What's Up?

This site feels lonely. In fact, it is. I haven’t been updating it at all during the last few months because I’ve been spending the majority of my time over at The Flickcast and trying to make that the best it can be.

						However, all is not lost. Part of my plan for the new year is to start taking more photographs. I'm going to be exploring my photography skills and trying to improve them. I will be posting the results here and, of course, over at <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisu/" target="_blank">my Flickr page</a>.

						So, stay tuned for more from this site. I haven't forgotten it and will get back to it soon enough. Until then, all the best for 2011.


'Space Battleship Yamato' Rocks

Here's a trailer for a film I'm really looking forward to seeing. Sadly, it doesn't have a US release . . . yet. Let's hope by the power of the Internets we can make it happen. Until then, enjoy Space Battleship Yamato.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoHXxWg7pw4&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0]


My Favorite Movie Poster So Far

I see a lot of movie posters, especially these days working with The Flickcast, and I have to say that this one from Robert Rodriguez's upcoming Machete is probably my favorite of the year so far.

It's fun and cool and goes a long way to tell you exactly what the movie is about. Which is, of course, everything you would want from a movie poster.

Plus, the movie looks pretty awesome too with a great cast including Danny Trejo, Robert DeNiro, Michelle Rodriguez, Jessica Alba, Jeff Fahey, Steven Segal and Lindsey Lohan. I know, right?

Check it out and enjoy. Also, if it's still up, check out the trailer for the film over at The Flickcast.

machete-poster.jpg


Phoebe Cates Is Number One

phoebe-cates-fast-times-icon-1

How I didn’t see this before I’ll never know, but apparently the site Mr. Skin rated the all-time best nude scenes in movies and one of my favorite actresses of all time was number one. I’m talking about, of course, Phoebe Cates in Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

To a young man such as myself, Cates represented all that was awesome about girls and helped start us on the way to manhood. I’m very happy that many others obviously share my enthusiasm for Cates. She truly is one of a kind and still looks great today (at 46), btw.

But here she is in her younger days in one of my favorite movies of all time. Also, keep in mind, this video is probably NSFW. Enjoy.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbHth5ErTs8?rel=0&w=420&h=315]


I'm Chris and I Approve of This

I’ve seen a lot of movies over the years and many of them had one or more superheroes in them. Some of those superheroes were also women and probably looked pretty good in their costumes. However, I’m fairly certain none of them ever looked this good.

						I give you Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow in <em>Iron Man 2</em>. You're welcome.

						<div style="text-align:center;"><img src="http://chrisword.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/scarlett-johansson-iron-man-2-black-widow-stills-07.jpg" alt="scarlett-johansson-iron-man-2-black-widow-stills-07.jpg" border="0" width="550" height="643"></div>

Funny and Awesome

I think I will just let this one stand on its own and not offer any comments.

						[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk2vR8w2sjc&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x5d1719&amp;color2=0xcd311b&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feature=player_embedded&amp;fs=1]

'Sports Illustrated' Reveals New 2010 Cover Girl

Here’s the new SI cover girl Brooklyn Decker looking very good. You’re welcome.

						<div style="text-align:center;"><img src="http://chrisword.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/sports-illustrated-cover-brook.jpg" alt="sports-illustrated-cover-brook.jpg" border="0" width="525" height="707"></div>

My Best Films of 2009

inglorious-basterds-poster-1.jpgEven though this list has already appeared over at The Flickcast, I thought it would be fun to post it over here as well. You know, in the interest of cross promotion and that kind of thing.

						So, here's my list of the best films of 2009, in no particular order. Enjoy.

						<em><strong>Inglourious Basterds </strong></em>— 2009 saw the return of director Quentin Tarantino and the release of this amazing film. Some might consider it overlong or self-indulgent, but it showcases Tarantino’s filmmmaking skills at their finest and serves as an example of one filmmaker’s singular vision and immense storytelling craft.

						This film provides the audience with something they never got from real life: closure. To finally see the Nazis, and in particular Hitler, get the ending they deserve is a testament to the power of this film and to its creator.

						<em><strong>Star Trek</strong></em> — Coming along just when we needed it, director J.J. Abrams reboot of the franchise shows us that you can make a new movie based on an old, beloved franchise and manage to thrill new and old fans alike. The casting of Chris Pine as Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock and Karl Urban as McCoy helped catapult this film into the stratosphere of great entertainment. Truly one of the best “popcorn” movies of 2009 and the last decade.

						<em><strong>A Single Man</strong></em> — Fashion designer and now director Tom Ford shows that talent in one arena can often mean talent in another. His story of a gay man coming to terms with the death of his longtime companion features a moving performance by Colin Firth, with deft support by Julianne Moore, and gives us a glimpse into how people deal with loss and the emptiness of being alone — even among other people.

						<em><strong>Drag Me to Hell</strong></em> – Sam Raimi returned to form with this terrific horror film which shows why he’s considered by many to be one of the masters. Sadly, there was no Bruce Campbell appearance, but the movie still managed to thrill, chill and scare the crap out of audiences without resorting to extensive, and unnecessary, blood and gore. It was great to see Raimi do a film like this that he, and everyone involved, so obviously enjoyed making.

						<em><strong>The Hurt Locker </strong></em>— Director Katherine Bigelow shows why she’s one of the best working today with her look at the Iraq war from the perspective of a bomb disposal squad. With a standout performance by actor-to-watch Jeremy Renner as the thrill-seeking William James, this film eschewed the political agenda and gave us a “boots on the ground” look at the horrors of modern war.

						<em><strong>The Road </strong></em>– Even though it performed poorly at the box office, director John Hillcoat’s adaptation of the Cormac McCarthy novel ranks among the years best films. With brilliant performances by Viggo Motensen and newcomer Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Road is at times shocking, frightening, touching, harrowing and thought provoking. It shows us what humanity is capable of at its worst and at its best and reminds us, even with all the evil things that happen in the world, that love is the most important thing of all.

						<em><strong>Up In the Air</strong></em> – This testament to doing what you do best and doing it with others only further showcased the immensely appealing talents of George Clooney. This funny, intelligent film serves to remind us of the importance other people can play in our daily lives. Sure, its nice to be on your own sometimes, but life is usually better when you live it with someone else.

						<em><strong>District 9</strong></em> – Director Neill Blomkamp showed that you don’t need a studio or a big budget to make edgy, though provoking, sci-fi entertainment. This standout film combines all that’s best about movies into one entertaining and visually impressive package. Even with the film’s thinly disguised political message, its inventive style, writing, direction and standout performances, particularly by Sharlto Copley, helped elevate this modestly budgeted, yet highly ambitions, film into the top echelon this year.

						<em><strong>A Serious Man</strong></em> — The Coen brothers tale of Jewish guilt and sacrifice took me by surprise this year and over time has worked its way onto my list. This tale of a man’s struggle against his oppressive life resonates even if you’re lack of Jewish knowledge hinders you and occasionally prevents you from figuring out what all the fuss is about. Fortunately, this film explores themes and problems universal to the human condition that most anyone can relate to, which is one of the things that makes it such a great film.

						<em><strong>Zombieland </strong></em>– This was one of the great surprises of the year. You’re with the movie and the characters from the first moments all the way to the end. You instantly like them, root for them and when the end does finally come, you’re sad to see them go. Zombieland offers a great time at the movies and though it doesn’t give us much of anything new to chew on in the zombie genre, its just so damn much fun and the cast is so enjoyable, you don’t mind one bit.

						Special Mention: <em><strong>Avatar</strong></em> – Say what you will about James Cameron and his movies (and I have) but he knows how to deliver entertainment. Sure, it may not have the most original story and has some cringe-worthy dialog, but there’s no denying that Avatar packs more visual punch than ten normal movies. While it may not change the face of entertainment as we know it, it certainly is worth seeing and ranks among the most interesting and visually compelling movies of all time.

						—

						Other films I thought were very impressive this year but didn’t quite make the cut include <em>The Hangover, Precious, Moon, Anvil! The Story of Anvil, The Informant!, Watchmen, The Invention of Lying</em> and <em>Paranormal Activity</em>.

Awesome Comic

I don’t update here as often as I could (big surprise, right?) but I do when I see something cool or fun that I want to share. I have to say this is pretty darn funny, especially if you’re a fan of a certain sci-fi show. Hat tip to my pal ProgGrrl over at the great Galactica Sitrep site for this. Enjoy.

						<img src="http://chrisword.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/2009-11-25-luna-nueva.jpg" alt="2009-11-25-luna-nueva.jpg" border="0" width="550" height="310" align="center">

Coming Soon


Some Cool New Trailers

First of all, this trailer for what will surely be my favorite game of the year, Modern Warfare 2, is now up at The Flickcast. In short, it looks awesome. Also, it looks better than most movie trailers I see these days. Curious. Anyway, like I said, its awesome so check it out.

						And while we're on the subject of movie trailers (we were, remember?), here's the new trailer for <em>The Killer Inside Me</em>, based on the novel by one of my favorite authors, Jim Thompson. In this trailer, which <a href="http://theflickcast.com/2009/11/06/new-extended-trailer-for-the-killer-inside-me/">is also up at <em>The Flickcast</em></a> with more info about the movie, you will see many things including Jessica Alba get spanked with a belt. Yes, you read that right. You're welcome.

My Favorite New Apple Ad - 'Broken Promises'

As you probably know, Windows 7 came out this week and, of course, Apple launched an ad campaign to fight this latest encroachment by the “evil empire.” Here’s my favorite one of the new ads so far featuring your old friends Mac and PC. Enjoy.

						[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtvloPFYocw&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0]</p>

My Favorite Patrick Swayze Movies

patrick-swayze.jpgSadly, the world lost a great guy, a great dancer, a great actor and a great fighter today when Patrick Swayze passed away at 57 from complications due to pancreatic cancer. He will be missed.

						I've been a fan of the man for years and even had the chance to meet and work with him long ago on a movie probably best forgotten. It wasn't one of his best films (or mine) and at the time he was a little worse for wear, but still he was always a professional, a friendly, happy man and a pleasure to work with.

						That's the way I'm going to remember him. 

						Also, I'm going to remember him through his movies. So, in honor of Patrick Wayne Swayze, here's a few of my favorites. 

						[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn96jR5Geyk&amp;color1=0xb1b1b1&amp;color2=0xcfcfcf&amp;hl=en&amp;feature=player_embedded&amp;fs=1]

						[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVOW9FUdZxo&amp;color1=0xb1b1b1&amp;color2=0xcfcfcf&amp;hl=en&amp;feature=player_embedded&amp;fs=1]

						[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoM6IFiyRjE&amp;color1=0xb1b1b1&amp;color2=0xcfcfcf&amp;hl=en&amp;feature=player_embedded&amp;fs=1]

						[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsbuQ-jg014&amp;color1=0xb1b1b1&amp;color2=0xcfcfcf&amp;hl=en&amp;feature=player_embedded&amp;fs=1]

SpaceBook. Awesome.

This made me laugh out loud, or LOL as the kids are saying these days. I can just picture Darth Vader keeping tabs on his minions this way.

						<div style="text-align:center;"><img src="http://chrisword.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/spacebook1.jpg" alt="spacebook.jpg" border="0" width="525" height="398"></div>

Interview with Rob Zombie

My friend and colleague Matt Raub interviews musician/writer/director Rob Zombie about his latest film Halloween 2. Which, oddly enough, I review right here.

						Check it out.

I Am Still Alive and Other Developments

Sad I have to write that headline, but sometimes when you’ve kept a blog for a few years and updated pretty regularly and then stop, people often wonder if something bad has happened to you. Fortunately, that’s not the case. No bad things.

						Actually, some good thing have happened, especially where my latest project is concerned. Yes, that's right, <em><a href="http://www.theflickcast.com" target="_blank">The Flickcast</a></em> has really taken off and as such, demands a great deal of my time. Not only to I run the site, for the most part, I also have to write for it each and every day. That takes its toll.

						Because <em>The Flickcast</em> is such a demanding site and the vast majority of my energy is devoted to it at the moment, that leaves very little left for this site. Once I've pretty much said my peace on various issues via the site or the podcast, I've pretty much got nothing left to write about here.

						When I started this site several years ago my intention was to have a reason and a motivation to write every day (or almost every day, let's be honest). Now that I've got <em>The Flickcast</em> going, I have no choice but to write every day so the impetus to keep a personal blog is not nearly as strong.

						I'm not exactly sure what to do about this site. I like having it and I may, on occasion, put something here. But for now, it won't be a regular thing at all, my other project needs to be the priority -- especially if I want it to continue the growth its seen so far.

						So, if you're looking for me and my contributions, head on over to <em><a href="http://www.theflickcast.com" target="_blank">The Flickcast</a></em> and you can find me there. Also, if you're looking for any of my other work, there's some good links at <a href="http://chrisullrich.net" target="_blank">my other website</a>. And, feel free to follow me on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/chrisu" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and friend me at <a href="http://www.facebook.com/chris.ullrich" target="_blank">Facebook</a>. I promise I won't bite.

Video Friday - Magnum Vs. Solo

I’ve been very busy getting The Flickcast on its feet at new hosting (Thank you Media Temple) so I’ve been remiss with the blog. Shocking, I know. Fortunately, I’ve got a great video to share with you this week.

						I don't have much to say about this video except that its <em>extremely</em> funny, especially if you're an avid fan of both Magnum, P.I. <em>and</em> Star Wars. Which, I'm happy to say, I am. 

						Enjoy this and realize what it took to make it work. These guys are pretty smart indeed.

						[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEigvdbzia8&amp;w=425&amp;h=344]

The New 'The Flickcast' Site is Alive!

I’m pretty darn excited about my latest venture The Flickcast. I’ve been working on it for a couple months now doing a weekly podcast about movies, tv, comics and other geek stuff and its been great fun and pretty successful so far.

						In addition to the podcast, I've also started a news site as a companion to the weekly show that's also been doing pretty well. One thing that had always bothered me about the site, though, was that it looked too much like a blog and not enough like a professional news site should look.

						Fortunately, that's no longer the case because my new favorite web designer, <a href="http://www.rp-network.com">Robert Palmer</a>, has done a kick-ass job and totally redesigned the site to make it look awesome <em>and</em> professional.

						This site and podcast are just the start of what I hope will someday be a giant media empire. Meanwhile, if you get a minute, head on over to <a href="http://www.theflickcast.com"><em>The Flickcast</em></a> and check out the new look, read a review or two and listen to some great podcasts.

						I feel very privileged to be able to start this new venture and it wouldn't be possible without some other great people like my podcast co-hosts Matt Raub and Christina Warren, my "web guy" Robert Palmer, site contributors like David Press, John Carle, all the Mahoneys (Sean, Tom, Adele and Heath), some great tools like Wordpress and last, but not least, the inspiration, encouragement and help I've received from various friends, colleagues and mentors. 

						Thank you all. I sincerely appreciate it.

						Also, if you've got any feedback, feel free to drop it in the comments here or at <em><a href="http://www.theflickcast.com">The Flickcast</a></em> site.

Video Friday (Sunday Edition)

I’ve been busy (Again with the excuses, right?) and have been working hard to get The Flickcast on its feet. Now that the show and the site are going and we’re gathering some great writers to participate, I’m turning my attention to a new, better design for the site itself – which also takes some time and attention.

						Of course, that means I'm still a bit neglectful of this here blog. Unfortunately, as I get older I find I can't multi-task as well as I once did. Not that I was spectacular at it when I was younger, I just seem to be <em>particularly</em> bad at it now. But really, what does this mean for you O reader of this blog?

						Basically, it means that while I'm distracted with the shiny new thing the not quite as shiny new thing is going to feel a bit neglected. Probably, so will you. My apologies but that's just the way it is. Try not to take it personally. I won't.

						At this point, I really feel I've made enough excuses and introduced the horse to a sufficient beating so I think I'll stop instead of my rambling on for several more sentences. What shall we do instead? Glad you asked. Seeing as its 'Video Friday', let's take a look at a very funny video from your friends and mine Barats and Bereta. Enjoy.

						[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhcA4Ry65FU&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0]