Well, it won't be too long before you won't be able to go two internet steps without tripping over a top ten list, not to mention the Academy's. I might as well join the party. I've seen quite a bit this year and even though I've heard a lot of discussion this year about the difficulty of picking 10 prime movies which at first I passed off as elitists nonsense. But, since trying to compile my list I now understand the complexity of picking 10 movies. I'll try to cover ten of my favorites with and individual post for each. This installment...

When you think Mickey Mouse, what comes to mind? More importantly, what makes Mickey cool?These are questions that legendary game director Warren Spector presented in a recent London press conference for his upcoming Wii title Epic Mickey (working title).The classic Mickey design, Oswald The Lucky Rabbit (Walt's lost character) and in-game "squash and stretch" animation all look to add up what could possible be a Disney buff's dream come true.As an avid Disney geek an gamer, I personally cant help but be a tad disappointed that they decided...

Humble PieIt’s hard not to like Tracy Orbison (Hubbel Palmer). A dopey Midwestern guy who excels as a food-stocking professional, Tracy politely and passively passes his days scribbling poems in a notebook during shift breaks and day-dreaming of making something more of himself. Although there is already a lot more of him than some think necessary. In a blinding moment of enlightenment, he enrolls in an acting class taught by a pompous Z-list has-been (played by a hilarious William Baldwin). Things don’t quite go according to plan, as...

*As before, I'll be logging diaries after every session of game-play. Expect Spoilers.This week I decided to have a go at Naughty Dog's sure-to-be classic Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. I would have begun sooner but as with Drake's adventures there was a snag. My PS3 died. But I'm back at it and eager to get going.Admittedly, I wasn't the biggest Uncharted: Drake's Fortune fan. I respected its merits, but the game wasn't for me. It was floaty, and rubbery, two qualities not often praised by American gamers, except Japanophiles. I...

Spike Jonze makes quirky movies, and his new picture, Where The Wild Things Are, is no exception. Surprised? I wasn’t. And it just so happens that I like quirky.But, be warned: this is not a typical children’s film. No fart jokes, slapstick, or hokeyness to be found. Not to say that it’s entirely unformulaic. It has a lot of your standard plot devices, but, dammit, they work. And they’re totally appropriate.It’s a film that, I think, will be more appreciated by older audiences because of the movie’s overall somber tone and the themes...

There's a sense of urgency in Michael Moore's voice these days. I suppose there always was but it's much more apparent in his latest movie Capitalism: A Love Story. Yes, there's plenty of muckraking and hounding, but more than that there is pleading. Pleading directed towards the audience for initiative, mobilization, and action. Sound like a hardcore song? It might as well be, the film actually opens with a punky(er) version of Louie Louie with altered lyrics which really sets the tone. I talked a bit with Shane about where to put...

Ah, the end of scripted television is nigh. With NBC folding faster than Superman on laundry day (heh) can we expect the other major stations to follow? NBC's most obvious attempt to dump scripted T.V. came when when they gave their 10 o'clock spot to Mr. Leno. From the studio's standpoint this is genius. No longer do they have to pay for big budget drama. Instead they're opting for low budget reality TV and if it's successful then other studios might fall in line. NBC has already canceled Southland which seems to me to be a strong...

If you were planning on seeing Michael Jackson's final performance in theaters, you might want to head down to the box office ASAP... Tickets for the two-week only This Is It movie are selling fast, as posted on the official MJ facebook page. Here's a clip from the film.....

If you haven't heard about Paranormal Activity yet there's probably a reason. It's a small horror film from 2007 and it's recently received a very small release. It was written and directed by Oren Peli, an Israeli-born video game designer, who was formally untrained. The movie was made for only 11 grand which is pretty amazing the movie has grossed to date around 84,000 dollars. But it has a growing underground following and with the demand feature, which allows you to demand a screening for you city, you'll likely only be able to see it by doing its marketing for it. This is a pretty interesting business model from Paramount...

SSIV Rumors are all but confirmed. Destructoid recently pointed out that there was an odd website which looked very Street Fighteresque. The website has "the New Warrior" in its title I wonder what that could mean. We'll have more info soon, as it is to be expected that more details will come in around 4am.Is that T. Hawk on the screen?More to come...Edit: Adam pointed me to these on the Neogaf forum.More to still to come...Here are he un-confirmed glorious details!* The previously leaked characters are all said to be in the game....

Afterschool: In theaters Oct. 2.Robert is a young American student at an elite East Coast preparatory school who accidentally captures the death of two classmates on camera. Their lives become memorialized as part of an audio-visual document intended to speed up the campus-wide healing process. But instead, the video creates an atmosphere of paranoia and unease among students and teachers.Visual Acoustics: In theaters Oct. 9.Narrated by Dustin Hoffman, VISUAL ACOUSTICS celebrates the life and career of Julius Shulman, the worlds greatest...

I'm interested to see what everyone thinks about all the self proclaimed HD Floating around out there. The title HD is basically worthless now. Consumer electronics as well as user based video sites have seemingly blurred, no pun intended, the distinction between what is actually High-Definition and what only pretends to be. Years ago the standards for HD were set by the ATSC. They were 1280x720 and 1920x1080, 720p and 1080p respectively(this also includes 1080i). Everything that was to be considered HD had to be at least 1280x720...

...At least in this test shot for the mythic Kevin Smith penned Tim Burton directedSuperman Returns. This looks so crazy that I'd actually be interested in watching it. It would be cool to see a totally bizarre take on such a famous property. Though, it wouldn't have received much love, I'm sure.What's with the long hair, or, for that matter, the stoner look? And that plastic suit looks ridiculous, but still, I like it. Oh, what might've been. I guess we'll never know. Check out some of Burton's conceptual sketches.And who else thinks...

Anyone worried about Team Ninja loosing their penchant for sleaze with the departure of Tomonobu Itagaki can lay their qualms to rest after watching this recent Japan-only TV spot for Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2.This commercial is depressing on a number of levels. Is this really the most creative implementation of the Sixaxis motion controls that the pervs at Tecmo could come up with?So much for games growing ...

A delectable treat:I've seen Inglorious Basterds twice now. I knew it would be better the second time. This is because Quinton Tarantino makes layered movies that are incredibly rich and satisfying. He strikes me as the kind of man who devours cinema and I think he aims to present something so tasty that it requires a second helping. As I sat in the theater (both times) I was very aware of the audience behind me and was paying attention to their participation. This movie is as much about what's on screen as it is who's watching...

It's been a couple of months now, but funny man Jay Leno is back doing what he does best: Late night comedy. Well, not so late now, I guess. He's on at 10pm instead of his original 11:30pm slot, now taken over by Conan O'Brien.So you can sit back for an hour, have a few chuckles hopefully, watch your local crappy news, and then prepare yourself for two more hours of late night comedy with Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Fallon. Wow!Really NBC? 3 hours of this stuff? Let's hope it goes well.The show itself is basically the same stuff you saw...

The people at Lucasarts responsible for the Hi-Def Monkey Island remake have been very busy.Take a gander at their new game Lucidity for XBLA that is scheduled for release within a months time. Video Games | Lucidity | Exclusive Among the Clouds Gameplay HDXBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo WiiNot sure how well the Lemmings-style play mechanics will work out on a controller but the graphics, music and tone are enough to pique interes...

The Playstation 3 is billed as the most powerful gaming system ever created. Sure game developers could harness the power of the Cell to craft graphics that look marginally better than the competition, but if the Wii has taught us anything it's that people don't want amazingly slick 3D visuals anymore. That dream died in 2000 when Sega pulled the plug on the Dreamcast. The future of gaming is not about polygons, normal-mapping, and procedural animations. No. We're going back to basics.Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, the future...

Since I had nothing to do today, I decided to follow Apple's "It's only rock and Roll" event. First off, it was good seeing Steve Jobs back and in seemingly good health thanks to the liver of a mid 20s car accident victim. It seemed to me that the focus this year was price cutting. The entry price on an Ipod Touch is now 200 bucks. Roughly 30 dollars cheaper than yesterday. Out of all the Ipods the Nano got the biggest upgrade which included a camera and a speaker. The new OS was also released today which includes much more integration...

You should know by now, if you follow my blog, how much I'm into movie posters. It's interesting to see artists represent a whole movie with a single image. Check out some of these really neat Polish movie posters at guardian. Some of them are down right terrifying. The Eyes Wide Shut poster hits the nail on the head if you ask me. It's eerie and unsettli...

Here's a picture of Viggo Mortensen looking gruff and sporting a thick neck beard. There's nothing special about that. What is special about this photo is that it's the new poster for the movie The Road, which releases on Oct.16. The movie, based on the Cormack McCarthy written post-apocalyptic tail, which you can see a trailer for here, has already recieved a few negative nods. But I'll try and stay optimistic about this one considering the source material is so highly revered.The poster seems rather bland and familiar. The lead...