My final “Oscar Effects” column for Digital Trends looks at Ridley Scott’s “Alien” prequel movie, “Prometheus,” and the way the acclaimed director and his team mixed practical and digital effects to create the future tech and terrifying creatures seen in the movie. “Prometheus” is an interesting nominee in the “Visual effects” category for several reasons, [...]
Going practical for Prometheus in my final “Oscar Effects” column
February 24th, 2013 · No Comments
Life Of Pi’s tiger burns bright in my “Oscar Effects” column
February 24th, 2013 · No Comments
My penultimate “Oscar Effects” column for Digital Trends was published Friday, and I devoted it to the visual-effects magic that gave us Richard Parker, the Bengal tiger in “Life Of Pi.” “Life Of Pi” is actually my favorite of the “Best Picture” nominees, and while I don’t think it has a chance of winning that [...]
Putting the “Oscar Effects” spotlight on Snow White and the Huntsman’s incredible shrinking cast
February 24th, 2013 · No Comments
My third “Oscar effects” column for Digital Trends put the spotlight on Snow White and the Huntsman, a movie I disliked immensely despite its fantastic visual effects. Here’s an excerpt from my column: While the decision to cast full-size actors in the dwarf roles incurred a hefty amount of wrath from small-statured actors, it was [...]
The evolution of Hulk and The Avengers in “Oscar Effects”
February 23rd, 2013 · No Comments
For my second “Oscar Effects” column at Digital Trends, I looked at the evolution of Marvel’s green-skinned behemoth Hulk from Ang Lee’s 2003 movie through last year’s “The Avengers” team-up film that featured the ol’ jade giant in a prominent role. Hulk was one of the best parts of a fantastic film, which came as [...]
My review of “Snitch” (a.k.a. “I’m 99% certain that I smell what The Rock is cooking.”)
February 22nd, 2013 · No Comments
I reviewed Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s new movie, “Snitch,” and now I’m pretty sure I want to see him act in just about every genre of movie at some point. While the new film isn’t anything spectacular that’s going to win Oscars or change anyone’s career, it’s notable because it’s such a different type of [...]
Looking at The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’s 48fps controversy in my “Oscar Effects” series…
February 22nd, 2013 · No Comments
If you haven’t been following my updates on Twitter, Facebook, or Google Plus, you might’ve missed the first few columns in my new “Oscar Effects” series over at Digital Trends. Each day, I’ve put the spotlight on one of the movies nominated in the Academy Awards “Visual Effects” category, and examined a key element of [...]
Rounding up the PlayStation 4 rumors that might be true
February 19th, 2013 · No Comments
I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’m a big fan of my PlayStation 3. I own an Xbox, Wii, and PS3, and Sony’s console handles the lion’s share of my media needs, serving as our Blu-Ray and DVD player, Netflix host, and primary gaming console. Heck, it’s even my YouTube viewer of choice. [...]
