Yearly Archives: 2013

Trailer: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Exclusive Teaser)

Posted on by Arleigh

CatchingFire

The next installment in The Hunger Games series, Catching Fire, looks to return later this year with a new director taking over the reins. Gary Ross began the series as director of the first film and the film enjoyed massive success and very positive reception from the critics-at-large. So, it was surprising news that Ross wouldn’t be returning to continue the series and instead Lionsgate replacing him with Francis Lawrence (Constantine, I Am Legend).

This sequel brings back everyone who survived the first film and adds some new faces in the cast such as Philip Seymour Hoffman, Toby Jones, Jena Malone and Jeffrey Wright.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is set for a November 22, 2013 release date.

6 Party Trailers

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

In many ways, I wish I had been born several decades earlier.  I would have loved to have been a teenager during the early to mid-60s.  From what I can tell from the films made during that period, people use to break out into dance at the slightest provocation.

Need proof?

Just check out this latest edition of Lisa Marie’s Favorite Grindhouse and Exploitation Film trailers!

1) Beach Party (1963)

2) Muscle Beach Party (1964)

3) Bikini Beach (1964)

4) Pajama Party (1964)

5) How To Stuff A Wild Bikini (1965)

6) The Ghost In The Invisible Bikini (1966)

What do you think, Trailer Kitty?

Trailr Kitty

A Blast From The Past: Perversion For Profit

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today’s blast from the past comes to us from the Citizens For Decent Literature, Inc.  Originally made and released back in 1965, this 30-minute film features a deep-voiced authority figure explaining the dangers of adult magazines and sordid paperbacks.

How can I put into words how much I love this little piece of politically incorrect  Americana?

It’s just so 1965.

AMV of the Day: Affective Schoolgirls (Nichijou)

Posted on by Arleigh

Nichijou

Latest “AMV of the Day” is one that dodges any way to describe it.

“Affective Schoolgirls” is an amalgam of two very different styles of entertainment. Two styles that I’ve learned to enjoy and appreciate through the years. What this video has done is combine something akin to peanut butter and jelly. The slapstick comedy and slice of life anime series Nichijou provides the peanut butter while the song “Snüffel” by Equilibrium provides the jelly.

If one who watches this video thinks they have no idea what’s going on then they’ve come to an understanding of what Nichijou as an anime is all about. It is an anime series about chaos distilled. What better way to point this out than to pair it up with some German symphonic black metal.

Anime: Nichijou

Song: “Snüffel” by Equilibrium

Creator: seriy

Past AMVs of the Day

Scenes I Love: Gas Station Madness from It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.

Posted on by Leonard Wilson

I found out comedian Jonathan Winters died and this scene, from the 1963 classic “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” came to mind. For this and many other roles, he’ll be missed. My family watched this quite a bit growing up and it always made me laugh. Enjoy.

Lisa Marie Picks The 26 Worst Films Of The Past 3 Years

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

I just posted my picks for the 50 best films of the past 3 years.

Now, here comes the fun part.

Here are my picks for the 26 worst films of the past 3 years:

  1. Anonymous (directed by Roland Emmerich)
  2. Straw Dogs (directed by Rod Lurie)
  3. Branded (directed by Jamie Bradshaw and Aleksansdr Dulerayn)
  4. The Wicker Tree (directed by Robin Hardy)
  5. The Devil Inside (directed by William Brent Bell)
  6. Love and Other Drugs (directed by Ed Zwick)
  7. Project X (directed by Nima Nourizadeh)
  8. Rock of Ages (directed by Adam Shankman)
  9. This Means War (directed by McG)
  10. Dead Season (directed by some guy)
  11. The American (directed by Anton Corbijn)
  12. The Conspirator (directed by Robert Redford)
  13. Chloe (directed by Atom Egoyan)
  14. Clash of the Titans (directed by Louis Leterrier)
  15. Hereafter (directed by Clint Eastwood)
  16. Haywire (directed by Stephen Soderbergh)
  17. 96 Minutes (directed by Aimee Lagos)
  18. The Rum Diary (directed by Bruce Robinson)
  19. Dylan Dog: Dead of Night (directed by Kevin Munroe)
  20. Priest (directed by Scott Stewart)
  21. The Beaver (directed by Jodie Foster)
  22. A Thousand Words (directed by Brian Robbins)
  23. Contagion (directed by Stephen Soderbergh)
  24. Dream House (directed by Jim Sheridan)
  25. Another Earth (directed by Mike Cahill)
  26. Savages (directed by Oliver Stone)

Lisa Marie Picks The 50 Best Films of The Past 3 Years

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Black-Swan_400

As of this month, I have been reviewing films here at the Shattered Lens for 3 years.  In honor of that anniversary, I thought I’d post my picks for the 50 best films that have been released in the U.S. since 2010.

Without further ado, here’s the list!

  1. Black Swan (directed by Darren Aronofsky)
  2. Exit Through The Gift Shop (directed by Banksy)
  3. Hanna (directed by Joe Wright)
  4. Fish Tank (directed by Andrea Arnold)
  5. Higher Ground (directed by Vera Farmiga)
  6. Shame (directed by Steve McQueen)
  7. Anna Karenina (directed by Joe Wright)
  8. The Cabin In The Woods (directed by Drew Goddard)
  9. 127 Hours (directed by Danny Boyle)
  10. Somewhere (directed by Sofia Coppola)
  11. Life of Pi (directed by Ang Lee)
  12. Hugo (directed by Martin Scorsese)
  13. Inception (directed by Christopher Nolan)
  14. Animal Kingdom (directed by David Michod)
  15. Winter’s Bone (directed by Debra Granik)
  16. The Artist (directed by Michel Hazanavicius)
  17. The Guard (directed by John Michael McDonagh)
  18. Bernie (directed by Richard Linklater)
  19. The King’s Speech (directed by Tom Hooper)
  20. Bridesmaids (directed by Paul Feig)
  21. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (directed by Thomas Alfredson)
  22. Django Unchained (directed by Quentin Tarantino)
  23. Never Let Me Go (directed by Mark Romanek)
  24. Toy Story 3 (directed by Lee Unkrich)
  25. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (directed by Niels Arden Oplev)
  26. Young Adult (directed by Jason Reitman)
  27. Sucker Punch (directed by Zack Snyder)
  28. The Master (directed by Paul Thomas Anderson)
  29. Incendies (directed by Denis Villeneuve)
  30. Melancholia (directed by Lars Von Trier)
  31. Super (directed by James Gunn)
  32. Silver Linings Playbook (directed by David O. Russell)
  33. Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (directed by Edgar Wright)
  34. The Last Exorcism (directed by Daniel Stamm)
  35. Skyfall (directed by Sam Mendes)
  36. Easy A (directed by Will Gluck)
  37. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Parts 1 and 2 (directed by David Yates)
  38. The Avengers (directed by Joss Whedon)
  39. How To Train Your Dragon (directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBois)
  40. Win Win (directed by Thomas McCarthy)
  41. Les Miserables (directed by Tom Hooper)
  42. Take This Waltz (directed by Sarah Polley)
  43. Cave of Forgotten Dreams (directed by Werner Herzog)
  44. Rust and Bone (directed by Jacques Audiard)
  45. Cosmopolis (directed by David Cronenberg)
  46. Ruby Sparks (directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valarie Faris)
  47. Brave (directed by Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman)
  48. Martha Marcy May Marlene (directed by Sean Durkin)
  49. Jane Eyre (directed by Cary Fukunaga)
  50. Damsels in Distress (directed by Whit Stillman)

AMV of the Day: RadioAkshun (Neon Genesis Evangelion)

Posted on by Arleigh

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The latest “AMV of the Day” pretty much was the hit of Sakura-Con 2013 a couple weeks back.

“RadioAkshun” by AMV creator IleaiAMVs won not just Best Technical, but won both Judges’ Best in Show and Audience Best in Show. It’s a rarity that an AMV in competition wins both Best in Show. AMV judges tend to vote on whats best in competition a little differently than the general public who watches the videos more as fans and not judging them on technical, artistic and creative merit. IleaiAMVs definitely earned her wins by creating one of the best AMVs I’ve seen.

Her work on this video uses scenes and sequences from the Rebuild of Evangelion anime films (three out with a fourth still forthcoming) and edits it around the Imagine Dragons song “Radioactive” and she does an excellent job. She doesn’t rely on flashy effects to make her video interesting and unique. She just does an impeccable job in timing the beats and tempo of the song with the appropriate scenes from the anime films. She also makes sure that she doesn’t just slapdash together the best scenes from the films. IleaiAMVs makes sure that each sequence fits not just the beats and tempo of the song but the lyrics as well. Best example of all three is early in the video when the character of Shinji takes a deep breath and then his Evangelion Unit exhales just as the singer in the song does the very same thing.

Enough talk…just go watch and enjoy.

Anime: Rebuild of Evangelion

Song: “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons

Creator: IleaiAMVs

Past AMVs of the Day

Scenes I Love: District 9

Posted on by Arleigh

district9_m

With the release of the first trailer of Neill Blomkamp’s follow-up to his District 9 I thought it was time to look back at one of my favorite scenes from that film. In fact, I rather think this scene was and, still is, one of the greatest scenes in cinematic history.

District 9 was such a great film with so many scenes and sequences that I consider favorites. Yet, it’s one particular scene that happened very quickly that it left many audiences staring at the big-screen (or small screen) wondering if they just saw what they just saw. I’m talking about a brief sequence during the climactic fight inside District 9 as Wikus tries to provide fire and cover for Chris Johnson and his young son to make it back to the alien shuttle and get back to the mothership.

Even now just watching the clip one really has to watch it more than once to truly appreciate the insanity that went into this action-packed final reel of the film. To put it simply, District 9 and Neill Blomkamp introduced the world not just to live-action mecha action but to the Spider Jerusalem-esque weapon I have simply dubbed: “The Pig Cannon”.

Watch and be amazed.