Episode Tres Production Stills: Machete Trailer

Que Onda! Fellow movie lovers. Alright so Machete is out in theaters and our trailer review as well as a full movie review is up! Here are some Production stills from the making of our Machete episode from the Chicago Comic Con

Trailer Premiere: Darren Aronofsky's BLACK SWAN

Imagery!

My first Darren Aronofsky movie was The Fountain; a movie that starred Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz. The movie spanned the course of three time periods and dealt with life, death, and a possible afterlife. While it got mixed reviews, I thought it was a beautiful piece, visually and emotionally, of how we as people deal with wanting to live forever and what we would do, if we had the power to save the ones we love from death. I'll be honest when the credits rolled the night I saw the movie, everyone was just still in their seats as they all soaked in what we had just experienced. It's something about that movie that even though I couldn't fully come to an end in my mind about it; the visuals, the music, and the emotionality of it all struck a very hard chord with me. So resonant that I simply didn't mind the ambiguity of it all. Its these kinds of movies that I appreciate because they work so well upon multiple viewings!

This prompted me to learn and experience everything I could bout Darren Aronofsky, I proceeded to head out to Circuit City, yes you heard me right, and purchase a double disc of Requiem for a Dream and π (pi). Simply Amazing! I could write separate blogs on each!

Next, Aronofsky directed The Wrestler, which starred Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei. The Wrestler is about a beat up "WWE- like" wrestler who is still trying to keep the glory days alive. But after suffering a deadly match, he must come to terms with his own mortality and attempts to right wrongs he's committed in his life. A story of redemption and trying to find your place in this world after it seems its passed you by, really tugged at my heart strings. The striking imagery and reality of the pain this man puts himself through just to feel appreciated was painful to watch. But it brought Mickey Rourke back and made that character worth my feelings. This movie really taught me the sense of character. I had already known little things could go a long way, but just to pick up this guys life after such a successful run and then watch him try and piece it back together as best he can, really gave me an idea of the human spirit.

Which brings us to Black Swan, which stars Natalie Portman as a young ballet dancer who has just been cast as the lead in a new production of Swan Lake. After though, a new ballet dancer appears in the form of Mila Kunis and potentially threatens to take Portman from the limelight. Along the way it looks like our perception will be tested as the trailer looks to take a dip into the physiological. Or does it?

Natalie Portman has starred in the most recent Star Wars Trilogy's and V for Vendetta. Vincent Cassel has been in Ocean's 12 and 13, Brotherhood of the Wolf, and his new movie out is called Mesrine, which is based on a true story about French criminal Jacques Mesrine, and Mila Kunis who has been on That 70's Show, Extract, and most recently The Book of Eli. The person who is really surprising me here is Mila Kunis. I think I was one of those naive persons who could only see her as Jackie from That 70's Show. But with her work in The Book of Eli and from what I see from Black Swan; she's definitely spreading her wings....giggle.

I really hope that this is the ONLY trailer that comes out for Black Swan cause I don't want to know anymore than what it shows; and honestly why would you want to know more?! This trailer does its duty as a teaser because it merely gives us a basis for the story then shows us random images that are some how related to that story. Mission Accomplished. The images seem to invoke a great sense of loss of identity, pressure, perfection and a serious dose of a psychological break with reality. All this with what sounds like some original Clint Mansell and I smell hit!

With all of this building up in the trailer; Desire, Perfection in an imperfect world, and the grueling nature of dance and ballet; we are given the last scene of Portman's character pulling what seems to be the beginnings of a feather, out of scar on her back, that we see randomly worsen throughout the trailer. If this, isn't enough to make you want to see what the hell is happening on December 1st, you should seriously consult a physician.

This trailer is definitely a lesson in how much you can do, with so little. This write up is proof of that. The simple story and images given provide a plethora of speculation and excitement. I for one cannot wait to see this psychological ballet thriller; just listen to how that sounds, PSYCHOLOGICAL. BALLET. THRILLER. Where do I pre-order tickets from already!?


Dueces!
StuntmanBob

UPDATES: Chicago Comic Con. The Crew. The New Logo.

We are officially one week away from our Chicago Comic Con Debut! Dorian and Myself have a lot of treats in store for all of you who check into our site regularly, so stay tuned.

CHICAGO COMIC CON:

We've just secured our very first interview with Alexandre O. Philippe, the writer/director of the documentary The People vs. George Lucas. Alexandre as well as Neil Marshall (The Descent, Doomsday, and the upcoming Centurion), Drew and John Erick Dowdle (Devil), and Stuart Levy (Van Von Hunterr) will take part in a panel called "Moviemakers meet Moviegoers". The directors will lead various discussions about their work and other topics.

Also screening at the Con on Friday August 20th in Speaker Room A is The People vs. George Lucas . The doc will screen at 8:30pm, followed by a Q and A with writer/director Alexandre O. Philippe. This is just the tip of the ice berg for events at the Con.





THE CREW:

Aside from Dorian and Myself (Bobby Navia), I wanted to let you all know who will be our crew on this adventure of ours. This would not be happening if these individuals hadn't agreed to lend a hand.

As our DP/Cameraman is: Gregory Cozzi
As our on location audio tech is: Kieran Dennis
and
As our on location photographer: Tyler Crane

Guys you'll never know how much this means to me. Thank you.


THE LOGO:

This new logo, pictured above, which will be incorporated into our show from here on out is a Chicago Comic Con exclusive. The designer of this logo is a good friend of mine Mr. Dave Curbis




-See you at the Con
Bobby

New THOR COMIC CON TRAILER

If You Want a Solid Guarantee That I Will Not See Your Shitty Movie…

…use this as your tagline – “From the Mind of M. Night Shyamalan”. There’s…something about this particular combination of words that I cannot understand, mostly in regards to its currency as a market proposition. Let’s face it, that’s really all movies are – market propositions. Going to the movies presents, at its essence, the exact same consumer experience as just about any other place of business – the product just happens to be temporally limited. But other than that, you are going to a business that specializes in selling a thing (electronics, movies, religion, or whatever), and has many varieties of that thing for sale (products/genres), from which you must select the particular thing that matches your specifications and preferences. Perhaps an example would help illustrate how ridiculous this “From the Mind of M. Night Shyamalan” business really is. Let’s say I’m buying a…car. Sure. Here we go.

DORIAN walks into a car dealership. Smelling fresh meat, SALESMAN ASSHOLE shares a private moment with a shit-eating grin before approaching Dorian.

As he walks over, Salesman Asshole feels a rush of endorphins, the physical manifestation of his belief that making this sale will allow him to achieve orgasm tonight without punching his wife in the stomach mid-coitus. His mind quickly veers, scoffing at her silly notion that there is a correlation between his sexual proclivities and her inability to bear children.

SALESMAN ASSHOLE (to Dorian): Aren’t women stupid?

DORIAN: That’s a fucked up way to sell cars.

Salesman Asshole winces. This isn’t the first time he’s done this.

SA: Look, I’m really sorry—

D (interrupting): No need for that. I’m game – what d’you got?

SA: Let me introduce myself first. My name’s Asshole.

D: That’s unfortunate.

SA: Well, I make it work.

D: That’s very…big of you? Look, I don’t really care. I came here to buy a car.

SA: Ah yes. Here, take a look at this baby – it’s called, “Devil.”

D: Bitchin’ name. Who makes it?

SA: Oh, it’s from the mind of M. Night Shyamalan.

D: Who the fuck is that?

SA: A famous car designer. He released his first car in 1999, which came out of nowhere and took everyone by surprise. Sold like crazy. Not a bad vehicle, but nothing revolutionary enough to warrant the acclaim it was receiving if you ask me. Anyway, he released three more cars over the next five years, all of which were basically the same as the first, so naturally, sales started to decline. He came up with another design in 2005 that his manufacturer told him had serious structural defects, but his ego had gotten so big by this point that he told them to fuck off and found another manufacturer who was so smitten by his celebrity that they were willing to overlook the obvious problems within this design. So they went ahead and made it. That car is still regarded to this day as one of the worst cars ever made.

D: I can’t imagine why you would posit this as a reason to buy this car - I’m guessing he had some kind of heroic comeback recently?

SA: Well, he designed an off-road vehicle in 2008, but he hired a former rapper to be the head engineer, so the final result lacked the balls to do any true off-roading. And actually, he just released his most recent car a few weeks ago. It’s his most expensive design yet!

D: …and?

SA: Sales are terrible and Consumer Reports called driving it, “an agonizing experience in every category I can think of and others still waiting to be invented.”

D (pointing to the Devil): And he made this car?

SA: No, it just came from his mind.

D: What the fuck does that even mean? Did he just will this thing into existence?

SA: I think he came up with the concept and someone else made it.

D: So why would I ever want to buy this thing? This Shyamalan character sounds like a hack – don’t you have something else?

SA: Yeah, but to be honest, they’re all pretty much the same.

D: Oh. Well, is there somewhere around that I can get a thought-out, innovative car of sound structural integrity?

SA: There might be one or two places still in business, but they’re out in the middle of nowhere, and they usually only sell the good ones on Friday and Saturday at midnight.

D: Well that’s horribly inconvenient – I’ve got five kids to feed!

SA: Well, that’s why we’re here, all day, every day.

And so the tired analogy comes to an end, but I think the point is made – who the fuck would buy a car with this pedigree?

As an aside, I would like to note that I do not actually have five, or any, children – I just can’t pass up the opportunity for a Total Recall reference. This is probably a good thing for both me and my imaginary children, as I don’t believe they would last very long with me being one of their primary caregivers. I’m sorry, but I simply do not respect any living creature that is incapable of feeding itself. It’s inexcusable.

But let’s get back to Devil – its makers were clearly unsatisfied with presenting only one potent argument against seeing their movie in their poster, so they added a second, self-prophesying tagline – “Bad Things Happen for a Reason”. See if you can identify the bad thing and the reason in this statement – if you produce anything conceived by M. Night Shyamalan, you will end up with a shit movie. It seems a simple enough understanding, yet so many people have failed to grasp it, which baffles me because I was under the impression this was common knowledge as of a few years ago, even before Lady in the Water. Does this pompous motherfucker think he can just ejaculate his lack of versatility as a film maker and a storyteller right in our faces and expect us to swallow? The only thing more harrowing is the follow up question – if so, is it working?

I guess that’s enough about the poster. As for the trailer itself, I mean, it’s terrible. What the fuck did you think I was going to say?

-Dorian

Catch Up On Older Episodes!

So you say you've never seen an episode of The Couch? Well with our Comic Con debut coming up I think you should catch up. The Wolfman, directed by Joe Johnston was our first episode and Alice in Wonderland Directed by Tim Burton was our second both have recently been released on dvd and blu ray. Enjoy and leave comments.

Dueces!
StuntmanBob

The Couch. CHICAGO COMIC CON. Can you dig it?

A few days ago we got the go ahead to shoot an episode of The Couch at the 2010 Chicago Comic Con! This is really a dream for us as this was one of our goals when we first started our show. Dorian and myself would like to thank all of you who have been reading and supporting us. We are only going up from here!

The Comic Con takes place August 19th, 20th, 21st, and 22nd. Throughout those days we will hopefully get the opportunity to talk with some celebrities and comic scribes, get their thoughts on movie trailers and review a trailer for debut in September. Please try and come out and support the Comic Con and us. Check back as we will post who we will be interviewing and what trailer will get the royal treatment from Dorian and myself.

Ticket information for the con is here
http://www.wizardworld.com/home-ch.html

Thanks for reading and as always if you have any trailers you think we should check out, movie recommendations, or pointless bitching hit us up at guysonthecouch@gmail.com


Dueces!
StuntmanBob