpy, among many other well cast individuals, all playing the members of a large family, gathering for a reunion of sorts, as they honor a grandmother’s birthday at her country home. The film plays around with the various dynamics seen between all of the different family members and has many moments of humor, emotion, and depth in understanding where everyone is coming from. It is more aimless than plot driven, but it is an enjoyable film that brings a lot out of its ensemble cast. Continue reading ‘NBFF Review: Le Skylab’
May 2nd, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
Tuesday night, May 1, 2012, at the Newport Beach Film Festival proved to be a pretty entertaining one. I managed to see a couple films, which were both very enjoyable. The first was Supporting Characters, a film about two young film editors in New York, who are in the middle of working on a film project that has lasted for months, while also sorting out their romantic relationships. Despite being set in modern times, the tone and handling of the characters and various scenes of dialogue definitely calls back to 70s Woody Allen, regardless of how successful it is in truly matching up. The film may be a little too loose and all over the place as a whole, but there was a charming quality to all that was occurring and I enjoyed the core friendship in this story. It is too well scripted to be described as breezy, but it certainly fits the type of being a film that gets by with ease. Continue reading ‘NBFF Review: Supporting Characters’
May 2nd, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
On April 26th, 2012, the opening night of the Newport Beach Film Festival saw the world premiere of Jewtopia. Based on one of the longest running off-Broadway plays, Jewtopia is the film adaptation, which revolves around two friends dealing with the prospect of finding love with Jewish women. Unfortunately, while billed as a “comedy”, I can’t recall ever even smiling during this terrible feature. Jewtopia turned out to be one of the worst films I have seen in recent time, managing to leave me so unsettled that I could not honestly write up a review immediately after I saw it, choosing to let my emotions simmer down instead. Now, even after having calmed down, I still have nothing very positive to say. The cast and crew may have had a good time, but the bad jokes, bad story, poorly established comedic style, among other factors, all proved to sum up to a bad time at the movies for me. Continue reading ‘NBFF Review: Jewtopia’
May 1st, 2012 by Aaron Neuwirth
Monday night, April 30, 2012, at the Newport Beach Film Festival proved to be fairly worthwhile, as I was able to see a fairly entertaining thriller. This was the Norwegian film Headhunters, which felt, in a lot of ways, like a nice follow up to other recent trashy thrillers such as Limitless or even The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (when referring the basic plot of that film). Headhunters is not so much a film that has deeper meanings as it is a film that simply sets up some key characters and lets various amounts of suspense and action follow suit. The film has some tonal issue, as the thrilling nature of the film is counterbalanced by some over-the-top elements, but for the most part, Headhunters is a pretty entertaining (and violent) way to spend a couple hours. Continue reading ‘NBFF Review: Headhunters’
On Sunday, August 19th, at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica, CA, I was happy and intrigued to be able to sit in on a screening of the 1930 film Just Imagine. Just Imagine was an American science-fiction musical, which was made to counter the 1927 German science-fiction film Metropolis. It is a film that is rarely seen these days, but is one that has inspired many famed science fiction films since. Along with the screening of the film, this event also featured a pre-show honoring of the film’s production designer, Stephen Gooson, along with a post-show Q&A with Professor Nicholas Cull, who has written books about the effect of science fiction in pop culture. Continue on to learn more about this film and to hear audio of the pre- and post-show discussions that took place. Continue reading ‘‘Just Imagine’ Screening and Q&A’
