Archive for Movies

BABIES Shows How Parents Differ the World Over

// April 1st, 2010 // No Comments » // Movies

Babies Trailer

The trailer for the documentary Babies looks absolutely fascinating. I’m not one on seeing documentaries in the theater, but I’d actually look for this one on April 16, 2010 when it’s released. Unfortunately, I’m sure it will only play in Nashville (which isn’t too far away), but having two kids, it might as well be a state away.

Still, the idea of following four newborns from four different cultures for a year is such a cool concept. You see the differences right away in the trailer as a goat casually drinks from the bath of the Mongolian baby. It will be interesting to see how different cultures treat their newborns.

I know that when Riley was born (our second son), our parenting approach was vastly different than it was with our first son Carter. I’ll admit, that we were too protective of Carter. As first time parents, I think that’s only natural. You don’t know what to expect, so you tend to be too cautious.

Because of this, Riley is a much more adventurous toddler than Carter. He’s absolutely not afraid of anything or any situation and will plow headfirst into any obstacle – and we let him. He can already climb by himself into the playhouse in the yard and slide down the slide. Mind you, this playhouse is on top of 4 foot posts, so it’s a good climb and a tall slide. Riley gets dirtier, plays rougher, and even eats things we wouldn’t let Carter touch until he was older (carrot sticks). A lot of this has to do with Carter as well. Having a brother that’s 4 years older, Riley thinks he can do whatever Carter can – and most times he does.

Just this past week we visited my sister’s house and Carter and his 4-year old cousin were having a pillow fight. Right in the middle, slinging his own pillow, was Riley. I wouldn’t change anything we’ve done – because we’ve got two wonderful boys.

TCM Remembers 2008

// January 5th, 2009 // No Comments » // Movies

Turner Classic Movies has created a great montage of all the actors, actresses, writers, directors and etc. that passed away in 2008. A similar montage is always one of the best parts of the Oscars every year, but this one is better. It includes many more people than the Academy Award montage typically does.

Don LaFontaine Tribute

// September 2nd, 2008 // No Comments » // Movies

You man not recognize the name, but I know you will recognize the voice. Movie voice-over legend Don LaFontaine has passed away at the age of 68.

The Road – Preview Images

// August 7th, 2008 // No Comments » // Movies

The Road

The first images from The Road based on the book by Cormac McCarthy have hit the web. Check them out over at /Film. Awesome looking, can’t wait to see this.

Star Wars SPIKE TV Spots

// July 17th, 2008 // No Comments » // Movies

Hilarious, these SPIKE TV Spots for Star Wars are.

AICN Tribute to Stan Winston

// June 17th, 2008 // No Comments » // Movies

Stan Winston and T-Rex Legendary creature creator Stan Winston has died. The man responsible for more movie creature than you can imagine has passed away at the age of 62.

Winston won Academy awards for his work on Aliens, Jurassic Park, and Terminator 2. He was also worked on films ranging from The Monster Squad to Iron Man. Just take a look at his IMDB entry.

Be sure to check out Ain’t It Cool News and their tribute to Stan Winston. Over the next few days they’ll be posting various comments from industry people that Stan worked with over the years.

I think this quote from him easily sums up his work

“If I can dazzle myself, I’m pretty sure I can dazzle you.”

Star Wars – New and Old

// June 10th, 2008 // No Comments » // Movies

Mickey in the Parade

In a few years, I will make it to Disney World in Florida for the Star Wars weekend. I can’t wait to take “the boys” (Carter and Riley) when Riley is old enough.

When we visited Disney/MGM last year, Carter wasn’t quite tall enough to ride the Star Wars ride, so we had to make do with the large AT-AT and Speeder Bike on display. We did manage to catch the parade at MGM (which I highly recommend) and the appearance of Darth Vader, R2, and C3-PO were his highlights for the day. A full Star Wars takeover of Disney would be a blast.

View more photos from the Star Wars Disney weekend on Flickr.

Halloween 1980

While in a Star Wars mood, check out the photos on the Growing Up Star Wars Flickr Photo Pool. Featuring all vintage photos of Star Wars memorabilia, there are lots of photos like the one above. Somewhere in the Duncan archives, there’s a photo me wearing that Yoda costume.

R2-D2 Video Projector

// May 1st, 2008 // No Comments » // Movies

R2D2

This R2-D2 Video Projector is insanely priced ($2995), but it’s still very cool looking and functional. Click the image above to watch a nice demo video and visit the StarWarsShop if you want to order one for yourself (or if you want to order me one).

MEG Movie Resurfaces

// April 11th, 2008 // No Comments » // Movies

Meg - the Prehistoric Shark Author Steve Alten’s MEG series of books have been a guilty pleasure of mine. The first was a great and unique read. Imagine a prehistoric shark the size of a bus roaming the seas in the world today. It was Jaws (favorite movie), only dinosaur sized. That’s a combination that all boys are predisposed to like.

The book was a great success and it spawned to sequels (a third is due Summer of 2009). The first sequel The Trench was a great continuation of the story. but are still tremendous fun. The second sequel–Meg: Primal Waters–was an adrenaline filled, MTV style sequel that went for action over science. It was fun, but not as good as the first two books.

It’s a perfect idea for a movie and there have been many attempts. The most recent was a 2 year plus attempt by now defunct studio New Line. For a full history of the cinematic trials and tribulations of MEG you can read a great story recently posted by the LA Times. Hopefully, someone will get a the giant shark on film.

Film Titles Collection

// March 31st, 2008 // No Comments » // Movies

ForgettheFilm

Be careful if you visit Forget the Film, Watch the Titles. You might find yourself watching all of the great collections of film title sequences they have.

Split into categories, such as: Animation, Motion Graphics, Mixed Media and 3D, the site offers up tons of content one place. It’s a worthy and eclectic collection and not focused on classic films. Many films in the gallery are bad, but as the site professes, a bad film can still have a great title sequence.