The Expendables 2 - The CAT Trailer

Cats took over the trailer for the upcoming movie - The Expendables 2. Funny!

What can Girls Learn from Disney Princesses

Important lessons of life, courtesy of Disney:

The Original Voice of Darth Vader

It's rather funny, actually:

Classic Fantasy Movies of the 80s

Listverse published a lovely list of 10 classic fantasy movie from the 80s.

It's good to see I'm not the only one who remembers Beastmaster, which was a very cute movie. I am also very happy with the mentioning of Labyrinth, a true childhood classic, full of fun, humor and creepy puppets.

Still, I was missing one true classic, called The Flight of Dragons - a lovely and wonderful animated movie, with dragons and magic galore.



The choice of the first place, The Princess Bride, is (of course) perfect. One of the best movies ever, one I remember by heart and can watch over and over again. A true classic.

10 Best Pixar Voices

Top 5 Rules to a Great Steven Seagal Film

Truth be told, after Under Siege, Steven Seagal didn't do anything good. Still, Seagal fans might enjoy this: 5 Rules to a Great Steven Seagal Film

Top 7 Bruce Willis Movies

Bruce Willis is the King. The Man. The ultimate loser-but-hero. And a great actor, too :-). As you can see, I think Bruce is great, and I love the movies in which he starred. It wasn't easy for me to choose, and I'm sure many won't agree with my selection, but here are my Top 7 Bruce Willis Movies:

#7
The Sixth Sense
With its surprising ending and troubling plot, this movie is a great one to watch. Bruce isn't playing an action hero here, but The Sixth Sense still brings out the best of him.



#6
Hudson Hawk
A quirky little movie that became some sort of a cult film. The combination of Bruce Willis and Danny Aiello works very well, the song bits are great and the humor is sweet.



#5
12 Monkeys
If Hudson Hawk was quirky, 12 Monkeys is just plain weird. It's not an easy movie to watch, but Willis and Pitt give an amazing performance, conducted by Terry Gilliam. A great Sci-Fi movie!



#4
Armageddon
Despite being a bit kitschy, Armageddon is a great action movie, in which Bruce Willis portrays his classic character - a loving father that has family problems, works in a dangerous profession and becomes a hero against his will. The drama is intense and the cast is amazing. A great movie that you can watch many times over, even though you already know the end.



#3
The Fifth Element
Yet another sci-fi movie for Bruce, but this time it a lot more colorful, funny and action-packed. Bruce Willis is a true action hero this time, with a touch of humor (Chris Tucker the crazy) and romance, with a unique plot, a great cast and mind-blowing customs. And of course - AUTO WASH.



#2
Die Hard 2 - Die Harder
It was hard to choose one Die Hard movie over the others, since these are all true Willis classics. The first Die Hard was good, the third had Samuel Jackson in it (always a great experience) and the fourth was crazily action-packed (albeit a bit stupid). Still, the second Die Hard movie is my top choice - the drama is intense, the bad guys are seriously evil and McClane is really all alone in his battle against time and the baddies. Plus, no PG13 bullshit on this one.



#1
The Last Boyscout
Yes. The Last Boyscout. By far my favorite Bruce Willis movie. It may not be the first movie you associate with Bruce Willis, but it's such a fucking classic (pun intended): The ultimate tough-loser-guy, with his family falling apart and his job going nowhere, gets involved in a criminal plot, with too many people trying to kill him. Cool and funny as usual, Joe Hallenbeck doesn't give up and wins the day, although he's rather beat up by the end of it.

The movie is ultra-violent, action-packed and with some of the best dialogues around. For me, the best moment of the movie, which encapsulates it all, is not in an action scene or witty dialogue, but rather in a short monologue that Willis utters to his rear view mirror:
"Nobody likes you. Everybody hates you. You're gonna lose. Smile, you fuck.".

Top 10 Duels and Fight Scenes in Movies

When you think of duels, the concept of a Western probably comes to mind. Duels in movies, however, are extremely varied. A good duel can be etched in your memory for a long time, and sometimes it's the pivotal scene in a movie.

Here are my top 10 duels and one-on-one fight scenes from the movies:

#10

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon - Fight Scene between Yu Shu Lien and Jiao Long

Although it's a bit over done at some points, it's still a very elegant, tense and riveting duel. Plus, it features two women, which is a rare thing in movies.

#9

The Court Jester - The Pellet With The Poison Duel Scene

Danny Kaye is the king of comedy and nonsense. You wouldn't expect him to be in a list about duels and fight scenes, but watch this clip and you'll understand why this duel is worthy of the top 10.



#8

Monty Python And The Holy Grail - The Black Knight Fight Scene

Yet another funny duel, with a lot of dark humor and silliness - a true classic Monty Python.




#7

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - Aragorn VS the Uruk Hai Leader

OK, so this scene is mostly about the death of Boromir, actually, but I HAD to give LOTR one spot in this list. Plus, it's a cool fight - and there aren't many one-on-one fights in LOTR, which is mostly about massive battles. Besides, Viggo is DA KING.




#6

The Matrix - Neo VS. Agent Smith

The first Matrix movie was a piece of pure genius. The final duel between Neo and agent Smith, is something you really wait for the entire movie - and it's well worth the wait. It's fast, intense, sophisticated and not without a touch of humor. And, of course, the good guy wins.




#5

Kung Fu Panda - The Duel for the Dumpling

This is a hilarious yet riveting duel between Po the Panda and Master Shifu - all for one last dumpling.




#4

Under Siege - Ryback VS. Stranix

This is probably the best Steven Seagal movie. Seagal is excellent in one-on-one fight scenes. He's sleek, cool and moves like a snake. This duel is very well done - brutal, quick and with knifes only. This clip shows every fight scene Seagal has in Under Siege.




#3

Stardust - The Zombie Duel

Septimus is already dead, but the witch makes him keep fighting. Can Tristan win against a corpse? This is a very original, very unique and wonderful duel, and the movie itself is great.




#2

The Princess Bride - Inigo VS. The Man in the Black Mask

This is one of the best sword fights EVER. Not only is it impressing, skillful and artistic - it's also funny and holds some of the best quotes in an already highly-quotable cult movie. "Unless the enemy has studied his Agrippa... which I have!".




#1

Troy - Achilles VS. Hector

No, it's not because it's a duel between two of the sexiest men alive. No, it's not because they are showing a lot of sweaty muscles. It's number one on my list because it's truly glorious, intense, skillful and accompanied by excellent music, that only intensifies the drama.

Golden Girl Estelle Getty Dies at 84

Estelle Getty, best known for her portrayal of Sophia Petrillo on The Golden Girls, died Tuesday (July 22nd). Getty died just 3 days before her 85th birthday. Getty passed away in her home, surrounded by family.

Her first screen appearance was in 1978, in Team-Mates. She later played small parts in Tootsie and Mask. But it was her 1982 role on Broadway as Harvey Fierstein's interfering mother in the play Torch Song Trilogy, that catapulted her into the limelight and landed her the role of Sophia on The Golden Girls in 1985.

On The Golden Girls - which from 1985 until 1992 she played Sophia Petrillo, the mother of Bea Arthur's character Dorothy. She won an Emmy in 1988 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and won a Golden Globe for the same role in 1986. Getty also won a Razzie Award for her work in 1992's Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot.

Her last role, according to IMDB, was an episode of the short-lived TV series Ladies Man, in 2000.

From the message appearing on her website: "Estelle's legacy will live on and on through the comedy and laughter she gave to us all, which will forever keep us laughing out loud.

For us here, who have known and cared for her for so many years, we've lost our dear little friend who always kept us entertained by filling our days with joyful laughter. Estelle's fans across the globe have lost the feisty little lady known as Sophia Petrillo, whose quick wit, cutting remarks, and outrageous punch lines will forever be quoted and remembered..."

Related Links:

• Estelle Getty on imdb
• Estelle Getty in Wikipedia
  
• The official site of Estelle Getty
• The Golden Girls Site
• Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot - movie page on imdb
  

Top 10 Giant Movie Monsters

Star Trek XI Trailer

Although Star Trek movies haven't been a big hit lately, every new one triggers speculations and discussion. Star Trek XI is being directed by J.J Abrams, and very little is known about it.

The first teaser trailer of the Star Trek XI is out, but it doesn't reveal much. Still, it's a trailer, so there ya go:

What David Lynch has to say about the iPhone

Here's what David Lynch says about watching movies on the over-hyped iPhone:

I love this part: "You'll think you had experienced it [the movie] but you'll be cheated. It's such a sadness that you think you've seen a film on your fucking telephone. GET REAL".

Top 20 Hackers in Movie History

Scott Willoughby has rated the Top 20 Hackers in the Movies.

A very interesting list. I love the fact that Neo is number one, although I really think Dade Murphy ("Crash Override") should be in a higher position.

Sneakers wasn't such an amazing movie, and I don't really think Martin Bishop deserves the fame of the 2nd place. Good to see David Lightman (War Games) ranked up in 4th place. After all, it was one of the first hacking movies ever, and a lovely one, too. Those huge floppy disks! Those were the days, indeed.

The Golden Compass - Full Trailer

Fantasy movies are always exciting, mainly because we get to see so very few of them. The Golden Compass looks very promising. The movie is based on Philip Pullman's book, which is the first one in a lovely trilogy.

It looks like a movie for children at first glance, and so did the book, but I think it's a bit misleading. The plot isn't simple and there's a lot of philosophy going around.

Anyway, here is the official, full length trailer for Golden Compass. Looks like a lot of fun:

The Surprise of Stardust

It's been a while since I have seen a really good movie. I go to the cinema almost every week, sometimes twice a week, but if you ask me "When was the last time you saw a really good movie", I'll have a hard time remembering.

I loved Borat and Hairspray, Transformers was pretty cool... And that's about it. Since Lord of the Rings, I can't recall a movie that really left an impression, or that made me want to see it again.

It's getting worse when talking about sci-fi and fantasy movies. The choices there are slim to begin with, and the performance is lame, most of the time. Eragon and Bridge to Terabithia are just two examples of shallow, unimpressive movies.

That's why I went to see Stardust with very few expectations. The very impressive cast (Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sienna Miller, Charlie Cox etc.) only made me even more suspicious. Such an amount of heavy hitters is usually a recipe for failure (Shh, don't say "Kingdom of Heaven", ok?).

Actually, I didn't hear a thing about this movie until I saw that there's a screening of it in one of our local theaters. Which was also weird - I see a lot of trailers online and in the cinema, and I didn't recall seeing anything about Stardust.

The bottom line is that it's always good to have low expectations. Stardust really caught me by surprise - and I enjoyed it immensely. It's a fun movie, that doesn't take itself very seriously and has a lovely storyline, full of action and humor. The actors are excellent. De Niro gives a hilarious performance (I won't spoil it for you - I'll just say he's not what he seems at first), Pfeiffer plays a wonderful evil witch and Charlie Cox gives the fresh and young touch. I am not much of a fan of Claire Danes, but she wasn't all bad, either.

The plot isn't all that sophisticated: "In a countryside town bordering on a magical land, a young man makes a promise to his beloved that he'll retrieve a fallen star by venturing into the magical realm". Your basic Quest-For-Love kind of thing. It's not about CGI and special effects, either, but mostly about the humor, the fun and the lightness of it all.

Mostly it reminded me of The Princess Bride, which became a real cult movie over the years. Stardust isn't an epic of the kind of LOTR, but it's a movie I would love to see again - if only for the wittiness and De Niro's performance.

20 BitTorrent Tips and Tricks

I really like TorrentFreak.com. It's a very professional site, and there is a lot of interesting info and discussion going on there.

Yesterday the released a very cool post - 20 BitTorrent Tips and Tricks.

I get a lot of questions about torrents and how to use them. Mostly it's from people who got stuck in the age of eMule and don't know how to get out of it. After a little bit of technical explanation, I tend to remark that torrents have some clear advantages, but also some problems.

I think the biggest advantage is the speed of download. When the amount of seeders is reasonable, you can download at amazing rates. As a user that "grew up" on download rates of 0.9 KBs (yes, I am that old), seeing a download speed of more than a 100 KBs constitutes a bloody miracle for me.

Still, the torrents have one big disadvantage - things get old, and fast. A DVD rip of a movie which is a year old or more, is much more difficult to get than a low-quality screener of the current top-hit. If you are looking for a movie from the 80s - you are better off with eMule or Newsgroups.

The biggest problem, of course, is that there are not enough seeders!

Spread the wealth and rejoice. Who knows when it's all going to end.