“But Black Dynamite, I sell drugs to the community.” With this new red band trailer, Black Dynamite officially blazes its way onto the Most Anticipated List. Way back in July, the buzzing stealth passion project from writer/director, Scott Sanders, and writer/star, Michael Jai White, miraculously won me over by making exhausted, semi-ironic blaxploitation homage seem fresh again. Since that time, Rudy Ray Moore kicked the bucket, we elected a half-black president and the good peoples at New York’s Ars Nova Entertainment just informed me that their film has been accepted by Sundance. Disclaimer: They also sent over some motherfucking swag.
Ditching the previous red band’s ghetto-projector flicker, the new one favors [...]

/Film reader Barry J wonders why in movies, all jackets from the future look the same. Exhibit A is Marty McFly Jr’s jacket from Back the the Future Part II, and Exhibit B is young James T Kirk’s jacket from JJ Abrams‘ Star Trek. What do you think?

The /Filmcast: After Dark is a recording of what happens right after The /Filmcast is over, when the kids have gone to bed and the guys feel free to speak whatever is on their minds. In other words, it’s the leftover and disorganized ramblings, mindfarts, and brain diarrhea from The /Filmcast, all in one convenient audio file. In this episode, Dave, Devindra, and Adam spend more time ragging on Quantum of Solace, continue geeking out about the new Star Trek trailer, and share preliminary thoughts on Oscar nominees. Special guest and old colleague Angie Han joins us for this later-than-usual show.
Your voicemails (781-583-1993) and e-mails are always welcome. Join us [...]

In this week’s edition of Big Directors Small Films, we will take a look at one of the short films of Seth Gordon.
You probably know Gordon as the director of one of 2007’s best films, a documentary called The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. The filmmaker has since been offered a plate full of feature film projects starting with the Vince Vaughn/Reese Witherspoon romantic comedy Four Christmases (due in theaters on November 26th 2008). Gordon is also signed on to direct Suicide Squad,The Only Living Boy in New York and a fictional adaptation of King of Kong.
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Earlier this week, I have th great oppurtunity to talk to Academy Award-winning animator and chief creative officer at Pixar and Disney Animation Studios, John Lasseter. While the phone call was primarily about Disney’s new release Bolt, we went off topic a couple of times and talked about IMAX, 3D and Blu-ray.
/Film: Hi, John.
John Lasseter: Hi, Peter. How are you?
/Film: Good. I just want to first say I’m a huge fan. As you can tell, SlashFilm has followed all the Pixar productions closely and we just love everything you’ve done.
John Lasseter: Oh thank you so much. Yeah, thanks so much for [...]

I always admire any movie that can effectively convey the trials and tribulations of high school without resorting to parody or mockery. High school is typically (and rightfully) portrayed as a time of great emotional upheaval, where friendships are formed and broken, alliances are tested, and worldviews are carved into one’s character. Given the setting’s potential for some great (melo)drama, it seems as though director Catherine Hardwicke, whose critically acclaimed Thirteen also dealt with the hardships of teenage life, would be a perfect choice to direct Twilight. Indeed, Twilight is at its strongest when it’s offering its spin on high school romance. Virtually every element of angst-filled adolescence is on [...]

I once had a conversation with my college film professor about the movie Monsters, Inc. Like all Pixar films, Monsters was designed to be viewed by kids, yet was also a rewarding tale for adults. But one part of the film always stuck out in my mind: The moment when, in the middle of a wintry wasteland, the monster Sully turns his back on fellow monster Mike to pursue Boo, the human toddler that has become Sully’s ward. Upon my first viewing of the film, this moment was disquieting because, throughout the movie, we had seen the outrageous extent to which Mike was willing to extend his goodwill for the sake of his relationship with Sully. The two had presumably known each other for years, and for Sully to press on without Mike, to give up their friendship to in the pursuit of this girl with whom he’d just recently become acquainted always irked me. What type of message was this film trying to send? Of course, I was young and foolish back then, and my professor swiftly explained to me the error of my ways: Monsters Inc. was not, primarily, a movie about friendship; it was an adoption film. Sully had decided that Boo would be his daughter, and there was something transcendent in that decision, a parental bond that could not be denied even in the light of a friendship forged over years of familiarity and co-existence. Coming from a professor who had adopted a child of his own, this idea struck a particularly meaningful chord in me.

At its core, Disney’s new animated film Bolt is a movie about adoption. Through a clever premise and some great voicework from the leads, it attempts to say something profound about loyalty and devotion, and it mostly succeeds.

If you’re a comic book geek, than chances are The Incredibles is one of your favorite Pixar films, if not one of your favorite films of all time. Unfortunately, when the film was released, Disney decided not to produce many collectables for the movie, which is a shame.
Enesco produced a series of statues as part of the Walt Disney Classics Collection. Both Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl statues have been honored with RETIREMENT by the Walt Disney Classics Collection, meaning these are the last of production, available while supplies last. Offered separately, the statues include a gift box and Disney Certificate of Authenticity imprinted with the signatures of Disney Master Artist [...]

elcome to another edition of Movie Playlist, where we talk to the writers, directors, and stars about their favorite films. I’ve always found the celebrity playlists on iTunes to be interesting. Most everyone in the film business moved to Hollywood after discovering their love of films. And I’ve always love talking to people about their favorite films. So talking to the people who make the movies about their favorite films just seemed like a natural idea.

Last week I had the chance to sit down with Robert Pattinson, star of Twilight. In the past editions of Movie Playlist, I have gotten pretty much what I’ve expected. The intellectual director usually spouts [...]

Muppets’ Mahna Mahna / Star Wars Mash-up
The Pitch:
Someone decided to mash up the the classic Muppets’ song Mahna Mahna with clips of Star Wars. The result is rather pointless, but more entertaining than it probably should be.

Watch More Cool Videos Here!
Video of the Day is a daily feature of /Film showcasing geekarific video creations. Have a video we should be feature on VOTD? E-Mail us at orfilms@gmail.com.

Junk Food Navy Star Wars T-shirt I’ve always loved Junk Food’s t-shirt designs. This retro distressed navy t-shirt is available for $30 on 80stees.com.

Cool Stuff is a daily feature of slashfilm.com. Know of any geekarific creations or cool products which should be featured on Cool Stuff? E-Mail us at orfilms@gmail.com.

On Wednesday, I flew down to Los Angeles to attend a special screening of 20 minutes of footage from JJ Abrams‘ Star Trek. Everyone was packed into a large theater on the Paramount lot. And by everyone, I mean EVERYONE.
Marvel head Kevin Feige was sitting behind me, Free Enterprise director Robert Burnett was a couple rows in front of me. Who knows how many other execs and filmmakers might have been in attendance. Trek stars John Cho, Zachary Quinto, Chris Pine and Bruce Greenwood were also at the presentation to see the footage.
Director JJ Abrams introduced four clips. I could recount the events second by second, but it’s the same [...]

Muppets’ Mahna Mahna / Star Wars Mash-up
The Pitch: What if The Matrix ran on Microsoft Windows? “Take the red pill, get the blue screen.”

Watch More Cool Videos Here!
Video of the Day is a daily feature of /Film showcasing geekarific video creations. Have a video we should be feature on VOTD? E-Mail us at orfilms@gmail.com.

Despite a solid pedigree, with Bryan Singer and Christopher McQuarrie taking up directing and writing duties respectively, Valkyrie has taken a drubbing on the PR front, mostly because of people’s poisonous initial reactions to Tom Cruise as Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg. A recent article at the NYTimes laid out what a high-stakes bet Valkyrie is for MGM Studios:
Valkyrie has turned into a test not only of Mr. Cruise’s career durability, but of MGM’s determination — with new ownership, and under the chairmanship of Harry E. Sloan since 2005 — to be taken seriously as a producer and distributor of the kind of risky event films that define a major studio.
If [...]

DC Direct is producing a prop replica set of Rorschach’s grappling gun and mask from Zack Snyder’s Watchmen. The prop replicas were created from the actual digital files and pattern that were used to create the pieces used in the movie. The grappling gun is permanently attached to a display base (which features a Rorschach pattern that is authentic to the movie), while the mask is removable. The entire piece measures approximately 10.5″ high x 13.25″ wide x 8″ deep, and is packaged in a 4-color box.
Available for Preorder on Entertainment Earth for $239.99 (MSRP: $295), estimated to ship on February 18th 2009.
Cool Stuff is a daily feature of slashfilm.com. [...]