View the entire Blade Runner sketchbook online

For me hi-tech is a double edged sword. On the one hand it is an indispensable tool in the struggle to democratize and disseminate knowledge. On the other hand it is an indispensable tool of oppression as every online shuffle you make is tracked, recorded and analyzed, every email read and you can't go out for a walk in the park without google watching you either from space or from one of their roaming spy cars.

Every once in  a while though something comes along that makes me forgive and forget and when I discovered that the entire out-of-print "Blade Runner Sketchbook" from 1982 was now online for all to see free, well, I just wanted to give a big hug to all those computer geeks who've done so much to rob us of our privacy while providing us with unlimited free porn.

The book is comprised of 99 pages of concept art from Syd Mead, Mentor Huebner, Ridley Scott himself and others and would be the kind of coffee table book I'd shell out for. Until it comes back into print though this will more than suffice.

Here's a couple of samples with a link to the entire online edition below the pictures. Enjoy.

See the entire online edition here.

Arnold as Angel

Sly tells Arnold he's way too paunchy to be an angel.

The Governator's quest for relevance continues unabated. Arnold's been pursuing movie projects as though they were house cleaners though his most recently announced film "Black Sands" is apparently being given something of a makeover. Originally intended to be a kind of "good guy against a bad world" kind of story it's now being given a supernatural slant with the big Austrian playing a kind of avenging 'angel' (his word). Uh okay. Oh yeah, the film has also been given a new name: "Black Sunday". I guess you've got to have the whole Sunday thing going on if you're playing an angel and all that. This one's going to have to go straight into the 'wait and see' basket.

Top 10 box office hits of the year 2011

All in all business at the domestic box office was the lowest since 1995. Something tells me it had a lot to do with virtually no big movies being produced that weren't followed by a number. Just to drive that point home it should be noted that 8 of the top 10 worldwide box office hits of the year were sequels and it's a trend that doesn't show any signs of letting up. On the bright side global box office hit an all time high this year so somebody is going out to the theater and that's all that really counts.

1) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2	$1.32 Billion
2) Transformers: Dark of the Moon	$1.12 Billion
3) Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides	$1.02 Billion
4) Kung Fu Panda 2	$665.7 Million
5) Twilight: Breaking Dawn Pt 1	$653.7 Million
6) Fast Five	$626.1 Million
7) The Hangover Part 2	$581.5 Million
8) The Smurfs	$562.5 Million
9) Cars 2	$551.9 Million
10) Rio	$484.6 Million

New Russian trailer for "The Avengers"

So what's so special about a Russian language trailer for a movie whose English language trailer has been out for some time? Two words: new footage.

First Trailer for "The Impossible"

Juan Antonio Bayona's "The Impossible" is the story of a family whose lives were forever changed by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The trailer is in Spanish but the imagery is fairly compelling and I'm told the actual movie will be in English. Bayona made his name with the sleeper hit "The Orphanage" a few years back and it will be interesting to see how he handles the pressure that comes with recognition.

The top 10 movies for the weekend of Dec 23 - Dec 25, 2011

1) Mission Impossible 4	$29.5 Million
2) Sherlock Holmes 2	$20.2 Million
3) Girl w/the Dragon Tattoo	$12.7 Million
4) The Chipmunks 3	$12.5 Million
5) The Adventures of Tintin	$9.7 Million
6) We Bought A Zoo	$9.3 Million
7) War Horse	$7.5 Million
8) New Years Eve	$3.3 Million
9) The Darkest Hour	$3 Million
10) The Muppets	$2.1 Million

The number one movie a year ago this week was Universal's "Little Fockers"
which debuted in the top spot with a $30.8 million haul.

New photos from "The Amazing Spider Man"

The Hollywood Reporter has acquired a new set of images from the set of the Spidey reboot, including this one. Click here to see the whole set.

Worst Hit Movies of the 21st century Part II

Since this is such and excruciatingly slow time for movie news I've decided to expand my list of the worst hit movies of the 21st century (so far) with numbers 6 - 10 done in descending order. So here we go. (You can see numbers 1 thru 5 here.)

10) Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
I sat through this entire movie stone-cold sober but I don't remember it.

9) The Hangover Part II
There's a difference between being edgy and being mean-spirited. Someone should tell the makers of this piece of crap.

8) Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Hayden Christansen does perhaps the worst acting job in a major motion picture ever. No small feat that.

7) 2012
2 hours of narrow escapes and not a Mayan to be found.

6) The Da Vinci Code
The secret order of the Bad White Guys has conspired for centuries to hide from us the fact that Leonardo was a drag queen who hid in his paintings detailed orders for the destruction of the World Trade Center using a plane filled with Jesus' kids and piloted by JFK's real killer; Boutros Boutros Ghali.

"Hobbit" production never sleeps

It's a really slow time of year for movie news. Just about everyone is on vacation or gone home for the holidays. Everyone it seems except Peter Jackson and the folks making The Hobbit.

So here's a bit of Christmas candy for you, the hot off the presses fifth "behind the scenes" video from the gargantuan Hobbit production. Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

Off the beaten track trailer of the day - "Tokyo Species"

What do you get when you mix a Japanese soft core strumpet with a dollar thirty five worth of special effects? Why Tokyo Species of course and here's the trailer courtesy of the good folks at Twitchfilm.com

THIS TRAILER IS NOT SAFE FOR WORK. NSFW.

It's not real porn or anything but there are several boob shots and some hilarious "acting" that is, I think, supposed to resemble sex. But don't take my word for it, check it out and decide for yourself.