The Fast & the Furious, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Franchise

The Fast & the Furious, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Franchise

Posted inFilms
The last movies I ever expected to love were those ridiculous The Fast & the Furious flicks. Meathead street racer nonsense starring silly actors doing silly things in silly suped up cars as annoying as the ones that buzz around at 1am being far louder than a little lime green import has any right to be? Ugh. No. Several friends kept insisting the series was secretly amazing, though, a bunch of movies that were more like comic books come to life than, say, the latest Batman or Superman movie or Caligula. Okay, okay, fine. Facing some empty late nights and some bags…
Why Are Marvel’s Blu-Ray Releases So Mediocre?

Why Are Marvel’s Blu-Ray Releases So Mediocre?

Posted inComics & Graphic Novels, Films, Geek Stuff, Random Musings, Rants
These days, Marvel Studios make THE tentpole action flicks. With a combination of fun characters, good direction, solid stories, huge spectacle, and a formula that just works, they’ve created an ongoing, interwoven geek movie franchise that has every other studio scrambling to catch up. Make no mistake, I’m an unabashed fan. I don't pretend they are classic cinema -- they're just comic book movies -- but they do something important: they consistently make me feel like I'm 12 again, only without all the self-loathing and zits. From the tense drama of The Winter Soldier to the charming adventure of Ant-Man to the…
Basking in the majesty of Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

Basking in the majesty of Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

Posted inFilms
Let's talk about David Lean's landmark epic Lawrence Of Arabia. By now, the film's reputation is well established. Considered by many to be one of the greatest films of all time (it certainly ranks high on my personal list), in 1962 Lawrence Of Arabia garnered seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Peter O'Toole's tortured performance is the stuff of legend, and its on-screen vistas have inspired filmmakers from Stephen Spielberg to Martin Scorsese to Peter Jackson. Even people who have never seen it at least know of its lofty reputation. But some classic films of yesteryear have a way of…
It’s time to watch every Star Wars trailer in a row, to prepare for Rogue One awesomeness

It’s time to watch every Star Wars trailer in a row, to prepare for Rogue One awesomeness

Posted inFilms, Geek Stuff, Videos
I'm surprised I haven't posted about Star Wars more often, considering it's been part of my like for about as long as I've been been walking and talking. Saw the original in the theater when I was a wee lad, had the comics, had the toys, listened to the audio version on vinyl records with my little kid's turntable. The whole damn Star Wars experience. Later, I read the books, played the games, and had the bitter Internet debates. Maybe that last part is why. Is there anything left to be said about Star Wars other than "it's awesome" or…
Watching a bunch of Harry Potter trailers back-to-back, because why not?

Watching a bunch of Harry Potter trailers back-to-back, because why not?

Posted inFilms, Geek Stuff, Videos, Works by Eric
A new movie set in the Harry Potterverse is about to debut, Big Giant Monsters and How to Get Them, so my esteemed Youtube Partner, Tig of Nerd out with Me fame, and I decided to do what any sane middle aged men drinking beer in an attic would do: we watched all the Harry Potter trailers back-to-back, jabbering as we did. Eight trailers is a lot. This is a long episode of Hours in the Attic, just short of our longest to date. But we also think it's a fun way to quickly revisit all those Potter flicks, so…