MOVIES
The Many Faces of the Batman
So last night The Dark Knight opened. It's the sequel to Batman Begins the DC Comics franchise-saving set of movies starring Christian Bale that set the superhero back on track after some disastrous performances by George Clooney and especially Val Kilmer. As the above video shows, the Batman has come a long way since first being played by Lewis Wilson in 1943. Press play to see the various incarnations of the Dark Knight, but do remember it was the birth of the graphic novel that gave the Caped Crusader his edge back. The Joker's too, otherwise he was just a bumbling benign cackle of face paint.
by ANIMAL on July 18, 2008
Nike has produced a new 'Just Do It' TV spot for the Beijing Olympics titled "Courage." Today's athletes? Courageous? Please, more like Coddled. It opens with a title board that reads: Everything You Need Is Already Inside. I'm sure the people of Tibet and Taiwan will find it very inspiring. AdWeek and AdAge posted articles on it yesterday that were basically expanded press releases for the $16 billion company. The commercial, which includes 31 "Nike athletes," is admittedly wonderfully edited (It ends with footage of double amputee South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius). The soundtrack is provided by bland band The Killers' and their song "All These Things That I've Done"—which features the refrain "I've got soul but I'm not a soldier." How profound, and perfect for China! Watch the spot, and tell me what you think. I think it feels too much like a hastily thrown together Nike ode to Nike. I would expect better for the Olympics.
by Copyranter on July 18, 2008
A studious commenter points us to this awesome graffiti video—sans the techno-trippy soundtrack—of that 'Dark Knight' billboard in LA we showed you getting bombed up by the Seventh Letter crew, time lapse footage included. As someone noted, check out the graffiti crew's exclusive spray paint splattering fat caps that are perfect way to mark the occasion. Press play and watch their creatively destructive handiwork in action. |KnownGallery|
by ANIMAL on July 16, 2008
Officially, Heineken will say they had absolutely nothing to do with, nor do they endorse, this video that was apparently created by students. It's one of two spots in a "Fuck It" campaign (here's the other one, "Suicide"). A commenter at AdFreak says Heineken won't seek legal action because they don't want to draw attention to the vids. Yeah, thaaat's rich! Both of these spots are much more entertaining than their current diluted ads—especially the touchy-feely "share the good" dreck for Heineken Light. I guarantee you that the Heineken marketing honchos are doing shots of something stronger than bier to celebrate this free buzz and the hundreds of thousands of YouTube views...that is, if they had nothing to do with it.
by Copyranter on July 16, 2008
"Peur[s] du Noir," or "Fear[s] of the Dark," is a collection of six black-and-white animated shorts from the strange minds of Charles Burns, Blutch, and Richard McGuire, among others. The stories look like something like "Sin City," but more darkly animated, and all explore fear in its blackest incarnations, like a lucid dream. By way of example, one of the interwoven tales focuses on "a little girl who appears to be systematically re-induced into a nightmare state by a deranged doctor/therapist, who keeps injecting her when she wakes up in terror, encouraging her to go back into the nightmare and not wake up until she’s seen it all the way through." David Fincher's adaptation of Burns' Black Hole is still in development hell, but a "Fear[s] of the Dark" DVD will be available later this year.
by Reverse Cowgirl on July 14, 2008
"Full Battle Rattle" is a hilariously devastating look at the insanity of war, by way of a battle reenactment training camp in the Mojave Desert. Documentary directors Tony Gerber and Jesse Moss scored unprecedented access behind the scenes at the Army's Hollywood set style recreation of an Iraq battlefield situated a few hours from Los Angeles, where soldiers train before being shipped off to war. The faux town, Medina Wasl, which the US government spent a billion dollars to build, is populated by soldiers and real Iraqi refugees who painstakingly simulate war scenarios. Amidst the fake blood, fake dead, and fake shootouts, the line between virtual games and real war gets blurry. "Full Battle Rattle" is playing at the New York Film Forum through July 22.
by Reverse Cowgirl on July 11, 2008
Here's Nas' Fox News destroying video that pretty much sums up the corrupt, rumor mongering, info spinning network in one clip. It's like if Media Matters or those Fox News Hounds people rap. |Nahright|
by ANIMAL on July 10, 2008
So there's this new video re-mixing website with some sort of "multi-partisan," political overlay called RemixAmerica. It's kind of like YouTube, but you can drag and drop effects and call it a remix. All we did was add an intro and outro for director Jason Goldwatch's remixed ?uestlove video just so we could embed it here, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try harder.
by ANIMAL on July 8, 2008
BMW continues to wow the mind with their forward thinking designs skills. Behold GINA: "The GINA replaces the traditional metal/plastic skin with a textile fabric skin that’s pulled taut around a frame of metal and carbon fiber wires. Even the shape of the car can change. Fascinating and creative design study." |Mahalo||37Signals|
by ANIMAL on July 3, 2008
Those crazy, religious riding fixed gear kids calling themselves the Rat Cult make weird cycling videos complete with strange Satanic overtones. |BikeBlog|
by ANIMAL on July 2, 2008
To hype the release of SABER's "first-ever fine art print," this clip was released of the Los Angeles writer discussing his take on the graffiti game and miscellaneous footage of him painting. The limited edition print is being released on Wednesday, July 3rd and features "10 colors, 6 or 7 heavy metallics" and "deep variation throughout." Check back then and we'll have more information.
by ANIMAL on June 30, 2008