But don’t take my word for it.  Watch the trailer, and then, if you’re feeling moved to do so, help them finish it.

While it came out better than I expected, it really makes you appreciate what goes into rendering an image like this:

I love the lighting.  The main characters are bright and vivid even though the scene, like mine, is seemingly lit only from moonlight.  And while the moon creates stark shadows from the characters, distracting shadows from the window are conveniently omitted.  That’s the nice thing about computers.  You don’t have to deal with pesky physics.

When I saw this marquee in Blue Island, my first thought was, “I can’t believe that theater is showing Little GIants.”  Then I realized that perhaps Little Giants was the last movie the theater showed before it closed… in 1994… when Little Giants came out.

I tried calling the number.  No one answered.

I was going to rehash an old Willy Wonka costume I still had sitting around, but while looking for something to use as a cane, I found an old friend.  

When I first moved into the dorms in college, my roommate and I found a stuffed Shamu whale in one of the drawers.  He moved around with us all four years of college and I eventually took him back to Chicago with me.  

All it took was a small incision, a broomstick, and a makeshift harness to re-enact a classic scene from movie history:

All-in-all, one of my more successful costumes.  

I’m an idiot.

I suspect The Dark Knight will join The Blues Brothers and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off as one of the all-time best Chicago movies. High Fidelity did pretty good too. Oh, and Stranger Than Fiction. And don’t even get me started on John Hughes. What are your favorites?

Went to see Indiana Jones on Friday. I’ve never seen the movie theater so packed in my life. At first I was worried the movie would be sold out, but once we got in line for tickets it was clear that the throng wasn’t there for no Crystal Skulls. The box office was packed with women dressed up fancy for a night on the town. Yes, it was opening night for Sex And The City. As we inched through the crowd to get to the theater, we overheard an Indy fan in front of us complain, “There are ladies everywhere!“. It’s weird to see dolled up girls buying popcorn and waiting in line next to the Dance Dance Revolution machine. Movie theaters are not glamorous.

Brian spent much of the night trying to capture the moment on his camera phone. “I’m trying to look like I’m reading a message, not taking pictures.”

Cobra Commander ’08
While I tend to vote along party lines with G.I. Joe, it hasn’t always been clear cut. Let’s face it, Storm Shadow was awesome and Bazooka was kind of annoying. Cobra Commander has some interesting new ideas, including a 2-trillion dollar weather dominator and his “elderly into food” program. He also has much-needed experience running a complex paramilitary organization without submitting to the demands of special interests. He doesn’t submit to any demands!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-edqQl0pZw

Cobra Commander also has amazing support from the celebrity crowd, which might motivate young voters and surprise some pundits in November. It will be interesting to see who joins Cobra Commander as his running mate. Destro would be an obvious choice and could definitely enfranchise the chrome vote, but The Baroness would bring a strong female figure to the ticket as well as much needed experience with foreign intelligence.

Zod 2008
I’ll be honest, I think Zod has an uphill climb to the White House in 2008. It will be hard for him to differentiate himself from Cobra Commander, policy-wise, and he has a weird-looking beard. Still, he has a message that resonates with everyone who thinks Superman is kind of annoying because he has no weaknesses. (Kryptonite? Please. What a crutch!) He also has some experience running the country from Superman II, although he did entrust Lex Luthor with most of the day-to-day operations.

Roslin/Airlock ’08
It’s unclear if this is an official ticket or just an Al Gore-esque grass-roots recruitment campaign staged by loyal fans. Either way, it’s hard to dispute Laura Roslin’s three years of wartime experience. It’s also hard to dispute Airlock’s strict interpretation of justice — impartially evacuating Cylons into the cold expanse of space.

B-Fest is a 24-hour film festival (6pm Friday – 6pm Saturday) of non-stop awful movies. The only feature film that is shown each and every year is Plan 9 From Outer Space. Folks who have been there before know all the Rocky Horror-style shenanigans, most notably the tossing of paper plates when the pathetic looking pie-tin flying saucers appear on the screen.

In the last couple years people have begun writing and drawing on the plates, sending messages to the great beyond — or at least someone else in the theater. Many of them are obscure film references. Others are more to the point.

[jumpcut=http://www.jumpcut.com/view?id=71D81D8C5D0311DCB921000423CF381C]

Then I started saving the videos and editing them together. It kind of cracks me up. I’ve set up a group on this weird Jumpcut site where you can upload your accidental videos. Please do. Together we can make one of the dumbest movies ever!

3 Years 3 Minutes

Astronaut

I find “3 Years 3 Minutes” especially brilliant. Something about it gets to me, like that commercial with the elephant or the end of A League of Their Own when the ladies are all old.

It’s hard to take a step back and look at three years of your life when you’re busy living it. Even though the movie shows someone else’s life, I can’t help but see how much my life has changed in the last three years: love lost, friends found, houses bought, fires set. What can I say? It gets to me… like when siblings give speeches at weddings or when Farmer Hoggett says, “That’ll do, Pig.”

Corbin sings the hit “Push it to the Limit.”
Keke’s is the almost-titular jam “Jumpin’.”

I recently saw Bridge to Terabithia (which really requires a post of its own) and during the closing credits AnnaSophia Robb, who plays Leslie in the movie, sings this syrupy number: “Keep Your Mind Wide Open.”

Want more? During the credits of Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams, Alexa Vega sings “Isle of Dreams,” which I actually like, but that’s beside the point. She also sang the theme from Spy Kids 3D: Game Over, aptly titled “Game Over.” That one I don’t like as much, and apparently neither does YouTube.

No one’s got the movie-credits-recap-song down like Will Smith, though. I think his lyrics come from the back of the DVD box. Hey, thanks for recapping the movie I just saw, Will! Check out his recap of Men in Black II.

Looks like Disney ripped off my great idea for a double dutch movie. Obviously they visit this site every day. What’s worse is it stars Corbin Bleu from my favorite TV Show: Flight 29 Down. And to think, Corbin, I spent all year telling everyone how good your show is. This is the thanks I get?

“Jump In!” is the story of a boxer who is begrudgingly drawn into the world of competitive double dutch. There he learns a thing or two about himself… or something ridiculous like that. He also finds a way to stupidly use his new-found double dutch skills in the boxing ring. You have to see this to believe it. (Go to the official Jump In! site, click on videos, and watch clip #3. You will be whatever the opposite of blown away is.)

Corbin says, “They gave me the script and I fell in love with it.” Really? You fell in love with it? The script to “Jump In!?” Stupid Bleu. Aw, who am I kidding? I’m still going to see the Flight 29 Down movie when it comes out.

Meanwhile, my brother Brian and his friends have come up with probably the most ingenious idea ever: air double dutch. It’s simple. Two folks pretend to spin double dutch ropes and people take turns jumping in and doin’ their, um,  thang. It’s amazing how good everyone is without those pesky ropes always getting in the way. It works best in a public place where strangers can join in. Spread the word! Unlike “Jump In!” it’s a national phenomenon!

ME: Hey did you see The Prestige?
EVERYONE ELSE I WORK WITH: Yeah. We all saw it, like, 6 months ago when it came out, and we all already talked about it. Pfft.

Unlike the movie, it was a little disappointing. But really, what was I going to say about it?