I’m a great fan of Alfred Hitchcock and Rear Window is one of my favorite movies. When I found this video I was completely and utterly fascinated.

A fellow by the name of Jeff Desom put together a composite image of the entire courtyard outside LB Jeffries’ window and let the entire movie play out from his perspective.

It really needs to be seen to be believed.

It adds a whole new perspective on the film, which is a masterpiece in its own right. If you’ve never seen it, you must. Click the link and get it on Amazon.

Just in time for the Easter holiday, Universal Studios’ Hop is now available on DVD and Blu-Ray.  The movie tells the story of how young E.B. (presumably short for ‘Easter Bunny’) is the reluctant heir to the Easter Bunny legacy and all the responsibilities that come with it.  His home is the aptly named Easter Island, home to mysterious statues and a magical place where holiday candy is lovingly made and quality controlled.  There are jelly beans, peeps, and my personal favorite—chocolate bunnies.  (For the record, I like the hollow milk chocolate ones by Palmer with those colored candy eyes).  This candy facility would put Willy Wonka’s to shame, and the animation in these sequences is incredible.  Plus, the cuteness of a young E.B. makes me want him as a huggable plushie.  In fact, one of the best scenes of the movie is when he pretends to be a wind-up toy.  His appearance just screams cuddly.

However, our fluffy hero is rebellious and has no desire to follow in his father’s rabbity footsteps.  His dream is to become a drummer instead, and he flees to Hollywood in hopes of making it a reality.  Once there, he meets Fred (James Marsden).  Fred is unemployed, a burden to his parents, and searching for his own dream.  They immediately form a love-hate relationship.

It’s unsurprising that this movie blends CGI and live action, since it’s directed by Tim Hill (Alvin and the Chipmunks), but I much preferred the wondrous computerized world of Easter Island over the live action Hollywood.  The chicks Carlos and Phil dwell alongside the bunnies on Easter Island, making it even more appealing.  These guys really should have had more screen time.  I foresee seeing more of them in the future.  Phil (pictured below) is the not-too-bright subordinate of Carlos, who is monitoring the disappearance of E.B. very closely.  He uses the situation to his advantage and tries to get closer to E.B.’s distraught father.

The appearance by David Hasselhoff didn’t really thrill me, but this movie is really very cute in spite of that.  Warning, though.  It is also very cheesy at times, and Marsden’s acting is a little over the top.  Still, it’s a film about not giving up on your dreams and the importance of loved ones, and I’m sure it will become a holiday tradition in many families.

Yeah that’s news now, that’s happening. Wait… perhaps I should elaborate on this.

Alright to anyone who was a fan of the 2004 hit comedy “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy” starring Will Ferrell, and has waited eight years to get more, congratulations a sequel was announced tonight. If you are yet unfamiliar with the movie I invite you to go to your nearest DVD or BLURAY retail location and by it, not to go check it on IMDB, not to get it from netflix, just go buy it, it’s worth it.

Now you may ask where was it announced, like in a press conference with studio heads present? No. Well was it announced as a teaser trailer sent with prints of “Mirror Mirror”? Nay. Will Ferrell in character as Ron Burgandy announced it on Conan tonight. Boom.

Check it out here.

“>Anchorman 2 Announcement

And the rest is silence.

Looking forward to the remake of Total Recall? Well you’ll be able to catch the world premier of the trailer this Sunday on ABC during the NBA game between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat! For all of you out there that don’t like basketball, the NBA, or just sports in general you’ll be able to catch an extended version of the trailer over at apple.com/trailers shortly after it airs on ABC. Not really sure why there is such a big todo over debuting this sci-fi trailer during a professional basketball game, but I also seemed to miss the apparent connection when the Green Lantern film was doing promos with the NBA last year. A commercial splicing scenes of the Green Lantern film and footage of Kobe Bryant making a jump-shot . . . Why?

In any case, keeping with the new(ish) trend of showing teaser trailers for trailers, you can check out a quick look at what to expect from the full trailer coming later this week below!

WORLD PREMIERE OF “TOTAL RECALL” TRAILER THIS SUNDAY DURING CELTICS-HEAT GAME ON ABC

Moviegoers will begin their Recall experience on Sunday, April 1, as Columbia Pictures debuts the trailer for the highly anticipated action thriller Total Recall during the NBA game between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat broadcast nationally on ABC, it was announced today by Marc Weinstock, president of Worldwide Marketing for Sony Pictures. Total Recall will be released in theaters nationwide on August 3, 2012.

The world premiere of the Total Recall trailer will air during the first half of the game and will be promoted with tune-ins in the week leading up to the game.

Following the trailer’s premiere on ABC, a special extended trailer will debut online at www.apple.com/trailers.

The trailer will also launch simultaneously in over 30 countries on broadcast and online outlets.

Commenting on the announcement, Weinstock said, “We’re thrilled to be working with the NBA and ABC to give millions of fans all across the country this exciting first look at the trailer.”

Total Recall is an action thriller about reality and memory, inspired anew by the famous short story “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale” by Philip K. Dick. Welcome to Rekall, the company that can turn your dreams into real memories. For a factory worker named Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell), even though he’s got a beautiful wife (Kate Beckinsale) whom he loves, the mind-trip sounds like the perfect vacation from his frustrating life – real memories of life as a super-spy might be just what he needs. But when the procedure goes horribly wrong, Quaid becomes a hunted man. Finding himself on the run from the police – controlled by Chancellor Cohaagen (Bryan Cranston) – there is no one Quaid can trust, except possibly a rebel fighter (Jessica Biel) working for the head of the underground resistance (Bill Nighy). The line between fantasy and reality gets blurred and the fate of his world hangs in the balance as Quaid discovers his true identity, his true love, and his true fate. The film is directed by Len Wiseman. The screenplay is by Kurt Wimmer and Mark Bomback and the screen story is by Ronald Shusett & Dan O’Bannon and Jon Povill. The producers are Neal H. Moritz and Toby Jaffe.

ABOUT SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT

Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE’s global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition and distribution; television production, acquisition and distribution; home entertainment acquisition and distribution; worldwide television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of entertainment in more than 142 countries. Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web at

http://www.sonypictures.com

In this month’s episode, we learn that Cookies are an “Always” food, Zombies bad-Condoms good, and We’ve Got Cabin Fever! We discuss a ton of stuff including the upcoming Hunger Games excitement, Muppets and some awesome video game news, too. Our listener questions prompted some interesting discussion, so be sure to enjoy that part and keep the great questions coming!

Listen here or go get it on iTunes! (We’re under the Big Shiny Robot’s Podcast feed)

Enjoy, and please remember to share your questions and comments with us here on the site or over on our Twitter page and Facebook page!

The Hunger Games, based on the acclaimed young adult fiction novel by Susanne Collins, opens in theaters this weekend. It follows the story of Katniss, a young girl who must compete in The Hunger Games, a yearly gladiatorial combat to the death featuring one boy and one girl from each of twelve districts– all for the entertainment of the people in the capital. It’s already going to break the box office record for midnight screenings, but is the film any good? Two of our bots caught screenings, one in Salt Lake City, one in Austin, and this is what they thought:

Citizenbot: I loved it. I had an amazing time with the film. There was action, there was drama, there was romance, there was humor, all layered on top of some of the most important social commentary I think we’ve seen in a long time. I love dystopian novels and themes, and this is heavy on the dystopia. Unlike 1984 or Brave New World, I feel like Hunger Games. . . yeah, that could happen. We are that bloodthirsty, we are that greedy. This film seems to capture the zeitgeist of #occupy, the 99% vs the 1%, except in the case of their world it has gotten far more out of control. And a hat tip to Gary Ross, who wrote and directed some of my favorites (Pleasantville, Dave) for taking on this and doing a great job.

Swankmotron: I really liked it. Is it the best movie I’ve seen this year? No. I think that honor still belongs to John Carter. The filmmaker really got out of the way and let the strengths of the story do the heavy lifting. But the casting was also pitch perfect, giving us a top notch product to start with. I read the first few chapters of the first book and got a little annoyed with the writing style. I’m the sort who reads a number of books at once, so it quickly just fell by the wayside. But I knew the story was something I was interested in. I’m very happy to report that the filmmaking in this movie is lightyears ahead of the writing in the book. Overall, I was very pleasantly surprised.

CB: Agreed. If you haven’t seen John Carter yet, beat the crowds going to see Hunger Games this weekend and see John Carter instead– just go see Hunger Games at like a weekday matinee or next weekend.

I think we need to talk about the cast. None of the leads are household names, but we get a great performance from Jennifer Lawrence (X-men: First Class, Winter’s Bone). But the real gems here I thought were the supporting cast: Elizabeth Banks made me hate her. And I love Elizabeth Banks. Donald Sutherland, Stanley Tucci, Woody Harrelson all do exactly what you’d expect from them. Chris Hemworth’s little brother Liam as Gale, a potential love interest for Katniss who we’ll see more of in future sequels, made me excited to see more of him in future films. Lenny Kravitz shows up as fashion designer Cinna, and he’s actually pretty good. I had no idea he could act, outside of that one Simpsons episode where he shows up to teach Homer about crotch-stuffing. So really impressed with the cast all around.

SWANK: I thought the cast was great. And I think Donald Sutherland was too good, because I felt there was more that his character needed to do. Jennifer Lawrence was fantastic and carried the film. I was worried about Woody Harrelson and he really got me invested in the film, to be honest.

CB: That’s funny, because I was worried about Woody Harrelson, too. He really charmed me, though. Considering the future trajectory of this film trilogy, we’re going to get to see more of Donald Sutherland, though. And that’s going to get good. Ditto for Liam Hemsworth.

Now I have to pick a few nits. This movie is long. 142 minutes. And for the first half of the film it feels a little slow. Then, at the same time, I also feel they didn’t set up a few things properly: the stakes and some of the mechanics of the Hunger Games, the supporting characters, especially the other Tributes– especially Rue. So when some of the emotional climaxes occur, there’s not as much payoff.

SWANK: As far as the nits I’d like to pick, my biggest was that I felt this movie was very poorly structured, though I think that was by remaining true to the source material and it needed to be fixed, but they were afraid to piss off legions of fans. The emotional climax of the film is Rue’s fate and the consequences in District 11 for it. Everything else was down hill from there. Nothing impacted me more than that, and that felt like it was halfway through the film. Then the film ends and I’m expecting more because there wasn’t an emotional spike at the end to bring me down. Imagine if Star Wars ended after they got Princess Leia off the Death Star and they just cut the Death Star battle. That’s how this film felt to me.

CB: I completely agree. That was the climax. But I don’t know how they could’ve fixed that. Rue’s death had to happen, structurally, exactly where it did, because it sets off other events both in and outside the games themselves. Let me just comment quickly, that knowing about Rue’s death didn’t diminish its emotional impact for me. I was still blown away. And if this is now a spoiler for you. . .well, wah. The book’s been out for 4 years. And, like I said, knowing about it didn’t make me any less prepared for it.

Overall I’m sitting in 3 1/2 star range, maybe 3 and 3/4 if you want to discuss dystopian politics and themes with me.

SWANK: Yes. Dystopian themes.
This is a perfect story about a struggle between the haves and have nots. This isn’t Earth. This is a planet I expect the crew of the Enterprise to beam down to and say, “What are you people doing?” Much like the sailor at the end of Lord of the Flies.

You can read Swank’s other review here.

This first appeared in The Huffington Post.

I’m constantly reading three or four books at a time, and I made the mistake of trying to read The Hunger Games alongside a book by Umberto Eco and another by Graham Greene. To say the writing style wasn’t very good beside those two was an understatement. I made it three or four chapters, interested in the story, but the writing left me wanting more. Eventually it simply fell by the wayside, waiting for me to revisit it.

I’m still planning on revisiting it at some point. I want to.

After seeing the movie, I think I have to, if nothing else so I can read the next two installments of the series.

I just wanted to get that out there so people reading this know where I’m coming from as far as the faithfulness of the adaptation is concerned. It all matched what I read, but I hadn’t read very much.

As for the movie itself, I’m very pleased to report that the movie is very good. The filmmaking that went into making the movie was much better than the writing that went into the novel.

The movie, as the book does, begins with Katniss Everdeen on the day of the Reaping, and follows her story through the constant government manipulation of The Hunger Games. Jennifer Lawrence brings the character to life vividly, giving us her internal monologue without having to say a word. There is no narration of her thoughts, but her performance is so strong there doesn’t need to be.

In fact, there’s not a performance I can point to that felt out of place (with the exception of Donald Sutherland as the president, but we’ll talk about that in a minute). Looking at trailers for the film, I was convinced Woody Harrelson was going to gnaw through the scenery, as distracting as a goat eating the set in the background, but his character, Haymitch Abernathy, was much more complex than his limited screen time would imply. Though their costumes bordered on distracting, Stanley Tucci and Elizabeth Banks (as Caesar Flickerman and Effie Trinket, respectively) brought a much needed big city contrast to the bland lives of the denizens of District 12. Even Lenny Kravitz, who I would have assumed to be distracting, felt right for his part.

For his part, Donald Sutherland was fine as the president, adding an air of menace, but the reason he felt out of place was because he was a villain who had no plan and did nothing but twirl his mustache. When the film ended, I was left with the feeling that I was missing something. Imagine how unsatisfied you’d feel if Star Wars had ended with Luke and Han getting Princess Leia off the Death Star and the movie just ended there before they could go back and blow it up. I understand there are more books coming, and this film telegraphed the plot of the next one so completely that I shouldn’t be surprised, but it still felt odd and out of place.

And, to be honest, the odd structure was my only complaint with an otherwise well-made film. The emotional climax comes right in the middle of the movie and, even though it was blatantly and repeatedly telegraphed from the beginning, it had a significant punch, eliciting more than a tear or two from me. But nothing got bigger or better than that. The movie peaked in the middle, the consequences of that peak causing a riot in District 11 toward the overthrow of the government, and then the film went strictly by the numbers from that point.

Sadly, there’s too much of a reverence to the source material filmmakers have for films of this sort that seems to render them incapable of fixing major mistakes in order to make a better film. (Which is why fans of the books rarely seem to understand why Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkabanis hands down the best film in the Harry Potter franchise.)

Other than that one minor complaint, I thought this film was incredible. It invested me wholly and is forcing a desire to read the books.

Is this the best movie I’ve seen this year so far? No. That honor still belongs to John Carter (which if you don’t already have tickets for The Hunger Games, you should this weekend while you wait for the crowds to die down). But it’s still a very excellent film.

Will I see the next one? Absolutely. And I will come having read the source material this time. I’m a fan, now, and nothing is going to stop that.

I saw it with my 9-year-old son and he loved it as well, winning over the kid vote. I’m not sure I’d bring my 8 -year-old daughter, though. Not because there was anything too graphic or intense, but because I don’t think that mid-film emotional climax would sit well with her particular personality. It’s not exactly fun for the whole family, but for most of the family it’s just right: challenging, thrilling, intense and well-made.

Bryan Young is the editor-in-chief of geek news site Big Shiny Robot and the author of “Man Against the Future.”

Sony released a viral video to promote The Amazing Spider-Man.

I’ve been trying to get the phone number to work, but I’ve got nothing but a busy signal for the last hour.

WIll this campaign lead to something as cool as The Dark Knight? Only time will tell, but it’s worth investigating.

In addition to the phone number, the video also brings you to a site called “The Webbed Menace.”

It’s time to do some exploring…

The last few days, the internet has been in a frenzy due to some comments Michael Bay made regarding the new live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, which his company Platinum Dunes is producing. The comment everyone is up in arms about? Well, see if you can pick it out from the quote:

“When you see this movie, kids are going to believe, one day, that these turtles actually do exist when we are done with this movie. These turtles are from an alien race and they are going to be tough, edgy, funny and completely lovable.”

Okay, so when we see the movie, the fans are going to actually “believe” these characters exist. They are going to be tough, edgy, funny and completely loveable. Aside from “edgy” – which could be up for interpretation – that sounds about right for my beloved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Maybe Michael Bay will not . . . wait. What was that middle part?! “Alien race”?!

You’ve got to be $&%^ing $%*@$ing me.

Yes, TMNT fans, Michael Bay wants to make the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles aliens.

Usually when this type of “fanboy rage” surfaces, I may dabble in some light nay-saying, but I’m generally of the thought, “Let’s wait and see.” But this is Michael Bay, and he wants to change the very origin of our Heroes in a Half Shell. To hell with that. I am all for adjusting aspects of properties for better translation to the silver screen; many popular properties such as Spider-Man and Batman have taken liberties with the source material to provide a better on-screen interpretation of the characters and the worlds they live in. But to outright change an origin that makes the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – again, emphasis on MUTANT – what they are and how they interact with the world is not okay.

Following these comments and the backlash, Mr. Bay posted this response to his Shoot For the Edit blog:

Fans need to take a breath, and chill. They have not read the script. Our team is working closely with one of the original creators of Ninja Turtles to help expand and give a more complex back story. Relax, we are including everything that made you become fans in the first place. We are just building a richer world.

There seems to be a disconnect between what fans are actually upset about, and what Bay thinks they are upset about. Of course we haven’t read the script, and you’re working with one of the original creators of the Ninja Turtles to help expand and create a more “complex” back story? Okay, I’d be willing to see what you’ve got in mind, stamp this with an original take. Building a richer world? By all means, the world in which our characters live is just as important as the characters themselves. But again, to change the basic origin, making the Turtles aliens as opposed to being simple turtles mutated by The Ooze, is a change that is just not necessary.

This isn’t to say that any and all change to the Ninja Turtles is bad. Case in point: the current Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book run from IDW Publishing by Eastman, Duncan and Waltz. In my opinion this is the best comic book out there your money can buy, and I assure you, many changes have been made. Complexity has been added to their origin, characters have been adjusted, the world they live in has been updated, all in a significant way – but they started first with the basics of four turtles and a rat mutated by an ooze and then built upon that. You can add “complexity” and “richness” without outright changing a much beloved origin that has existed since the characters’ creation. I would love to expand on exactly how all of this has been built upon in the comics because it’s just fantastic, but part of the fun is the reveal as the story unravels, so I’m going to instead encourage you to go to your local comic book store and pick these issues up for yourself – you won’t be disappointed! But I digress . . .

Michael Bay appears to be changing the origin of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a property I grew up with and have a lot of fondness for. Who knows exactly how far reaching this particular change is, perhaps he misspoke with that alien reference and was confused with some sort of Dimension X story line that is in the script that actually has nothing to do with the Turtles themselves. But let’s face it, this is Michael Bay and his track record speaks for itself; his movies aren’t exactly known for having complex characters and on-point story telling, so to say I have very little faith in what his production company is going to do with this franchise is an understatement.

For all of those out there upset about this alleged change, I’ll say this: Vote with your dollar. If the final product turns out to be something that doesn’t properly honor the franshise you love, don’t go see it. It’s really the only – and best – tool we as fans have for letting the creators know, “No.”

Please, all of you, stop paying to see Michael Bay movies. Just draw a line in the sand right now. It’s an easy concession to make and in some small way, I truly believe that you and society as a whole will be better off for it. – Clang! Boom! Steam!

What are your initial thoughts to Bay possible changing the origin of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Is the fan base over-reacting? Are you willing to see how this all plays out on screen? Sound off in the comments below!

They showed a sizzle reel of Prometheus at WonderCon this year and we’ve got it. It shows a little more than the trailer but tells a little less.

This is one of my most anticipated films of the year.

In case you missed trailer #2, here it is: