Friday Afternoon Videos: BLADE RUNNER

1 comment November 21st, 2008

For no reason other than I’ve always loved this scene, here are Roy’s dying words from BLADE RUNNER.

It’s a heck of a bit of acting by Rutger Hauer. The little smile at the end is a great touch.

Keep on Trekkin’

2 comments October 16th, 2008

The new issue of ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY offers the first glimpse of the upcoming STAR TREK movie, directed and produced by J.J. Abrams. I’ve enjoyed the TREK movies, but never watched the TV show much — and yes, I realize that severly diminishes any geek cred I may have. See, I’ve always been a STAR WARS fan first and foremost … and so, it turns out, has Abrams:

“I preferred a more visceral experience,” he tells Entertainment Weekly in its latest issue, on newsstands Friday. Abrams took on the “Star Trek” project in hopes of creating a film “that grabbed me the way ‘Star Wars’ did,” he says.

Though the movie (due in 2009) focuses on the Enterprise crew during their early days, Leonard Nimoy will make a cameo as an older Spock. William Shatner, however, will not appear as Kirk. Abrams said the scene they wrote didn’t feel right, and Shatner nixed the idea of a mere cameo. Oh well.

Here’s the cover of the issue, with Zachary Quinto as Spock and Chris Pine as Kirk. I’m not sure if it’s the makeup, the printing or some behind-the-scenes Photoshopping, but don’t they look way too smooth?

The return of Flynn

Add comment October 6th, 2008

Not only is Jeff Bridges one of the best (and most underrated) actors working today, he’s laid-back enough to not be embarrassed by his early work. As you may remember, one of Bridges early roles was in the 1982 film TRON. Now, I love TRON as much as any movie geek who came of age in the 1980s can love a movie, but even I realize it’s essentially a kids film, and not an especially good one at that. What makes TRON special is the truly groundbreaking special effects work that went into creating a world inside a computers, way back in the days when computers were something mysterious and not that thing that’s sitting in the family room of every home in America.

Bridges played Flynn, a proto-slacker who developed the “hit” video game Space Paranoids, had it stolen away by an evil corporate type and spent his post-programming days running a popular arcade. The script is serviceable at best, but Bridges (as always) brings energy and enthusiasm to his performance. Special effects aside — and they are pretty damn special, even 26 years later — he pretty much makes the movie.

The good news? He’s coming back for the sequel, TR2N (dumb name, I agree). There’s not much info about it yet, but Bridges did talk a bit with The Guardian, and he seems to be having fun with the whole concept:

 ”[It’s] another unique, wild experience that was too good to turn down. Engaging in that world again feels just like it did all that time ago. Basically, I’m still a child, I love being childlike, and here was another chance to play with these crazy toys. And the cutting-edge technology makes it exciting.”

With Bridges on board, is it possible Cindy Morgan (best known as Lacey Underalls in CADDYSHACK) might return to the world of TRON as well? Stay tuned!

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