darth vader Tagged Articles at Cinematical

I'll admit it, I'm one of those people who loves to quote movies. Even though I know it can be a little annoying, there are times that I just can't help myself -- but I never claimed to have a photographic memory and I can only assume that I've messed up a few lines over the years, taking a relatively endearing geek trait and turning it into a social faux pas. But, it's good to know I'm not alone, because over at lovefilm.com, they took a poll of the most misquoted movie lines in history and the big winner may surprise you.

So what line have we all managed to mess up? According to lovefilm, it was a line from Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back that took the grand prize as the most misquoted line in movie history. As embarrassing as it may seem, even I was a little shocked to find out that "Luke, I am your father" was never actually spoken in the film. There I was thinking, "But that's the line, right?" -- and no, what Vader actually says to Luke out on the platform is "No, I am your father." (And if you don't believe me, watch the scene for yourself).

After the jump: find out which misquotes cracked the top 5.

Premiering at The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on February 13, The Vader Project features 100 reimagined Darth Vader helmets created by some of today's most talked-about underground and pop surrealist painters, artists and designers. Dov Kelemer, who curated the project along with Sarah Jo Marks of DKE Toys, notes that "it's because of trailblazing artists like Andy Warhol that The Vader Project can even exist today. We couldn't be more honored to be showcasing The Vader Project at the Warhol."

From their website, here's a brief history: "The Vader Project originally premiered at Star Wars Celebration IV in Los Angeles in May 2007. From there it traveled to Star Wars Celebration Europe in London in June 2007. July 2007 brought 10 new helmets to the Star Wars Pavilion at the famed San Diego Comi-Con International. Then in July 2008, 13 Japanese artists joined forces with the existing Vader Project when their helmets premiered at Star Wars Celebration Japan."

Some of the artists featured include Shag, Peter Kuper, Attaboy, Gary Baseman, Tim Biskup, Dalek, Paul Frank, Ron English, Jeff Soto, Michelle Valigura, Frank Kozik, Wade Lageose, Joe Ledbetter, Alex Pardee, Suckadelic, Cameron Tiede, Michelle Valigura, Mister Cartoon, Marc Ecko and Amanda Visell.

The Vader Project will rest at The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh from February 13 - May 3, 2009. Check out some of our favorites below.

Since this is a time for giving thanks and being with the ones you love, we thought it might be fun to show you this fan made poster of Batman holding hands with Darth Vader as the two stare out at the city lights below. Of course Batman would never hold hands with the likes of Vader ... in public ... but you never know what goes on behind closed doors. Here are two men who wear black costumes and have a hard time opening up to others. Maybe they would find comfort in one another, during times of silence, when the big, bold, bright city awaits their next move. Everybody needs a hug, right?

All kidding aside, this does remind me to remind you to tune in to Cinematical early next week as we'll have a very cool sneak peek at The Dark Knight on DVD and Blu-ray (in stores December 9). Check out a larger version of the image above by clicking below.

(P.S. So did Batman really die today in comic form, or what?)



[via Untote]

Right on! Now I want to see that movie!

We usually don't go posting video game trailers on Cinematical, but this happens to be Star Wars related and it also happens to look hella cool. Entertainment Weekly has posted the first trailer for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, a game in which you play as Darth Vader's apprentice -- kicking ass, taking names. It also seems like a pretty cool story, one I bet a lot of us would've liked to see up on the big screen. Based on the trailer, the game looks to feature a reversal on the Anakin Skywalker story. Instead of a main character who's eventually seduced by the Dark Side, we have a guy who starts out bad and eventually turns against those who taught him, like Vader.

I have a bunch of Star Wars video games in my collection, most of which I never finished because those damn games distract the hell out of me. And then I don't write. And then you don't get movie news. And then the world collapses and we all wind up selling turtle droppings on the side of a road in New Mexico somewhere. But anyway, I really liked the Revenge of the Sith video game because you got to go nuts with the lightsaber. The Force Unleashed looks similar and, well, I don't know about you, but anything featuring Darth Vader wins some of the money in my wallet.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed hits shelves September 16. Will you be making the purchase?

Happy birthday Star Wars toys! 30 years ago, you came into our lives, and 30 years later, we're all kicking ourselves for not hoarding you away, keeping you in pristine condition and eventually getting rich by selling you to the highest bidder. Fortunately, there are more of you being made today and the London Times has declared which of you recently released, still-cheap items are likely to go up in value.

The spotlight is part of a list featured in today's Money Central section of the Times. Titled "The top 10 Star Wars collectibles," the list includes 30-year-old, super-rare action figures like Kenner's Darth Vader with double-telescoping light saber (currently valued at £5,000-plus, or almost $10,000 US) and this year's Lego version of the X-WIng Fighter (currently sold for £150, or $293 US). Coming in at #10 are the two-year old, "too cute" Galactic Heroes line of figures from Hasbro, which are currently only "the price of a rip-off sandwich" (£3, or $5.86 US).

Speaking of "too cute", I'm personally going for the plush SD Darth Vader (pictured) that the Times lists at #9. But I actually haven't learned anything from the past 30 years and so I'm going to actually play with it. Or use it as a stress reliever whenever I see articles telling us to invest in action figures. See, I believe toys are for playing with, comic books are for reading and collectibles made solely to be collectibles are a waste of space.

For images of all the toys listed in the Times article, check out the gallery below. I also included the unmentioned Galactic Heroes Darth Vader Unmasked toy, because it fits with the criticism that these toys are "too cute." What person who'd seen Jedi as a kid would have ever expected a cute version of the unmasked Vader/Anakin?



[via Fark.com]

This video is a little absurd; most of the re-dubbed dialogue makes little sense; and I can't help but feeling there could be more done with the idea, but isn't it the funniest Star Wars mash-up you've ever seen? A-ha! It's scenes from Star Wars with Darth Vader's lines replaced with those of King Jaffe Joffer from Coming to America. It works because James Earl Jones, who plays Joffer, was also the voice of Vader. But wouldn't it have been more logical to have the whole looking for his son thing to pertain to Luke Skywalker? Well, all mash-ups can't be perfect. Fortunately all the repetition of "A-ha!" and "and ... " makes Star Wars come across as a Monty Python movie, so it is at least hilarious. The only thing better would be if the "Yakkety Sax"-scored clips of Star Wars were combined with this video. That would be even sillier than this other favorite (and official) Star Wars video.

So, I guess there could be more of these mash-ups employing the dialogue of other James Earl Jones roles. Some that I would like to see would feature the lines of The Lion King's King Mufasa, The Sandlot's Mr. Mertle, Field of Dreams' Terrence Mann, Soul Man's Professor Banks and of course Conan the Barbarian's Thulsa Doom. Here's one that would be perfect for Leia's prison scene: "Next time you get arrested, use it to call me. I'll bring you your books. You can study in jail." And this would be appropriate for any old scene dealing with Vader and his minions: "I want them to stop looking to me for answers, begging me to speak again, write again, be a leader. I want them to start thinking for themselves. I want my privacy." OK, I've got the ball rolling; now someone get me those mash-ups. "I'm prepared to compensate you ... Shall we say one ... A-ha!"

Okay, 'fess up: How many of you have fond memories of running around the house in your Star Wars Underoos when you were a kid, with visions of Obi-Wan dancing in your head? But now you're an adult, and while you might wear your custom-made Star Wars outfit when you go to a Con, you can't just go schlepping off to your day job or that hot date with the cute chick from the coffee shop dressed up like a Stormtrooper, right? What you need is a way to pay homage to your Star Wars fanaticism while still looking cool. What to do?

For all you Star Wars fans (and those who love them) here's the perfect gift to give: Star Wars-inspired clothing -- for grownups. According to this piece in the Candadian Press, designer Marc Ecko has come up with a limited-edition line of Star Wars-inspired urban menswear for Macy's. Picture yourself stylin' in that rhinestone-studded Darth Vader hoodie ($78), or perhaps a nail-head Boba Fett tee ($32). My little brother (well, not so little anymore, now that he's 32) had probably every Star Wars action figure ever made before he sold them all off to finance the spendy equipment for his rock band. He would totally love that Darth Vader hoodie ... maybe Santa will leave one under his tree. He'd sure look way cooler wearing that hoodie onstage than one of these get-ups ...

[via Movie City News]

Imagine a villain who's like a female Darth Vader, only more evil, and she'll invoke the worst nightmares for children since the Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. This is how Guardian critic Peter Bradshaw has described Nicole Kidman as Mrs. Coulter in his review of The Golden Compass (aka His Dark Materials: Northern Lights, as it's titled in the UK), which he's given a rating of four stars. As if that's not appealing enough, he also claims the character is Kidman's "juiciest" role since To Die For. According to Bradshaw, it seems Kidman is the main reason to see the movie. His only other highlight is the look of the movie's universe, which he calls "wonderful" and "Gilliamesque." He also points out how it's obvious the movie is aiming for association with Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia. Well, that isn't very surprising.

For a "four star" movie, The Golden Compass, according to Bradshaw, sounds like a mess plot-wise. Aside from looking nice, the movie's universe is apparently "crowded" and "alienating" and the audience is expected to get used to it as best it can, despite a lot of missing background material included in the book. Also, it's apparently more "absurd" than the source novel. Of course, confusing plots and universes aren't always a bad thing to audiences -- just look at the Pirates of the Caribbean series. What could be bad for the movie's box office is its violence; Bradshaw claims a significant polar bear battle could be too much for younger viewers. I have a good feeling that other critics will be less favorable considering the faults that this review seems to address, but of course even with terrible reviews, The Golden Compass could be a hit -- again, just look at the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.

Clearly this is a fan-created, photoshopped poster (click on it for a much larger and cooler version), but they did one helluva job on it, I must say. The poster, I believe, first appeared over on a site called MyConfindedSpace, and it includes characters, scenes and fighter ships from all six films. The only central characters I do not see (or, well, versions of those characters) are the older Obi-Wan (played by Alec Guinness) and the young Anakin (played by Jake Lloyd), from The Phantom Menace. All the others appear to be on there, including a pretty cool image of the older Anakin (Hayden Christensen) morphing into Darth Vader. Unfortunately, you won't be able to buy this in stores or online (unless the person who's selling them wants a visit from a slew of lawyers), but it's certainly pretty to look at. Other characters I would've liked to see make an appearance on this already stacked poster: Jawas, Sand People, Lando's Aide (the bald dude with a computer in his head) and, well, how can you leave off Greedo? Check out the poster, and let us know who you think shouldn't have been left off.

[via Slashfilm]

Oftentimes Hollywood's lack of originality leads to overexposed trends. Remember when every action movie seemed to be easily defined as 'Die Hard on a ...'? Remember when disaster movies were all the rage? And then twenty years later when they were all the rage again? Remember when there were like a hundred body-swapping comedies? Well, there appear to be fewer trends these days, or maybe it's just that Hollywood turns trends into full-blown practices, as in the case of sequels, comic book movies and fantasy films based on literary franchises. Nowadays even a promised trend, like the one involving religious Passion of the Christ copycats, isn't necessarily going to happen. But despite there being so few here-today-gone-tomorrow film fads, there's at least seven bad ideas currently in vogue in Tinsel Town, and all of them need to disappear soon, lest they too become permanent.

1. Torture Porn

I'm going to start with an easy, surely obvious one. Torture porn is the latest trend in horror, a genre that changes its predominant style every few years, and it may be the most despised -- at least by us non-horror junkies. I miss the days when a friend, an actual junkie, could drag me to a harmless scary movie that provided a few screams, a few laughs and afterward, at the most, a few silly nightmares. Now, with each new horror movie there's promise of a seriously depressing experience. After watching The Hills Have Eyes, I realized I hadn't been frightened at all. Instead I wanted to cry my heart out. I haven't been to a horror flick since, and my friend is going solo. Sure, I hear that Eli Roth's movies are a lot more enjoyable than watching a young woman raped while watching her father burned alive and her mother raped and then shot in the head, but I just haven't been in the mood to find out.

Apparently the torture porn trend is already on its way out. Hostel II performed poorly at the box office and Captivity may have peaked too soon, reaching maximum tastelessness before even opening in theaters. So what will be next? I'm rather looking forward to when slasher movies are in fashion again, when I can delight in seeing sinful human beings killed off quickly and deservedly by an implausible maniac. Which brings me to the next trend ...