Category Archives: Video

Illumination ‘Sing’s its way into the holiday season with its next catchy animated film

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Ahead of its next major release in The Secret Life of Pets, Illumination Entertainment–the makers of Despicable Me and Minions–is previewing Sing, the animation studio’s next picture that’s got a remarkable voice cast. Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Seth MacFarlane, Scarlett Johansson, John C. Reilly, Taron Egerton, and Tori Kelly, just to name a few. Together they’ll be singing over 85 hit songs, some of which are included in this first official teaser. A detailed synopsis follows.

Set in a world like ours but entirely inhabited by animals, Sing stars Buster Moon (McConaughey), a dapper Koala who presides over a once-grand theater that has fallen on hard times. Buster is an eternal optimist—okay, maybe a bit of a scoundrel—who loves his theater above all and will do anything to preserve it. Now facing the crumbling of his life’s ambition, he has one final chance to restore his fading jewel to its former glory by producing the world’s greatest singing competition.

Five lead contestants emerge: A mouse (MacFarlane) who croons as smoothly as he cons, a timid teenage elephant (Kelly) with an enormous case of stage fright, an overtaxed mother (Witherspoon) run ragged tending a litter of 25 piglets, a young gangster gorilla (Egerton) looking to break free of his family’s felonies, and a punk-rock porcupine (Johansson) struggling to shed her arrogant boyfriend and go solo. Each animal arrives under Buster’s marquee believing that this is their shot to change the course of their life.

Not unlike its previous efforts, Sing looks like a ton of fun for kids and adults alike. The Garth Jennings (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) written and directed pic hits theatres in time for the holidays on December 21. Continue reading Illumination ‘Sing’s its way into the holiday season with its next catchy animated film →

Zero gravity stars in OK Go’s latest music video marvel

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OK Go – Upside Down & Inside Out

Hello, Dear Ones. Please enjoy our new video for "Upside Down & Inside Out". A million thanks to S7 Airlines. #GravitysJustAHabit

Posted by OK Go on Thursday, February 11, 2016

 
Ready? Set? OK Go is back with its latest gold-star achievement in music video making. The band is still promoting Hungry Ghosts, its fourth studio album released in 2014, with a very special music video for the album’s opening track “Upside Down & Inside Out.” The seemingly innocuous line “Gravity’s just a habit” played a major role in influencing the band’s decision to shoot its next music video in zero gravity, the first of its kind.

The video was shot inside an airplane provided by Russia’s S7 Airlines that flies parabolic maneuvers to provide brief periods of weightlessness. This is where zero g comes into play. And in typical OK Go fashion, the band remained hellbent on shooting the video in one continuous shot. In this particular case, however, that simply wasn’t possible but frontman Damian Kulash and company used movie magic (read: a little bit of fancy editing) to string together the moments of non-weightlessness. It’s explained in an informative post at the band’s site:

The longest period of weightlessness that it is possible to achieve in these circumstances is about 27 seconds, and after each period of weightlessness, it takes about five minutes for the plane to recover and prepare for then next round. Because we wanted the video to be a single, uninterrupted routine, we shot continuously over the course of 8 consecutive weightless periods, which took about 45 minutes, total. We paused our actions, and the music, during the non-weightless periods, and then cut out these sections and smoothed over each transition with a morph.

From the floating laptops to the exploding pinatas, exploding briefcases full of bouncy balls, and exploding balloons filled with paint, there’s a breathtaking level of color and vibrancy to be had here. The expertly time choreography by the band and the wonderfully acrobatic airline stewardesses adds to the jaw-dropping nature of the mesmerizing clip.

Taking advantage of zero gravity is the latest accomplishment in a string of groundbreaking efforts concocted by alt-rock group. Click here to browse OK Go’s other music video marvels featuring perfect coordination of motorized scooters and drones and a Rube Goldbergian contraption for the ages.

Update (2/12): Boy have I got a fun behind-the-scenes video for you. Stereogum‘s released a special inside look at the making of the grand finale sequence of OK Go’s music video. Nicknamed “The Thunderdome,” said balloon splatting sequence took eight attempts to get right, and this clip goes through the band’s motions of eventually getting it right. Witnessing the many failed attempts is just as entertaining as watching the music video itself! God bless the poor soul who had to clean and reset the plane cabin after each take. Press pray after the break. Continue reading Zero gravity stars in OK Go’s latest music video marvel →

‘Super Bowl 50’ commercial & movie trailer round-up inside

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I’ll just come out and say it: this year’s Super Bowl, commercials and all, was a snoozer. The Big Game, which pitted the Carolina Panthers against the Denver Broncos, was not a very exciting matchup to begin with and unfortunately the players on the field couldn’t manage to muster any memorable moments. Peyton Manning, backed by an impressive defensive unit, ended up beating Cam Newton and the Panthers, 24-10.

The hype, however, remained omnipresent throughout the game. Lady Gaga started things off on the right note with a strikingly beautiful rendition of our National Anthem (watch it here). At halftime, Coldplay stormed the field to play some tunes (new and old), with much needed assistance by Beyoncè and Bruno Mars. Don’t get me wrong–I’m a massive Coldplay fan; they simply didn’t own the night as Queen Bey and her “Formation” ladies and Mars and his “Uptown Funk” gang stole the spotlight. I was looking for Left Shark to make a reprise; turns out he did. Wah wahh.

Despite the relatively boring game and equally lackadaisical commercials (more on those in a moment), a whopping 111.9 million people tuned into the Super Bowl last night. As big as that number is, it’s not a record-breaker. Last year’s SB, in which the New England Patriots triumphed over the Seattle Seahawks, attracted 114.4 million and that game remains the most watched telecast in U.S. history.

Super Bowl 50 also couldn’t live up to last year’s Super Bowl ads. Instead of being funny and relevant, they were trying too hard to “go viral.” A prime example is the bizarre “puppymonkeybaby” as featured in Mountain Dew’s commercial that aired early in the game. It went instantly viral (it remained a top trending topic on Twitter all night), but ultimately failed to capture my imagination–it was just plain stupid. Across the board, this year’s ads simply did not live up to last year’s actually funny, emotional, and sometimes poignant clips. Nevertheless, let’s take a look at my favorite spots all the while keeping in mind that these companies paid $5 million for 30 seconds of fame! Continue reading ‘Super Bowl 50’ commercial & movie trailer round-up inside →

Microsoft uses HoloLens tech to turn your living room into the ultimate sports den

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While companies like Oculus, Samsung, Sony and Valve are betting big on virtual reality, Microsoft is taking the road less traveled (I’m looking at you, Google) and putting its focus on augmented reality. It’s HoloLens helmet aims to merge the physical world with digital by overlaying holograms on top of the real world around you. From video games to the classroom, Microsoft HoloLens aims to be a dominating force across myriad industries. One that makes just as much sense as the others? Sports.

At a panel called “The Future of Football: How Technology Could Shape the Next 50 Years of the Game,” Microsoft showcased the power of HoloLens and the exciting potential augmented reality and holograms can bring to gameday. Imagine if you had the ability to extend the big game beyond the confines of your existing HDTV, and not just by literally making the screen bigger. I’m talking live, interactive player stats and real-time fantasy football updates. Peer at your coffee table and watch it come to life with 3D instant replays viewable from any angle. This is the future of watching sports, and with it, the so-called “second screen experience” folds back up into one.

Now, I hate to burst your bubble, but this seemingly pie-in-the-sky tech doesn’t exist yet as it’s shown in the visually impressive demonstration above. It’s merely a concept, but you can rest assured Microsoft is considering it very seriously. The HoloLens hardware and software (it runs on Windows 10, believe it or not) is still in the development stages; Microsoft is ramping up production for developers to test and improve the device later this year. Still, this glimpse into the future is nothing short of amazing and it expands the evolving potential for an augmented reality lifestyle.

[Via Microsoft] Continue reading Microsoft uses HoloLens tech to turn your living room into the ultimate sports den →

Stream ‘Blue Mountain State: The Rise of Thadland’ today

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Five years and nearly $2 million later, BMS: The Movie is here! Following a swift cancellation in 2011 after airing three seasons on Spike, Blue Mountain State and The Mountain Goats get to see another day thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign fueled by the series’ loyal fanbase and its passionate creators Eric Falconer and Chris Romano. In case you missed it (and odds are that you did), the crude comedy tells the stereotypical raunchy college experience through the eyes of football players and the team’s mascot. Sounds plain old stupid on the surface, but it throws out the rulebook and drags you in with absurd hilarity and unexpected charm. The movie, which settled for an R-rating after dialing things back when the MPAA slapped it with an NC-17 label, reunites the entire cast and focuses on arguably the show’s funniest character, Thad Castle. The synopsis follows.

With Blue Mountain State football star Thad Castle (Alan Ritchson) recently signing a multi-million dollar NFL contract, his teammates and college life seem like a distant memory. However, when a new school dean threatens to clean up the BMS image by auctioning off the infamous Goat House, Alex (Darin Brooks), Sammy (Chris Romano) and the boys must find a way to convince him to get involved. Despite his new fortune and fame, there is one small favor that Thad needs done before he saves the day: the biggest booze-and-sloot fest in BMS history. Welcome to Thadland!

Blue Mountain State: The Rise of Thadland is out today across digital platforms. I had previously assumed distributor Lionsgate was going to release it in theatres, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Nevertheless, no complaints here! You can own or rent The Rise of Thadland on iTunes and Amazon Video from the comfort of your couch; stock up on your favorite refreshments now. Need a fix right this second? Head after the break to watch the red-band trailer. Go Goats! Continue reading Stream ‘Blue Mountain State: The Rise of Thadland’ today →

Coldplay films colorful music videos to match new album ‘A Head Full of Dreams’

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Coldplay is back with its seventh and possibly final album for awhile, that is, according to frontman Chris Martin. If this is it for the foreseeable future, they sure are going out with a bang. The record, A Head Full of Dreams, is a solid effort from the alt-rock/pop British band. It has its quiet moments (“Everglow” and “Kaleidoscope”) as well as those anthemic tunes fans have become accustomed to over the years (“A Head Full of Dreams,” “Hymn for the Weekend” and “Adventure of a Lifetime”). All in all, it’s a decidedly uplifting and inspiring take, especially coming off last year’s mildly melancholic Ghost Stories.

Shortly after releasing the album into the wild just last month, Martin and co. started to drop eclectic music videos for the singles. They started with a mesmerizing music video for “Adventure of a Lifetime” which features CGI versions of the band members dancing around as apes. They teamed up with director Mat Whitecross and actor/motion capture expert Andy Serkis (Lord of the Rings, Planet of the Apes) to magically animate themselves using the latest tech in 3D motion capture. It took six months to make!

The second music video to release was the one for “Birds.” The band travelled to Salvation Mountain to record the trippy, kaleidoscopic clip directed by Marcus Haney.

Following lead single “Adventure of a Lifetime” is the official second single off the album, “Hymn for the Weekend.” Coldplay shot the video for it on location in Mumbai, India with director Ben Mor. Beyoncè, whose vocals are featured on the track, plays a beautiful movie star and Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor makes a cameo as the band runs around the streets of Mumbai exploding with color and radiance.

“Hymn for the Weekend” is embedded above. You’ll find music videos for “Birds” and “Adventure of a Lifetime” after the break. There’s also a fun behind-the-scenes look at Coldplay making the CGI video with Whitecross and Serkis.

One more thing. This summer Coldplay’s going on tour! Tickets go on sale Friday, Feb. 5 at 10am local time. Check out the full list of nation-wide stops below the fold. Oh, and don’t forget they’ll be jamming out during Super Bowl 50’s halftime show next Sunday! Continue reading Coldplay films colorful music videos to match new album ‘A Head Full of Dreams’ →

Kristen Bell & Dax Shepard are adorable in viral lip sync cover of “Africa”

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Actors and real-life couple Kristen Bell (Frozen) and Dax Shepard (Parenthood) made it their goal to “rage hard and honor Toto properly” before having kids. So they travelled to Africa and filmed themselves singing along to Toto’s hit song “Africa” among the native animals. This is what true love looks like. That’s it. Enjoy. Continue reading Kristen Bell & Dax Shepard are adorable in viral lip sync cover of “Africa” →

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson shuts down B.o.B’s flat-Earth notions with diss track & must-see mic drop

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This month, rapper B.o.B (“Nothin’ on You“) made it apparent on Twitter that he truly believes our planet Earth is flat, not round. I’ll give you a second. Okay, moving on. In a series of tweets (you can scour his conspiracy-laden feed here), he could be seen waxing philosophical (I’m stretching the phrase there) on the “mounting evidence” proving we live on a flat planet. “A lot of people are turned off by the phrase “flat earth” … but there’s no way u can see all the evidence and not know… grow up,” he tweeted. Things began to escalate when renowned astrophysicist and Cosmos host Neil deGrasse Tyson caught wind of B.o.B’s utter nonsense and fired back with his own series of tweets. Of course, these are backed up by actual evidence and you’d think NDT’s involvement would put an end to this. But no, this Twitter beef was only getting started.

B.o.B wasn’t going to go gentle into that good night (Interstellar space reference, boom!) and so he quickly pumped out a new rap called “Flatline” in which he spits, “Neil Tyson need to loosen up his vest, they’ll probably write that man one hell of a check.” Yeah, it’s that bad. Anyway, NDT would go on to slam dunk over the rapper again, but this time with a rap of his own! Turns out Neil’s nephew has the acumen to produce a record in-studio, and under the name TYSON he invented a “diss track” aptly called “Flat to Fact.” Against a backdrop featuring the same beat used on Drake’s Meek Mill diss track “Back to Back,” the younger Tyson fired back at B.o.B with amazing verses like, “I’m bringing facts to combat a silly theory because B.o.B’s gotta know the planet is a sphere, chief, woah!” He even had his uncle record some of his original tweets aimed at B.o.B to include in the track. NDT would go on to publicly back his nephew’s swing.

Now you’d think that would put a nail in this thing, but there’s more. With B.o.B pretty much and out at this point, Neil provided the knock out punch by appearing on Larry Wilmore’s Nightly Show on Comedy Central. He takes off his blazer, grabs a mic, and piles on the evidence like a boss. There’s really no other way to describe it. Check out a mic drop moment for the ages after the break! Best Twitter beef. Ever. Continue reading Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson shuts down B.o.B’s flat-Earth notions with diss track & must-see mic drop →

Protect the protocols! ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ gets the Honest Trailers treatment

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In its latest installment of Honest Trailers, Screen Junkies takes on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and nothing is off limits. It’s true: Captain America: The Winter Solider “literally blew up” the show’s premise by wiping out S.H.I.E.L.D. entirely. [Side note: That being said, the show dramatically got better after it embraced the Marvel Cinematic Universe goings-on.] The “honest trailer” goes on to poke fun at the myriad Marvel superhero name drops, the frequent uses of the words protection and protocol, the wacky holograms, Grant Ward’s redemption indecision, and even the way Coulson walks!

If you’re a fan of the ABC sci-fi drama, it’s pretty much a must-see. You’ll laugh and realize just how silly the show can be when all of these elements are squeezed into one fast-paced clip. It can also be appreciated because at the end of the day, we know that MAoS rather quickly developed into an exhilarating series for its loyal core audience. So enjoy this fun jab, and get ready for its anticipated March 8 return. Continue reading Protect the protocols! ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ gets the Honest Trailers treatment →

The villains come out to play in new ‘Suicide Squad’ trailer

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It’s been awhile since we’ve seen footage from David Ayer’s supervillain film Suicide Squad. In fact, the only real footage we’ve been privy to up to this point has been the first-look teaser that Warner Bros. let loose shortly after debuting it to fans at San Diego Comic Con last summer. I’m happy to report that the wait has been so worth it.

Late Tuesday, the first official trailer for Suicide Squad hit the ‘Net and it’s a doozy. The whole team is showcased here in this two-and-half-minute clip: Deadshot (Will Smith), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), Boomerang (Jai Courtney), Enchantress (Cara Delevingne), Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), Katana (Karen Fukuhara), El Diablo (Jay Hernandez), Slipknot (Adam Beach), and last but certainly not least The Joker (Jared Leto).

The first-look teaser was a relatively quiet affair, so if that didn’t get your blood pumping, official trailer #1 surely will. In a nutshell, Viola Davis’ character assembles a task force of the most dangerous people on the planet who she thinks “can do some good.” Set to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” this new snapshot of Suicide Squad is brimming with insane action sequences and undeniably fun character introductions. Whereas everybody’s amped to see how Leto embodies The Joker, I’ve got a gut feeling that Robbie is going to kill it as Harley Quinn. Who’s your favorite villain going into the movie?

Suicide Squad opens August 5. Skip after the break to eye the theatrical poster. Continue reading The villains come out to play in new ‘Suicide Squad’ trailer →

DC unveils first looks at Justice League heroes including Wonder Woman & Aquaman

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On Tuesday evening, The CW–the network best known today for its superhero genre fare like Arrow and The Flash–aired a DC Films special documenting first looks at major players in the Justice League. Moviegoers already know so much about Superman and Batman, but little’s been shared about Woman Wonder, Aquaman, and others. Of course, the upcoming Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice will formally introduce those two superheroes played by Gal Gadot and Jason Momoa, respectively. And in 2017, director Zack Snyder will lead a Justice League movie that will invite even more heroes into the mix, Avengers style, including The Flash and Cyborg. In sum, it’s a great time to be a nerd.

Now, go on and jump after the break to see first looks at DC Films’ versions of Wonder Woman (Gadot), Aquaman (Momoa), The Flash (Ezra Miller), and Cyborg (Ray Fisher). You’ll hear from the actors, directors, and producers and sneak a peek at actual footage and conceptual artwork from upcoming DC movies. According to Warner Bros., standalone origin stories for all of these superheroes will begin to roll out starting with Wonder Woman in 2017.

Update (1/21): Warner Bros. has carved out official release dates for Wonder Woman and Justice League: Part 1. The Amazonian superheroine soars into theatres June 23, 2017, and DC’s version of The Avengers assembles November 17, 2017. Continue reading DC unveils first looks at Justice League heroes including Wonder Woman & Aquaman →

Surprise! Bad Robot presents ’10 Cloverfield Lane’, a “blood relative” to 2008’s found-footage monster movie (Teaser inside)

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J.J.’s done it again. Seemingly out of nowhere comes some thing; it’s a new Bad Robot-produced film titled 10 Cloverfield Lane. When I first stumbled upon this deliciously mysterious teaser trailer I thought to myself along with everybody else, “IT’S A SEQUEL TO J.J.’s MONSTER MOVIE CLOVERFIELD!” Not quite. Though the word “Cloverfield” is in the title and the teaser certainly alludes to some thing scary existing in the outside world, the Star Wars director released the following statement to Collider that attempts to clear that up:

“The idea came up a long time ago during production,” explained Abrams. “We wanted to make it a blood relative of Cloverfield. The idea was developed over time. We wanted to hold back the title for as long as possible.”

In a nutshell, writers Josh Campbell and Matt Stuecken collaborated on penning a script a few years back tentatively titled The Cellar. It followed a woman who, in the aftermath of surviving a car wreck, finds herself trapped underground in a bomb shelter with a man who claims to have saved her life from a nuclear attack that destroyed the surrounding area above ground. Nuclear attack or… the Cloverfield monster! J.J. and his Bad Robot production house got involved with The Cellar when Paramount bought the script. The movie’s code name changed to Valencia to keep a lid on J.J.’s Cloverfield connection plans that apparently started to brew shortly after he signed on to executive produce it. It’s massively impressive how Paramount & Bad Robot were able to keep all of this a secret until the trailer dropped.

The teaser for 10 Cloverfield Lane (embedded after the break) first surfaced in front of Michael Bay’s Benghazi film 13 Hours, in an eerily similar fashion to the way Cloverfield‘s found-footage trailer debuted in theatres with Bay’s Transformers in 2008. It stars John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World), and John Gallagher, Jr. (The Newsroom). Abrams produces with Lindsey Weber. Dan Trachtenberg, the massive talent behind the viral short film Portal: No Escape, makes his directorial debut. Despite their enthusiasm for making a direct Cloverfield sequel at some point, the original movie’s director Matt Reeves and writer Drew Goddard are not involved in this project.

I’ve been waiting for a true sequel to Cloverfield ever since I walked out of theatre in 2008 and got lost down the rabbit hole online trying to piece together clues pertaining to The Monster’s origins. Do Slusho and Tagruato ring any bells? Anyway. I find this whole “blood relative” idea to be incredibly intriguing. New survivors, new location (look at the poster pasted above; I don’t think we’re in New York City), new shooting style (it appears as though Trachtenberg is ditching Reeve’s found-footage shaky cam presentation here). The idea that 10 Cloverfield Lane is not a direct sequel to the original but rather set in the same universe as it offers the creative team a new avenue to explore the intensity of it all. If this teaser is any indication of what to expect, we are going to be getting an intimate character piece dealing with themes of trust and manipulation.

“Don’t open the door! You’re going to get all of us killed!” screams Goodman’s character as Winstead’s female protagonist unlocks the bunker’s door. What does she see? A nuclear wasteland? The Monster? Some thing entirely new? “Monsters come in many forms,” reads the poster’s tagline. The Mystery Box just arrived on your doorstep.

10 Cloverfield Lane opens March 11, 2016. Continue reading Surprise! Bad Robot presents ’10 Cloverfield Lane’, a “blood relative” to 2008’s found-footage monster movie (Teaser inside) →