Batman: Ashes to Ashes

Batman : Ashes to Ashes HD
by JULMOK

"Ashes to Ashes is an independant short film.
This fan film is based on the Batman character created by Bob Kane and on the graphical universe of Franck Miller’s Sin City. Original screenplay by Samuel Bodin and directed by Julien Mokrani & Samuel Bodin, made for 10 000 euros."


I just saw this earlier today and it was very well done, especially for an indie film. Even if they did spend over $14,000 dollars on it. My only complaint is that it is a bit hard to follow at times. Especially the end. Oh, and the Batman they have created is a bit too angry in my opinion. The film was made in France so be prepared for subtitles. Click menu for more options and click on the video itself to go to its Dailymotion posting.

Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin: Lips

"Some songs we need not sing."

Papa Burch is the coolest... even if it still pained me to see that game break.

Our First Clip from The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus

So it has already been over a year since Heath Ledger's unexpected, and highly publicized, death. Well, ever wonder what he was working on at the time? Why the great Terry Gilliam's new film The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus of course. Since Ledger was only able to complete roughly half of the film before his death, a few other actors have signed up to replace him in the second half. Gilliam's idea is that the "Doctor" will change his appearance as his guests travel through the Imaginarium. It sounds like a very interesting concept if I do say so myself. Oh, and who would those "other actors" be? Try Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law. The film is due for release in the U.K. in early June and as of yet there has been no official U.S. release date. Though, a distributor has already been chosen. I'll have more updates and clips/trailers as they come.

Terminator Salvation Impressions

The biggest problem with Terminator Salvation, besides Arnold not starring in it, is that the film seems to beat around the bush for the first half or so. Sure, it really picks itself up after that point, but you just can't help but feel that you wasted a little time that could have been spent more wisely. The good thing about this, however, is that at the end of the film you will think that only an hour or so has passed. The film never really lets its intrigue wane.

The acting wasn't fantastic (not that it really needed to be), but Sam Worthington was definitely the standout. Christian Bale was kind of put at a disadvantage because they tried too hard to make John Connor seem like a living legend instead of a main character. Aside from that, the action scenes were pretty cool and the new robots were amazing. A number of scenes from the trailer were missing, though, and there were a few gaps in the flow of the film as well. They really should have paid a little closer attention to those details. Maybe we'll be seeing an extended version in the Blu-Ray and DVD releases?

I am awarding Terminator Salvation three and a half stars out of five for being fun and dangerous, but lacking a bit of continuity and wrapping itself up too quickly. A good watch overall, but I wouldn't see it twice.

Terminator: Deleted Scene

Haha, I always wondered what hyper advanced machine logic was behind the decision to send back a robot assassin with a thick Austrian accent to 1980's America.

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans Impressions

I found Underworld: Rise of the Lycans to be a "meh" film for the most part. While the acting was acceptable and the plot and visuals were excellent, as per usual, what I felt the film lacked was intrigue. It is set as a prequel to the events of the first two movies and tells the story of how the Lycans come to rival the vampires. Now, just because we know the result of a event doesn't mean everything beforehand has to be predictable. There weren't any twists worth mentioning and too much of the film felt wasteful and a bit useless.

I am awarding Underworld: Rise of the Lycans three stars out of five for being visually stunning but lacking a reason to justify a prequel. It kind of felt like they couldn't pull together enough actors to make another sequel so they settled for this. Definitely better than Evolution, but not as good as the first film.

Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin: Street Fighter IV

"Ash and Anthony pay homage to the king of all fighting games."


A Hey Ash that actually starts off with a game introduction?! It has been so long. Also, that is an awesome Sakura costume. You just can't deny it.

Time to Think

Acrostic: "A poem or series of lines in which certain letters, usually the first in each line, form a name, motto, or message when read in sequence."

This is the second entry of my Acrostic Adventure series. The idea here is that a painful chapter for the main character has finally come to a close. What happens next? The picture above was taken during my first "road trip" with my best friend.


Time to Think

Thoughts as blinding as
Halogen lights in teary
Eyes.

Release uncertainty and
Insecurity into the wind and
Drive on towards an
Endless horizon.

Hopes and dreams roll by like gravel
On fresh pavement.
Millions upon millions of tiny possibilities.
Everyone deserves a little time to themselves now and then.


Copyright © 2009 Jarred Lee

Star Trek Impressions [Possible Spoilers]

First of all, for those of you who haven't looked into the film, this is not a prequel story. This is J.J. Abrams acknowledging that he was indeed behind the hit television series Lost. On that note, if J.J. Abrams had tried to approach this as a prequel story then I really don't think it would have worked out as well as it did. What he did here allowed the audience to kind of separate these characters, and the film itself, from the originals. Because of that, I was more keen to acknowledge that the actors did great jobs with their characters, the story-telling was interesting, and the effects were phenomenal.

My only problem with the film, and no I didn't really notice the lens flare effect that people keep talking about, was that I never really felt a sense of danger. The characters came up with a plan, did it, and everything worked out fine. I thought the fact that this wasn't really a prequel story would open up the chance to kill off characters that would have been "untouchable" otherwise. It honestly seemed like J.J. spent too much time thinking about how he could show off the characters and not enough time thinking about how the problems they faced could be solved.

I am awarding Star Trek three and a half stars out of five for being fun and exciting, but lacking a feeling of danger and the idea of time travel being a bit too easily accepted. It is an exceptional film that I would definitely recommend not only to fans of the series, but to anyone who enjoys a good sci-fi adventure.

Gamer Trailer

Leonidas vs. Dexter? Yes please.

Sure this movie looks like it is already teetering on the edge of that dark and desolate abyss we like to call fail, but it might turn out alright. Besides, I'm already used to huge disappointments from Hollywood. At least I can already recognize that this could go poorly. Oh, and I'm a bit of a film masochist. That's not important though.

Happy Mother's Day!

What better way to wish all of the mom's out there a Happy Mother's Day than with a largely inappropriate song sung by Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg? Seriously though, I was watching SNL with my family last night and it was soooo uncomfortable. Haha, ah well I guess. Enjoy the day everyone.

Oh and for anyone wondering, the mothers in the video are played by none other than award winning actresses Susan Sarandon and Patricia Clarkson... um, respectively?

Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin: The New Gamer Dictionary

"Like Webster's, but with more references to Metal Gear."


It was awesome until the end. Then it just became strangely arousing disturbing. I mean, why show us something like that? Right?

Dragonball Evolution Impressions [Part Deux]

So as many of you know, I saw a cam copy of Dragonball Evolution back in March and pretty much hated it. I came to the conclusion that it wasn't just a bad film adaptation of Dragon Ball, but it was bad film overall. What I didn't was that the cam version cut out various sections of the movie for some reason. Well, I kind of knew that it did, but I didn't know that the cuts were on such a massive scale. The funny thing is though, seeing the full movie was so much worse. It seems that whoever took the initial cam recording was doing a lot of people a huge favor because some of the worst scenes were left out. I mean, seriously, sliding across the top of a car because of all the gel in your hair? You must be joking!

But the absolute worst thing that I saw in the complete version of the film had to be the extra scene at the end. Wow. Between this and the Wolverine extra scene, I think it is safe to say that we have finally reached the point where the technique is overused. I remember when it was an unexpected treat to have an extra scene after the credits and you told anyone that hasn't seen the film to wait until then. I don't even want to tell anyone about these! I mean, I have lost sleep trying to decide which one is worse. Well, I didn't actually lose sleep over it, but I still can't decide which is worse.

So I think it is safe to say that Dragonball Evolution has rightfully earned its half a star out of five, and if you haven't seen it, then don't go to any trouble doing so. And by that, of course, I mean don't pay a penny towards seeing it. Seriously, it's that bad.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine Intro/Gameplay

Normally, I wouldn't bother posting a trailer for a game like this. What makes this occasion different, however, is the fact that this trailer look better than anything I saw in the entire movie! Just wow, okay. Where was all of this?

Oh, and I am not talking about the leveling mechanic. That's just stupid.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine Impressions [Possible Spoilers]

So I will start off by saying this: X-Men Origins: Wolverine was an utter and complete waste of time and money. Seriously, they didn't even put forth a good effort with this film. There was scarcely any character development, the special effects were poorly done at best, the script was awful, and the plot was worse. Also, some of the premises were just preposterous. ""His brain may regenerate, but his memories won't! Bwahahaha!"

Some of the scenes were painfully cliche as well. Like we haven't seen the slow walk away from an exploding helicopter a million times. And the scene where Wolverine is cutting a fire escape bit by bit while Gambit is at the top? I swear I must have seen that in a million old cartoons. They should have had Gambit trying to run up the stairs as it slowly whittled down, haha.

Another gripe I had with the film was that so many actors get top billing when their characters get so little screen time. Seriously, why even put Dominique Monaghan in the opening credits when he is only in the movie for a collective ten minutes at most?

I am awarding X-Men Origins: Wolverine one and a half stars out of five because it is a poor excuse for a movie and an obvious money grab. Oh, and be sure to stay after the credits. You wouldn't want to miss possibly the lamest extra scene in the history of the concept. Honestly, I can now see why this movie was leaked. At least someone out there in Hollywood still has our best interest at heart. If only we had listened...

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Trailer

WARNING: To enjoy this video you must be willing and able to overlook a bad script, over-use of explosions and CGI, and bad acting and just see Megan Fox and Optimus Prime.

Get it while it's... umm... hot?