As we consistently grow in the digital world, it is become very apparent that you should be using social media in a way to advance your presence and make yourself known in your own unique way. With sites like YouNow, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and so many more continuing to grow exponentially each and every year, many young people are taking this initiative in getting their creative juices out there and making their mark on society. That can truthfully be said in many different ways about The Merrell Twins, who have taken their social media fame and brought it to unexpected heights in a short amount of time. [Read more…] about One on One with YouNow Sensations The Merrell Twins!
Star Wars
Last Minute Holiday Gift Ideas for the Busy Manhattanite
The holiday season is upon us and the time to exchange gifts with one another has either just finished (Happy Hanukkah!) or is coming up in the next week or so. Many of us, like myself, are still not doing with the holiday shopping and could use some tips as to what to get your loved ones! Well fear not, because here at MD we have created a pretty sweet list for all you Manhattanites out there. Check out what we have in store for you!
[Read more…] about Last Minute Holiday Gift Ideas for the Busy Manhattanite
Movie Trailers are the New Black
There, I said it. We’re all thinking it. Or perhaps, when in fact studying the craft that is designing a film trailer nowadays, in all their ostentatious glory – perhaps movie trailer teasers are in fact the new black. And then all the young boys and girls of a certain sort stand proudly and truculently in their not-so-common Storm Trooper costumes and meticulously crafted Elven ears and say Nay! – it is not the teasers of said trailers which are the new shade of popular, oh no. It is in fact the teasers of teasers which are just the greatest thing ever!
A long time ago, in a Hollywood now far, far away, the only hint of a plot to upcoming films was a poster. And it was usually hand-drawn. Imagine a let down of that magnitude in today’s viral campaign-mongering and hashtag-driven world of foreshadowing wonder. It would be madness, I tell you, madness!
Here is where one would cue the brass-heavy rousing film score.
While dramatic to an extent, there is in fact an aspect of truth to the idea that movie trailers can sell or destroy today’s major motion pictures. Along with the special-effects and the plot twists and the acting techniques which have adapted and grown to a higher standard as the years have gone by, the previews to our films have also significantly risen in quality. It’s very easy to compare the compelling appeal of movie trailers today to those of yesteryear, thanks heavily in part to the accessibility of YouTube and modern-day archive resources at a whim.
Case and point, here’s the official trailer from the original 1954 version of GODZILLA:
And then watch this one, from the 2014 film reboot:
And lastly, just for the overall nerdy fuck of it, check out this mashup of the old with the new. The style alone brings a new element to the old trailer which makes it appealing, even today.
So why do we love movie previews so damn much? Well, part of it has to do with the fact that we are able to spread them like wildfire. Back when films were a thing of luxury, in black and white glory and magnificent faux sets, the only group of people who saw the previews to the next big film were the ones in the theater. Jump-cut to today when movie trailers are premiered on the internet before they even make their debuts in theaters.
This past Thanksgiving two very large movie trailers made an appearance in theaters. How do I know? Well because they first landed on YouTube, before they appeared anywhere else. Was this effective? You be the judge: The film trailer for Jurassic World was posted on YouTube on November 25th. As of the time of the publishing of this article, it has been viewed 41,077,141 times. Yes, that’s forty-one million. And counting. On November 28th, the trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens was posted on YouTube. Today it has 42,193,847 views.
Have you seen these trailers? If not, check them out here:
And with all this being said and watched, how many times do we fall victim to the ever-present masterpiece trailer, only to be followed by the monumentally disappointing actual film? We’re looking at you, Superman Returns. It’s true, the foreplay does not always result in a fantastic finish.
So what’s next? If movie trailer teaser teasers are the rage, what could possibly top them?
Easy. Movie trailer teaser teaser parodies for the win.
Which film trailers are your favorite? Which ones were better than the actual film?
Manhattan Digest’s The Lego Movie Review – Rectangular!
So I’m writing about a kids’s film…how fucking weird is that?! Those that know me realize that unless it’s Pixar or Hayao Miyazaki, I don’t tend to get excited about new releases from the “PG” catalog, and I regularly flee from the likes of Disney and Nickelodeon (I.E. I have no interest in watching Avatar: The Last Airbender, and I actively call Spongebob Squarepants an overrated piece of garbage). You can call me shallow, but I honestly think that most other people that read novels by William S. Burroughs tend to have similar feelings. That said, my editor insisted that I write a review for this season’s first big animated film/toy-advertisement, The Lego Movie, and after a few seconds of hesitation I finally gave in…and it was worth it! This is a kids movie that actually gets it right!
The plot…I won’t get into. Come on, it’s not like you’re expecting this to be Charlie Kaufman!
But yes, on a technical level the film is all aces! The animation style in The LEGO Movie really does earn the mark of the age-old adage of “looking like nothing else out there”, and it holds some of the most consistently impressive CGI work to date. It’s a film that simply will not, and cannot stop with animation that’s constantly on the go, and comprised of just about every action-set-piece that a movie about talking toys should have. Chase sequences, gun fights, martial-arts battles and the obligatory stakes-raising-epic-final-battle climax are all present and accounted for, certain to delight the bejeezus out of kids, but also remind their parents about what fun really means toward being a child too. The film really does look like it was built by hand and animated through stop-motion tactics, rather than being computer generated, and yes the movie does actually look like the most expensive, elaborate and official brickfilm (term used for film made with Lego bricks) ever made!
It could of all easily amounted to just being one big, noisy, feature length toy commercial (which is still kind of is), but it’s just the pedigree assembled to mount this movie was way better than anyone could of expected. The writing/directing duo of Phil Lord and Chris Miller has demonstrated in the past that they can do wonders with licensed material (who would of thought 21 Jump Street would be a best-ever film update of an 80s television series?), and here they show once again that they have a genuine knack for a unique blend of controlled lunacy, and also know exactly who to cast. Parks and Recreation’s Chris Pratt really is the perfect choice for the film’s main character of Emmett, as face it, nobody else in Hollywood plays lovable dorks like this guy does, and Elizabeth Banks also does an admiral job as playing his love interest Lucy. Really clever casting for the villains too, as it’s great to see Will Ferrell voicing the film’s antagonist, who’s both a stereotypical super-villain yet so much more, and dare I say that all those bad action films Liam Neeson starred in may have done him some good? The veteran actor really does prove to be a sublime vocal fit for the movie’s literal Bad Cop, and really makes one wish the actor would do more comedies. Also enlisting the talents of several other great comic actors and actresses (Nick Offerman, Alison Brie, Charlie Day, etc.) only adds to the film’s merits, and will obviously appeal to people that watch good prime-time sit-coms. We should also all be grateful for the vast amount of copyright deals Lego has made over the years, as it allows such a wide host of characters from licensed titles (I.E. Star Wars, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, DC Comics, and even The Simpsons) the film just leads it’s predominantly fanboy audience from one great nerd-gasm to the next!
Still, even with the outstanding production values, the witty script, and the highly appealing voice over work, it’s hard to see this film have working if not for the heart. The LEGO Movie has a bit of a surprise twist to it in it’s later third, that addresses the film’s theme of the power of imagination, that would of come off as sappy and heavy-handed in a lesser movie. Fortunately though, Lord and Miller work it in a way that feels intrinsic to the film’s unique sense of humor, yet also comes off as touching. I’m sure many viewers will be divisive about what this “twist” adds-or-subtracts from the The Lego Movie’s storyline or established universe, but it’s equally difficult to envision a path the film could of taking for it to really express it’s love and admiration for this long running, and venerable toy line.
So yes, it actually was nice for me to review a film that didn’t contain f-bombs or cunninglingus for a change. The LEGO Movie is a breezy romp through the colorful mind of the young (or young at heart), that is simply described as being pure, unadulterated fun! I feel it’s the first great American film of the year, and also probably the best animated film to come out since Toy Story 3.