I just found out that watching people discuss has exactly the same effect!

Now, the boards at IMDB are full of disparaging comments about Harrison Ford’s acting. There’s even suggestion about Jeff Bridges taking over as Colonel Graff.

Frankly, I can’t think of a better match for the cold Colonel. Jeff Bridges was fine in Men Who Stair at Goats, but you cannot take him seriously as a military establishment kind of guy.

If you are one of the people who own a DSLR from Canon, you are aware of their current trend to allow the camera to function as a camcorder as well (especially, the 5D Mark II). So the new C300 shows that the Canon can drop their hybrid approach and focus fully on a camera that is like DSLR in terms of form factor but has the feature set of a full-frame movie camera.

The important question is this: “Is Canon EOS C300 going to replace Canon X line, HVX200 or Sony’s new generation of indie video camcorders“. I think the answer is pretty clear – only if you have a pretty impressive budget! The list price of the new camcorder is 20,000 USD with the “real” price being in the 14,000-15,000 range.

So amateur filmmakers can forget about this camera but if you are shooting even a (semi) professional documentary, you could definitely go for it.

There’s a ton of photos at IMDB.

Apart from Jason Momoa, we get Ron Pearlman, Stephen Lang, and Rose McGovan (rumored to be groomed for Red Sonya at one point).

The world premiere is set for August 19! I cant wait to see the end of this swing in 3D:

The only piece of reliable historical information is that in second century AD, this legion was removed from the legion list. It was stationed in Britain, hence novelists ran wild with the idea that the whole legion perished in the Northern highlands (i.e. today’s Scotland). No amount of recent evidence about the Ninth appearing in the Rhine region has been deemed adequate so that storytellers move to greener pastures.

You could view the the movies in succession (like I did) starting with Centurion and watching the Eagle next (telling yourself, it’s now 9 years later). In Centurion, you witness the slaughter of Rome’s heavy infantry by the Pictish tribes and the hunt for the few Romans that survived. Which explains why no one knows what happened to the Ninth.

Except that in The Eagle, some survivors have actually set themselves in the highlands. One changed his name from Marcus Barbutus Ridiculus to the simpler “Guern”! So you see how it all comes together … the quest for simpler names.

The Eagle deals with the quest for the Holy Gr… I mean, the Ninth’s Eagle. One man and his slave go where no (Roman) man has gone before and came back to tell the tale. In short, the Eagle is recovered and delivered to the Senate’s British branch (preposterous last scene).

So what’s my recommendation? Should you see one or the other, or maybe both? The Eagle is the less annoying one by far. Except for the testudo formation in Act I and the Senate branch, the movie is generally true to the period.

Centurion, on the other hand, is basically a horror movie where everyone is dressed in rags (except in the opening battle where the legionaries still wear armor). These Romans drop four letter words every few lines and the Picts are mostly mute (especially Olga’s character). Do not expect any historical accuracy beyond the costumes… I mean rags.

I’d say that HBO’s ROME is still a better choice in terms of character development, intrigue, and overall “historical goodies”.

As Cinematical put it: “Video game fans were happy to see a film adaptation that actually tried to match the tone and impact of its video game predecessor.”

Of course, fans of Robert E. Howard have been dissecting the casting choice of Jason Momoa for the last year or so.

Looking at the poster, however, I felt the chills of this being a REAL Conan movie. The teaser trailer below isn’t bad either.

On a side note, there’s an amazing community of Conan (and online RPGs) fans, at Conan.com!

Just a sample from Burning Ice: “A film documenting the journey of a group of artists on an Arctic expedition.”

So the news that Guy is re-making the classic 1981 Excalibur (directed by John Boorman) is met with a lot of hostility on movie buff forums.

The funny side is to the whole thing is picturing Vinnie Jones as Merlin. Excalibur parody? Why not!

For some much needed perspective, check the Lightbikes scene from the original TRON (1982). I’ve played Snake a few times but it is far from my favorite retro game. I’ve always preferred the tactical games and fantasy RPG’s that came out in the 90s. Yet, watching this scene makes for some Snake on steroids fun.

Now compare it to the modern take. Frankly, the lightbike scene is not even close to being an effective adrenaline rush. Same as modern games, it’s not about player skill anymore. It’s about effects. Which is saying a LOT about how games have changed. Instead of games of reflex like Pong and Snake, kids nowadays play Assassin’s creed and WoW – button mashing which rarely makes a big difference.

Back to the movie. This time around we get an improved story and somewhat better acting, courtesy of Jeff Bridges. Olivia Wilde is very easy on the eyes. The main character can be anyone from the audience, which I guess is the idea.

Verdict: Watch the movie but keep in mind it will PLAY a lot better as a video game!

It seems Uwe is hellbent on keeping the title Worst Movie Director Ever and The Guardian confirms it:

Uwe Boll, who has been described as the world’s worst film director and a “schlockmeister”, said he felt it was time to present the Nazis’ crimes in their “full horror” in his film Auschwitz.

Trailer for Auschwitz (not recommended):

All the usual suspects are rumored to be in the movie, e.g. Cate Blanchett is Galadriel.

Who will paly Bilbo though? Rumors place the honor at Martin Freemen’s feet.

I’m definitely looking forward to it. It looks like it will be in two parts (says IMDB).

The biggest question is WHAT will the new movie be about. Here’s the answer according to an insider:

A remake implies a new version of an original script. This movie has no connection to any previous Conan movies, it is a franchise restart, like “Batman Begins”. It is a brand new adaptation of the original Conan stories by Robert E. Howard.

So it’s not a remake or a sequel, it’s a RESTART

Solomon manages to escape and retreats to a monastery. This is the new Solomon Kane, who has repented and wants nothing more but peace. We wouldn’t have a movie, if everyone got what they wanted, so Solomon is thrown into the world and forced to confront violence.

I wouldn’t go into spoilers but the story arc is very interesting and paints Solomon’s childhood in a harsh light.

It’s a nice little movie, with a budget that’s probably 10% of Prince of Persia’s. James Purefoy does an amazing job, as always. If you haven’t seen him in Rome, you should definitely do so.

Sidenote: If you’re a fan of the Diablo games by Blizzard, you gonna love it. It plays a lot like the Diablo movie that’s in the works!

I was excited to see the Gladiator crew reunite for another movie. They even amped up the female presence by going with Kate Blanchet.

Max von Sydow is another supposed upgrade, well, let’s just say that playing Kins Osric in Conan was better.

Putting all of English history in one movie was bad enough (Magna Carta in a Robin Hood movie??). Twisting history in unimaginable ways was even offensive.

Exhibit A: French troop carriers doing the invasion were a virtual rip-off of D-day craft. Even Caesar in his invasion of Britania knew he needed ships with a keel because crossing the Channel was impossible otherwise.

I even joked to myself that if I see German machine guns on the cliffs, it will be exactly like Saving Private Ryan. Well, you know what? The English archers lined the cliff and the arrows produced EXACTLY the same effect. Even the sound effects were similar.

So my verdict? Go see any other Robin Hood movie. Or go rent Saving Private Ryan, the battle scenes are much better.

According to DPreview:

The EOS 550D redefines the boundaries of Canon’s consumer DSLR range, incorporating technologies and features more commonly found in semi-professional DSLRs into the compact, lightweight body favoured by consumers. With a newly-developed 18 Megapixel (MP) APS-C CMOS sensor, coupled with Canon’s advanced DIGIC 4 image processor and the ability to shoot Full HD movies, photography enthusiasts are empowered to explore new levels of creativity.

Yes, full HD and an ISO range of 100 – 6400 (expandable to 12800) means you’ll get a lot mileage from scenes with natural (often poor) lighting.

The camera itself is too new, so the previews have been based on pre-production units but I’m pretty excited!

Cate Blanchett as Maid Marian? All my doubts are suddenly washed away by a torrent of relief!

Update: It turns out Gladiator 2.0 is about as bland as a Flash RPG game about Robin Hood.

A German movie about autocracy (dictatorship)? Sure, sign me up. There’s just one thing that would make this movie better… set it on a German U-boat during WWII. Alas, we can’t have every German movie on a U-boat like my favorite Das Boot.

The premise of the movie is quite simple – take a group of high-school students, dress them uniformly, drill them, and voila, you end up with a true brown (black) shirt movement from 1930s (a.k.a. Fascism). The movie is based on a book that is based on a true story that happened in California, not Germany. The moral of the story is that it could happen anywhere with the right ingredients.

In terms of filmmaking, the movie is very solid. I could imagine it done with an even smaller budget in true Dogma style, without losing much of its appeal. It’s definitely worth checking out.

It shares pedigree with Panasonic HVX200 and it offers much of the same features: a ton of formats and frame rates. It records on P2 cards as well as DV, DVCPRO, DVCPRO50 and DVCPROHD.

In terms of lenses, it comes with a 17x Fujinon lens that’s well above the usual pro-amateur fair. The sensor is big – 1/3″ and incredibly crisp, recording in FULL HD – 1920×1080.

If your budget allows it, I urge you to rent this baby for a test and then include it in your arsenal!