Trailer for "2012"

Ok, I'm not officially a fan of Roland Emmerich, the director of such cheesy disaster trash as Godzilla, The Day After Tomorrow, and 10,000 B.C. Sure, his Independence Day was the eye-candy benchmark for its day, but feels pretty dated anytime I catch a few minutes of it on TV (which seems to be every weekend). After all, most of his movies look fantastic, but are usually paper-thin when it comes to plot or character-development. (One of my favorite moments from The Day After Tomorrow is when Jake Gyllenhal's character actually outruns cold air...yes, AIR!!!)

Having said all this, the latest trailer for 2012 looks pretty exciting, even though I think we all know what we're in for.




What do you think? Will you shell out $10 to see Mr. Emmerich destroy the world again?

Just another reason why we love Pixar

Wendy and I saw Pixar's latest, Up, in 3D a few weeks ago and couldn't have enjoyed it more. It is sweet, colorful, imaginative, and warm...not to mention funny. If you haven't seen it yet, do yourself a favor and see it on the big screen (The 3D was nice, but not necessary.)

Today I read the heart-wrenching true story of a bed-stricken, terminally-ill 9-year old girl whose final wish was to see Pixar's latest film. Just read this story and tell me if you're able to make it through without crying. I wasn't.

Seriously, how great is Pixar?

"Indiana Jones 5" in the works?

Some of you will groan at the very title of this post, but you'll forgive me if I still get the chills just thinking about the possible future adventures of Indiana Jones & Co. It's no surprise to you that I am a self-professed Indiana Jones freak. Let me list a few examples:

• One of my favorite gifts of the past few years was my Indiana Jones Legos kit (although it's sure hard to put together with Lily constantly on the prowl)
  
• A brand-new Indiana Jones adventure was just released for the Wii last week, and I can't wait for my copy to arrive in the mail (I sure pre-ordered it like four months ago).
• My visit to Petra, Jordan in 2000 was almost entirely consumed by thoughts of walking where Indiana Jones once walked. (Later research revealed that there was also a group of people called the Nabateans who may have lived there 2000 years ago.)
  
• The only thing that could take me away from the hour-long wait for the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland last month was my sister's phone call with some very exciting baby news.
  
• The music--especially the "Raider's March"--is an all-time favorite, and makes me feel like a little kid each and every time I hear it. At one point it was even my ringtone.
  

Additionally, Wendy (bless her heart) and I rewatched Kingdom of the Crystal Skull again over the weekend, and I've got to say that at least the first 90 minutes or so of the movie is pretty darn good. I didn't mind Shia LeBeouf as Indy Jr. (monkeys notwithstanding), loved seeing Karen Allen again, and didn't even mind the CG ants. I concede that the finale is messy and incomprehensible, but it sure looks great, especially on blu-ray.

Now comes news from both Shia LeBeouf and Frank Marshall (one of the original producers from the series) that a script is in development and that all major parties (George Lucas, Spielberg, Harrison Ford) are interested in continuing the franchise. I realize that they all said the same thing a few years after The Last Crusade, and it ended up taking 19 years before we saw another Indy film. But something tells me the huge global box office receipts for last year's Kingdom of the Crystal Skull ($750+ million) will play a factor in how quickly we see another one. And you know what? I'm perfectly fine with Lucas, Ford, and Spielberg making a huge pile of money if they can take us on another fun ride with this character.

Tell me I'm not the only one who gets excited for a new Indy movie?

Oh for the love...

Forgive me a rare political commentary, but is it just me, or does Sarah Palin just need to shut her pretty little mouth and move on with life? Ever the publicity hound, the way she has turned this David Letterman non-fiasco into her return to the limelight is an ugly, opportunistic overreaction. Obviously, Dave's joke was unfunny. Worst case, it was tasteless and inappropriate. But he's a comedian, and when a comedian makes a bad joke, you don't laugh or you stop listening. But for crying out loud...that Palin has gotten a week full of publicity out of a bad Letterman joke is a terrible, shameful way to stay in the public eye. It's hardly the first time a politician's family has been mocked on late-night TV. And yes, I agree that there's a double-standard in the way that Obama and his family have been spared any cruel jokes. But is this really the dialogue Palin wants to be remembered for?

We already know that we don't expect tact or taste from the entertainment industry. But surely we conservatives should expect more from our prospective leaders, right?

"New Moon" trailer debuts

Wendy and I fast-forwarded through the crass MTV Movie Awards last night to catch a peek at the debut trailer for New Moon. Needless to say, her reaction was significantly different than mine (although to be fair, both reactions included smiles). Let me know what you think by watching it yourself below:

THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON trailer in HD