Museum finds secret message in Lincoln's watch | Reuters:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A gold watch owned by Abraham Lincoln bears a message marking the start of the U.S. Civil War, but the president never knew of the "secret" inscription uncovered on Tuesday at the National Museum of American History. The engraving, by watchmaker Jonathan Dillon, is dated April 13, 1861, and reads in part:

Secret Civil War treasure hidden and only found by Nicolas Cage... OK, maybe not, but at first this sounded like a new National Treasure movie...

Why, oh why, Netflix?

We will be eliminating Profiles, the feature that allowed you to set up separate DVD Queues under one account.

When? Profiles will be eliminated on September 1, 2008.

Why? While it may be disappointing to see this feature go away, this change will help us to continue to improve the Netflix website for all our customers.

[ Netflix FAQ ]

Granted, I haven't used this function in a while. With Iman at her mother's during the week, Yaty focused on the baby, and us down to just 2 movies at one time there isn't much need for multiple queues, but when we did use it, it was awesome. Unless this is followed by something amazing, I'm afraid that Netflix is making a bad move.

Update: They're here to stay! Props to Bull for the URL.

I wasn't expecting much, and perhaps that helped. Iman dragged me to this, and I agreed since I didn't figure anyone else would take her, who would have thought that I would like it even more than she did. If you ever enjoyed the old Anime series, you will like this. The Wachowski Bros must either be the biggest Speed Racer fans ever, or they watched the entire series 1/2 dozen times in preparation for this movie. This is not a case of someone taking IP and stripping away what the fans are looking for only to replace it with something that barely has the name of the original and nothing left with any redeeming qualities. This is THE Speed Racer movie, and if you are a fan you will not be disappointed. However if you are over 13 and have never seen the original Anime series? Skip this one, you certainly won't appreciate anything except the pretty colors, fast action, and surprisingly good acting.

The Forbidden Kingdom

[ The Simpsons Movie ]

Props to Alykat

Better Off Dead and One Crazy Summer were 2 classic movies from my teen years. Anyone my age has seen them, and we'll all yell "I want my two dollars!" with glee. But what ever happened to the writer/director Savage Steve Holland? For years I just though he had disappeared or worse was the target of foul play. Now I know better. I have kids, and one is old enough to watch pre-teen comedies on Nickelodeon. One of these shows is called "Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide", which I thought was a quirky little show that isn't too painful to watch (like much of kids programming). Then one day I noticed in the credits the name of the genius behind the show: Savage Steve Holland. No it's not Better Off Dead the series, and John Cusack isn't in this one, but it's certainly one of the few shows that I would encourage my daughter to watch due to it actually being enjoyable with good writing and a great sense of wacky and absurd.

Project 51 Productions Ltd. is proud to announce that it has acquired the worldwide animation and related rights to the classic video game series “Castlevania” from Konami Digital Entertainment.

[ Project 51 Productions Ltd. ]

I hope for something with the feel of Vampire Hunter D, but much better updated animation and the Castlevania world plot. Hopefully they aren't too tied to just the Castlevania III story, and can work in elements from the entire timeline.

1. Create a video for fun:
2. Turn it into a full length movie.
3. Collect underpants
4. Profit!

I have a feeling this is one of those blog entries that confuses my mum to no end...

Headed to Texas next week, and still have some birthday money left over, so that means buy some entertainment:

  

So even though I'm away from family and home, I should at least not be so bored...

Mark this one on your calendars:

The adventures of Curious George, a very inquisitive monkey, and his best friend, the Man in the Yellow Hat.

[ Curious George Movie Info - Yahoo! Movies ]

Opens February 10th, 2006.

On Netflix's recommendation page, they tell me what is popular in my city. Since they know how I've rated over 1000 movies, do you think they can tell where I should live based on the movies I like?

In my life that is.

Netflix Delivers DVD Rentals To You With Netflix you can rent as many DVDs from the comfort of your home and have them delivered to your door in about 1 business day! There are no late fees and no due dates, and shipping is free both ways. Plans start at $9.99 plus any applicable tax. With our most popular plan, 3-at-a-time, you can rent as many DVDs as you want for just $17.99 a month plus any applicable tax. You keep a revolving library of up to 3 DVDs at a time and can exchange them for new available DVDs as often as you like. There are no additional charges.

[ Netflix - Rent DVDs Online - Try Free ]

After I found a queue filled with nothing I was looking forward to, I decided to go on a movie moratorium. I should now have a sufficient amount of back log to fill a queue with movies. And now that Yaty's here, and Netflix supports more than one queue per account, we should have a steady supply of movies for quite a while.

How can you help? Have you seen a good movie in the last year and a half that I haven't? You could suggest a few of the gems I've missed...

I'm in the process of a movie freeze to build up a good list of movies when I eventually re-sign-up for NetFlix. There are a few exceptions to this, movies so good I've just got to see them in the theater, though I've even missed a couple of them due to poor scheduling (i.e. by the time I get around to it, everyone else has seen it).

I'm expecting that Yaty has seen Kung Fu Hustle (Gong Fu) so I won't feel guilty seeing it without her. It looks darn good, and I should have no problems seeing it, as long as I can find someone to go with (I rather dislike seeing movies by myself).

Anyone else expecting to see this? And want to clue me in? And not mind my company?

Even better, scheduled in advance with a meal to follow, preferably Chinese, with a lively discussion of the movie. Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

But I don't think it's required to enjoy this excellent music video:

Frankly, I can not speak in English.(a friend of mine helped me to write this one) but it would be quite comfortable for you to watch movie which I had made, because there is quite few letter and words. Please make yourself at home while watching it

[ amalloc of SamBakZa ]

The story then continues with step 2. Perhaps even more on SamBakZa.net, but as I said I don't speak Korean.

Props to Ed (who has no web page).

Perhaps this is why:

[ Muffin Films ]

If only Yaty was here, and I wasn't so sick, I'm sure I'd try and catch part of this:

Once again this year we at the Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital have embarked on the exciting journey of presenting a diverse and engaging array of films from around the globe to challenge and broaden our audiences’ perception and understanding of the complex world that surrounds us.

[ DC Environmental Film Festival ]

Think I'll just go hug a tree instead.

The good news? My favorite manga was made into a movie, and now is being released in the US:

The year is 2131. A non-nuclear war has left the earth barren. Deunan Knute roams the badlands, one of the many soldiers who, with lines of communication cut, continue to fight, unaware that the war has ended. Deunan is never one to take things lying down: a highly trained soldier with police and SWAT experience, she is prepared for nearly anything -- but not for the heavily armed helicopter that assaults her without warning. Before she realizes what's going on, Deunan is losing consciousness: her last thought is hazy realization that she's been hit by a tranquilizer. Not only that, but one of the perpetrators is her old love Briareos. He has arrived with the beautiful Hitomi to intercept Deunan and take her back with the to the enigmatic utopia, Olympus.

[ Appleseed ]

The bad news? Limited release. Apparently there is no perceived market for Anime in the DC area. New York, Chicago, LA, San Francisco, Hawai'i, and Philadelphia are all represented, but nothing anywhere near DC. Obviously the distributors have never been to Annandale or near the Merrifield Theater, I'm sure this thing could run a week or two and do a good deal of business. *sigh* I guess I'll have to keep my eye out for the DVD release.

Ab-so-frig-gen-awe-some!

Coming July 2005: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (and trailer)

Dari's come through again...

And is coming to the big screen? I can't tell you how excited I am, and I see that Avril agrees.

Plot Outline: A remake of the classic 80s sex comedy, where a group of high schoolers seek revenge on a nightclub owner and his sheriff brother.

[ Porky's (2005) ]

And they'll make us sit through every disgusting frame... twice.

Though, with Savage Steve writing, perhaps it'll be good. Mikah mentioned Better Off Dead, and now I'm craving a Savage Steve Holland movie night. Though, on second thought it will still be Porky's, and therefore pretty base. Of course, in that case, Nar will like it.

I heard it was good. And I resisted.

[ davidkearns.com: Cowboy Bebop ]

The geekery continues. I found an Amazon.com seller who had the Cowboy Bebop Movie, Series, and soundtrack for a decent enough price that I just had to order. Seems like they were all made for the Chinese market, but the DVDs appear to be region-free, and seemingly legit, so I'm happy.

Wizards by Ralph Bakshi answers the age-old question, what if, in a post apocalyptic world, wizards rose up to fight the eternal conflict between good and evil, with armies of fairies, troll, ogres, and other magical creatures. And what if, in this world, the evil side employed a “super weapon” from World War II.

Truly a masterpiece of animation, even though the Amazon reviewer doesn't think so. What he forgets is that before Ralph Bakshi there was 20 years of stagnation in American animation. And for only about $12, how can you beat owning such a historical film?

Superhero Hype! follows heroes every step of the way as they make it to the big screen. Each project, based on a comic book, graphic novel or original idea, is covered from rights acquisition to development to production and distribution. At SHH!, we're calling all heroes!

[ Superhero Hype! - Calling All Heroes ]

The guys from Judgement Day/Electronic Playground were hyping this site. Looks pretty decent.

And I am man enough to admit it.

Pulp Fiction was not enjoyable for me. Perhaps I didn't give it enough chance, but I found it to be very in-your-face, disgusting, base, vile, and vulgar.

Kill Bill Part 1 is a masterpiece. It proves that Quentin Tarantino is a genius, and there can be no doubt in my mind about that now.

\ Nate is right, and I am wrong.

I, ROBOT

Perhaps they read the back jacket of the book, and then waited a while, and forgot much of what they read, and then based a movie on that. I highly recommend the book, and I think I'm going to love the movie, but all they really share is the title and a few laws of robotics.

Once again, props to Dari, my personal link assistant.

KAJOL SALE!

Including Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, a personal favorite. Though Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham is a bit unbelievable, so I'll skip it.

I may have to pick up Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge. I'm just a sucker for a good Kajol/Shah Rukh Khan movie.

First Disney closed their old-school 2D animation studio in Orlando, now this:

Pixar Animation Studios is ending talks aimed at continuing its relationship with The Walt Disney Co. and will seek a deal with another studio, Pixar chief executive Steve Jobs said Thursday.

[ Yahoo! News - Technology ]

What's next? Studio Ghibli gets the door?

Couresy of Naresh:

The blame, say critics, lies with the hackneyed, highly predictable plots. Film after film often features near-identical storylines, masked by little more than a fresh cast and new song-and-dance routines.

[ BBC NEWS ]

I rather think this is all obvious. As long as these new plots star the likes of Urmilla Matondkar and Kajol I'm all for it, a bit more Shah Rukh Khan wouldn't hurt either.

It looks like the answer to my question might be Play magazine:

Get access to the latest reviews by the most experienced staff in the business! Video Games, Anime, DVD, media, toys, interviews, first reports, trade show coverage, and much, much more!

[ play magazine ]

My only complaint so far is that many games which other mags have panned, Play gives a B or better, and no game that they reviewed seemed to get worse than a C+. I do like the fact that they also cover a bit of Anime and DVD.

Speaking of the new E St. Landmark Theater:

Landmark Theaters, the nation's largest chain of "art houses", is opening its second Washington D.C. area theater on Friday, January 9th. To celebrate the event, Landmark's first movie shown will be none other than Bubba Ho-Tep, and they've invited our very own Bruce Campbell to host the showing. Never has a more spectacular opening night been planned! Here's what we know...

[ Bruce Campbell Online ]

Once again, Dari passes this along, and doesn't blog it himself.

Tomorrow, the E Street Cinema opens -- the first mainstream movie house to operate downtown in decades. E Street Cinema will show foreign, independent and documentary films in eight small- to medium-sized theaters, adding another entertainment option to the growing list of restaurants, nightclubs and playhouses opened recently or proposed for Washington's once-moribund downtown.

[ washingtonpost.com ]

All good news. We've lacked a bit of culture (read stuffy foreign cinema) in DC since the Biograph and the Key closed down. I expect to see Japanese films, Animation festivals, and other goodies.

Once again, Dari is a step ahead of the crowd.

Tee hee hee:

Everyone will want to dive in and soak up every second of this full-length animated feature when SpongeBob ... makes a huge splash in his first venture onto the big screen.

[The Spongebob Squarepants Movie ]

Hollywood will eventually deliver on its rumors. Coming next summer: Alien vs Predator.

Which movie will we see first? "Friends: The Movie" or some Al Roker vehicle?

Vivendi completes the sale of its US entertainment arm, reversing a key part of its ill-fated 1990s acquisition programme.

[ BBC News | World | UK Edition ]

Building up to the Late December release of The Return of the King, New Line will be rereleaseing the first two movies extended editions in theatres:

From December 5 - 11, the studio will release 100-150 35mm prints of the Special Extended Edition of The Fellowship of the Ring in cities across the country. On December 12 - 15, these prints will be replaced with Special Extended Edition prints of The Two Towers. On Monday, December 8, and Monday, December 15, both films will be presented back-to-back. Then, on Tuesday, December 16, participating theaters will show a one-time-only marathon of both Extended Edition prints followed by an 11pm screening of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. The official opening of the film will commence at 12:01 AM on Wednesday, December 17, 2003.