Alice & Avatar: All they do is make money
Former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Buddy Ryan once famously criticized his wide receiver Cris Carter because all he did was catch touchdown passes. The 5,500-plus voting members of the Academy of Arts and Sciences seem to be delivering the same head-scratching sentiment to movies that score the biggest box-office cash.
Showcasing once again the cavernous gulf [...]
Larry Stewart: Magic & Bird is magic
During my nearly 35 years as a sports television columnist – first for the old Los Angeles Herald Examiner and then the Los Angeles Times – I have attended at least a hundred screenings.
But only once was I at a screening that got a standing ovation.
That took place only a couple of weeks ago at [...]
Harry Potter World sneak peek
Surely the biggest and most anticipated theme park attraction in the world to open this century and back to at least the mid-1990s is The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
The folks at Universal Orlando Resort are keeping a tight lid on details about the roughly 20-acre section of Islands of Adventure reported to have a [...]
Custom DW Dragon for Olympics
We’ve seen DreamWorks Animation SKG create customized promos for “Shrek” tailored to Wal-Mart stores, but this year the studio has created a barrage of TV spots for the upcoming 3D release “How to Train Your Dragon” that are designed specifically to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Last year about this time during the Super Bowl, [...]
No Universal Sports on satellite
Universal Sports Network got a nice plug by USA Today for its looser and more entertaining analysis and preview/review programming around the Winter Olympics from Vancouver.
The paper noted that the network is only available in about half of all TV homes but the story did not mention a massive black hole for the network: satellite [...]
‘To Live and Die in L.A.’ on Blu-ray
William Friedkin took lots of heat last year for redoing the visuals on “The French Connection” Blu-ray.
Too bad he didn’t upgrade the music on “To Live and Die in L.A.” before the movie’s debut in high definition (via Fox/MGM).
Ready to Wang Chung tonight? Me neither. Be warned that the one-hit wonders from the post-new wave [...]
We Are World video in HiDef
I was really underwhelmed by the first iteration of the Haiti relief 25th anniversary remake of Michael Jackson’s, Qunicy Jones’ and Michael Richie’s “We are the World” fund-raiser music video which premiered on NBC prior to the Opening Ceremonies Friday night, as I was with the less-than-dynamic or stirring Opening Ceremonies themselves, despite the HiDef.
But [...]
Hettrick: Panasonic’s 3D Olympics
Panasonic will provide the first 3D TV presentation of Olympics competition beginning Friday in Vancouver at the company’s Olympic Pavilion.
Sony may have jumped on as a sponsor for the world’s biggest soccer tournament in 3D this summer but Panasonic will showcase its own 3D products for the next two-and-a-half-weeks on the stage of the world’s [...]
Best ‘09 movie better on Blu-ray
Give whatever awards you want to “Avatar,” “The Hurt Locker, “Inglorious Basterds,” “Up in the Air,” “Precious,” etc., but for my money, the most dynamic, fun, impactful, well-produced, entertaining, emotion-filled, and overall best movie of 2009 was Michael Jackson’s “This is It.”
As good as it was in theaters, especially on IMAX screens, the total experience [...]
Avatar nice but not enough
James Cameron can do eye-popping 3D. He did it with his groundbreaking Universal Studios 3D theme park attraction “T2 3D.”
That’s the kind of push-out 3D most people think about when they think of 3D. It’s why when John Stewart and Stephen Colbert are goofing on 3D, they put on glasses and put their hands out [...]
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