We all know the beast of a Pro Basketball player that Lebron James has become (but lets hold off the "Greatest of All Time" chatter until AFTER he's one a few NBA Championships), but what was he like before all the celebrity attention? The documentary MORE THAN A GAME by Kristopher Belman is an insightful look at both Lebron James and the group of kids with which he played, grew to love, and master the game of basketball. The tight bonds of friendship began in 8th grade as their success on the Basketball League courts led to a National Championship game in Florida. That tight bond influenced the 4 friends to attend St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, instead of their local high school, because, as a 4 foot 10 inch tall Freshman, Dru Jones III didn't believe that the local High School basketball coach could look past his height to see his great dedication, passion and skill for the game of basketball. Their time at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School coincided with the Lebron James ascension to super-stardom as a 17 year-old basketball phenom... but ultimately showcased that 4 young guys with a goal can make great things happen.

By focusing on the group of 4 kids (5 later in the movie) you end up getting to indirectly know Lebron James way more than through a traditional spotlight documentary. The history these kids shared together on the basketball court had an undeniable influence on Lebron James, the other players, and the coach of the team. Coach Dru Jones (father of Dru Jones III) interviews brought a great sense of purpose and heart to what they accomplished and I appreciated the sincerity with which he spoke as he often struggled between being a competitive coach and a father with his role as father to Dru Jones III often suffering.

I love a great Sports story. With or without Lebron James, this is one of the better ones I've watched in some time.

(A quick sidenote for anybody that saw the film: Does anybody buy into Lebron James mother getting a $50,000 loan for the Hummer he drove in high school? Something seemed very strange about that.)

Few creators have done as many things in life as Alejandro Jodorowsky. He range of creative experience includes being a published poet, playwright, tarot reader, film director, and comic book author. Naturally, with his great gamut of experience comes many, many stories. Many of them are fascinating. But one of the most interesting stories is how his failed attempt at making a Frank Herbert’s DUNE film in the mid-1970s indirectly led to the creative team of the classic sci-fi/horror ALIEN film. Arguably, Ridley Scott ought to thank Jodorowsky for his influence.

From the start, Jodorowsky’s adaptation of DUNE was doomed to fail. The scope and passion for the project were evident, but it was impossible for it all to coalesce into something complete. The films Jodorowsky completed prior to his work on DUNE are brilliant surreal experiments in film-making, but were very challenging to narratively follow. Rumors claim that the release of his first film, FANDO Y LIS, in Alcapulco led to a full scale riots. EL TOPO, his spiritual Western was beloved by Beatles’ John Lennon and Yoko Ono... so much so, that they assisted in the financing of his third film THE HOLY MOUNTAIN.

In 1974, Jodorowsky was approached by a team of French investors that had acquired the film rights to DUNE to direct the film. Immediately, his scope for the film became epic as he planned to film the project as a 10-hour feature film with a cast of actors that included Salvador Dali, Orson Welles, David Carradine, and Mick Jagger. For the art production of the DUNE film, Jodorowsky hired artists Moebius, H.R. Giger, and Chris Foss. He had also hired Dan O’Bannon as head of the special effects department.

With $2 million already spent of a $10 million budget, the project eventually came to a standstill. Years later the film adaptation would resurface with David Lynch helmed as director in 1984.

Despite the production failure of Jodorowsky’s DUNE, many wonderful things came from the experience. The relationship he began with comic artist Moebius led to a series of comic book collaborations including their memorable run on the INCAL. Many argue that you can see the inspirations from Herbert’s DUNE in the INCAL and it’s many spin-off series (including TECHNOPRIESTS and METABARONS).

But the most successful ramification from Jodrowsky’s DUNE may very well be something that is rarely associated with Alejandro Jodorowsky: Ridley Scott’s ALIEN. Jodorowsky gathered an “All-Star” group of fantasy artists of disparate styles for Dune with the intent of having each artist create the distinct civilizations and cultures of the DUNE universe. It was a brilliant idea; so much so that when Dan O’Bannon wrote the ALIEN screenplay, he suggested to Ridley Scott that the same group of artists be used to develop the look of the ALIEN film. Ridley Scott agreed. As ALIEN was smaller in scope than DUNE, the design elements created by the 3 artists are more focussed. But none can argue the overwhelming influence they had on the general vision of science fiction worlds. H.R. Giger designed the Alien and the Alien infested world visited at the beginning of the film. Chris Foss worked for several months on conceptual art for ALIEN (which was never used in the final film). Moebius designed the spacesuits used in the ALIEN film.

Below I have included HR Giger, Moebius, and Chris Foss’ ALIEN Art above their respective work on DUNE.

If you haven't heard, now you will: Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World movie trailer is out. I love it and can't wait to see the film. Bryan Lee O' Malley, Scott Pilgrim's creator is one of the good guys. He's done some great comics for many, many years. I loved his Lost At Sea comic and have also enjoyed the heck out of his Scott Pilgrim books. Many, many years ago I even paid him something super cheap (I think it was $25) to do a beautiful watercolor painting of the main character from Lost At Sea for my girlfriend at the time (she later became my wife). I have no clue why O'Malley decided to be so generous to his fans at the time... but I continue to cherish the gorgeous painting he did for us.

It's wacky and exciting to see that Scott Pilgrim is now months away from becoming a live action film. The director (Edgar Wright) has proven his uber-sense of awesome (with his Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz films). About the only thing I'm not too jazzed about is the casting of Michael Cena as Scott Pilgrim (way too dorky for Mr. Pilgrim, if you ask me), but I'm sure it'll make for a great time.  

What brings the buzz-factor on this project from awesome to unchartably-super-curse-words levels of excitement is the reveal that sprite-art-master Paul Robertson is handling character art duties for the beat-em-up video game based on the movie/comic. Gobi introduced me to the genius of Paul Robertson's art (you can even read Gobi gushing directly to Paul Roberston HERE). He's the PERFECT guy to handle the zany insanity that is Scott Pilgrim.

I find it pretty weird how we go about judging things. People spends weeks/months/years of their lives making something they feel is important. We look at it for moments (seconds/minutes/hours) and then we judge it. Is it possible for us to gather everything we want from an object of creative expression in that moment of comprehension? As I wrestle with that thought, I have to say that I loved Jason Reitman's UP IN THE AIR. So much so, that I'd consider it my favorite film from 2009. I saw and immensely enjoyed INGLORIOUS BASTERDS and AVATAR but neither film feels as pertinent to the current world we live in as UP IN THE AIR.

To me, UP IN THE AIR is symbolic of our current search for identity in a world of transience. All the things we've built our worlds around (money, family, nationality) are being challenged in this dynamic digital world. As much opportunity that comes with the new rules that exist around us, there is also a deeper sense of isolation and meaningless that permeates our lives. Whether we rebelliously reject the standard 'norms' of our society or we naively embrace the pure values of personal ideals, there's this gnawing feeling that we've got it all wrong. UP IN THE AIR captures that spirit brilliantly.

I just watched the SEPTEMBER ISSUE documentary. It's an interesting view of the Fashion industry, particularly from the vantage point of the Fashion magazine Vogue. Amidst the deadlines of putting together their September Issue, Vogue's most popular issue of the year, we get to know Editor In Chief Anna Wintour and her eclectic staff. With a series of interviews and by following the actions involved in making the magazine, the film eventually places focus on Anna and Vogue Magazine Creative Director Grace Coddington. In an Industry filled with wannabes and divas, these two weathered professionals exist beyond the fragility of a business built upon temporal trends and youthful beauty by helping to define it.

The big draw for the film is Editor In Chief Wintour. The successful book and film THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, is loosely based on Wintour's experiences with an assistant. I wouldn't be surprised if financing for this film is attributed to 'The Devil Wears Prada's success. But, as much as people want to demonize Wintour as a heartless bitch, I found her to be relatively human. Compared to Anna Wintour, Creative Director Coddington seems way more sensible and creative. By comparing the two individuals, the film candidly looks at the balance between business and creativity that exists in Fashion and Publishing.

The film starts off a bit slow and initially plays into the general stereotypes of the Fashion Industry's affinity for pretentiousness and vanity. But by the end of the film, you come to better understand the people that exist behind it all and the layers of reputation they build to protect their position in Fashion.

It took a while, but I finally got around to watching TERMINATOR 2: JUDGEMENT DAY with my wife. It's been many, many years since I saw the film (last time I saw it was over 15 years ago at the age of 13 or 14). As a young teenager, I remember really liking the film but not being in the manic frenzy that many of my friends were in for it (for example, I just saw it once in theaters compared to a buddy that saw it roughly 10 times... in theatre!). I also remember it brought a bit of attention back on Guns 'N' Roses since they did the theme song.

So, how was it at my more critical age of 31 years? Good. My wife really liked it... but many bits of it were a bit too hokey for me. Having the first TERMINATOR film film fresh in my memory, the more kid-friendly version of T2's Arnold's T-800 leaves a bitter taste after the utter bad-assery he embodied in the first film. It tended to drag a bit with some extremely long action sequences, but it was still a fun film to watch that holds up over the years.

One thing that really stuck out for me was how long the film would go without dialogue. Many of the action scenes were minutes of pure action with just the sound of guns, vehicles and destruction. It was during these moments I came to realize how universal the film was since story and character are largely being conveyed without any need of understanding the English language. In place of a spoken language, characters spoke through movement, how they looked, and weapons/vehicles of choice. Arnold's T-800 was a beast of force. His weapons of choice were things like grenade launchers, vehicles like Harley Davidson motorcycles. The T-1000, by comparison was way more efficient... often killing with liquid blades and riding around in a police car. One of the most impressive things in the film is the perfect complement the T-800 and T-1000 are to each other. As the T-800, Arnold Schwarzenegger is over-powering beast... something like a gorilla. Instead of choosing a rival with a similar presence, Cameron and his team went in a completely different direction with the T-1000, creating a monster that is far more elegant and quick... something way more feline in physicality. The T-1000 is beautiful, lithe, and almost-feminine compared to the testosterone-fueled physicality of Arnold's character. It's a fascinating and very entertaining choice. It's odd that, in many ways, the T-1000 feels even more feminine than Sarah Connor (who has become so obsessive with the ominous future since the first film that she's dedicated her life to training for the War). But it's also one of my biggest problems with the film because Sarah comes across like a dysfunctional alcoholic more than someone who has dedicated their life for battle.

All in all, it was fun to revisit T2. It's not as 'cool' as it was when I watched it at 13 (which seems to be the age they were aiming for when making the film) but pleasant nonetheless.