Today’s sci-fi film posters can be baffling, their shadowy silhouettes lending no clues about the movie’s premise. Artist Dean Walton, aka Mr. Shabba, realized this and set out to create a series of illustrations that utilized the main characters’ outlines in a different, more illuminating way. The result is a collection of five kaleidoscopic works of art that hint at the cinematic narratives of films such as Avatar, The Matrix, and District 9 by recreating scenes from each film’s plot within the main character’s silhouette. Check out Walton’s visually stunning collection below, and purchase the limited-edition prints over at his website.
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What do you get when you combine an Oscar-nominated sci-fi film that’s set in South Africa with the 2010 World Cup? District 11. Except in this version, the aliens are super talented soccer players, and you get orange slices and vuvuzelas instead of instead of a “Prawn”-style makeover. Click through, and let us know who you’re rooting for in the second round!
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Neill Blomkamp’s alien-apartheid flick District 9 cleared up once and for all what visitors from other planets really wanted. The answer was cat food. I can reserve judgment (it’s not like I was going to eat it), but I can’t help but wonder if all of District 9‘s human-versus-prawn violence could have been solved with a good interspecies round of drinks. After all, plenty of interstellar fellowship has been fostered by a good Klingon toast. Read More »
We have a weird obsession with Roger Ebert that’s hard to explain. Maybe it was all of those guest appearances on Sesame Street with Siskel. We only bring it up because he’s at the center of a major internet brouhaha involving a movie critic named Armond White and a negative review of District 9. White, a critic for the New York Press, is known as a troll in the film world. He has hated every single movie in the Harry Potter and Pixar franchise. He liked Land of the Lost. Hated All the Real Girls; loved The Nanny Diaries. When it came time to review District 9 — which at that point had 49 positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes — you can guess which way he went. Read More »
District 9 is currently sitting pretty with a nearly unprecedented 97 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It doesn’t come out until tomorrow, and as far as we can tell, the New York Times hasn’t reviewed it yet, so all of this attention is resulting in some major hype. The sci-fi film from first-time director and Peter Jackson protege Neill Blomkamp takes place in South Africa, where aliens complicate an already-tense societal racial divide. District 9 is bringing out exclamation points and hyperbole in critics, who, judging by their tone, haven’t seen a movie this good in…a long time. Check out our favorite lines from the reviews after the jump. Read More »
An article in today’s New York Times explains that film studios usually reserve August for difficult movies that might not do so well if they were released, say, a week after Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Which makes sense. But because box office sales are down this summer, some of these tricky August releases are shouldering more weight than anyone — the studios, producers, or directors — expected or hoped. After the jump we preview five of the month’s biggest releases and rank them according to buzz and box-office potential. There may still be some surprises, a la The Hangover, in store for us this summer. Read More »
Today at Flavorpill, we listened to seven mintues of Harold Ramis talking about Ghostbusters 3. We found out how hard porn screenwriters work. We felt sorry for Michael Jackson’s brain. We fought over who are the greatest TV characters. We were frightened by the trailer for Peter Jackson’s District 9 and then watched the best summer movie trailers, as per Wired. We were worried for our friends at the Getty Center, which is closed because of a nearby fire. We were impressed by Jackie Kennedy’s brief, unlikely career as an amateur cartoonist. We were happy to hear that The Smurfs movie has found a director. We wished that Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse wasn’t getting screwed over by FOX yet again. And finally, for some reason our minds were blown by Of Montreal’s Kevin Barnes talking about Woody Allen — pop culture crossover.
