Netflix Minute: Jiro Dreams of Sushi

Master chef Jiro Ono has been making sushi for over 75 years. He started as an apprentice when he was only 10 years old -- one year after he left home for good and became responsible for his own survival. In the new documentary about his life and work, Jiro Dreams of Sushi, the 86-year-old Jiro lets us in on the secret of success. The chef smirks and says that children shouldn't be allowed home after they leave; they wouldn't be motivated to succeed otherwise. The harshness of those words is belied in Jiro's eyes, however - there is sadness there beyond his tough exterior. This is the true gift of "Jiro Dreams of Sushi": Beyond the food porn and voyeurism into a world many Westerners know nothing of this is a film about a man who turned to self discipline out of necessity and turned it into high art.

The documentary shows us the daily routine of Jiro and his team at his 3 Michelin-star restaurant, Sukiyabashi Jiro. Jiro is the only sushi chef to have ever received this honor and he's also the oldest Michelin recipient in the history of the guide. According to Jiro, his success is owed to a combination of endless repetition and innate talent. He makes no secret of his methods, which are well-known to all sushi chefs, and uses only traditional (although top-of-the-line) ingredients. As we watch Jiro and his staff cook each component (perfect rice, exquisitely sliced tuna, impeccably cooked octopus and eel) it becomes clear that this is more than just cooking for these men; this is ritual, lovingly and dutifully performed.

Dedicated gamer edits all three Uncharted games into movies

If you're familiar with the Uncharted series you've no doubt heard them described as extremely movie-like, Sony even had a commercial that said it. Well, Reddit user morphinapg heard it too, and decided to actually make them into movies. So he got to work playing the games, capturing the video, and editing out unnecessary gameplay to make it as much like a Hollywood blockbuster as possible.

Apparently he isn't the first to do this sort of thing, as the comments section is rife with people linking to other examples like Shenmue, Heavy Rain, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and Metal Gear Solid 3 via a bonus feature on the special edition of the game. It probably says something about the state of video games as a medium that so many of them can be made into effective movies by just cutting out the extraneous gameplay between cut-scenes, but I won't get into that now.

If you played the Uncharted games and want a refresher course without the effort of pushing buttons, here you go. Or if you haven't played the games and would rather just watch them from the very start, that's all up to you, man. Either way, these are pretty awesome. Hit the jump to watch any of the three. Oh, spoilers. Obviously.

The heartwarming story of a nine-year-old boy and his self-made cardboard arcade

Everyone owned their own lemonade stand at some point during their childhood -- mine featured the adorable misuse of the word "free", which I clearly did not understand the meaning of -- but all those stands were likely thrown together in an hour or less and abandoned by the end of that same day. Nine-year-old Caine Monroy from Los Angeles took his childhood business-owning dreams to the next level, though.

Caine spent his summer vacation turning the heaps of leftover boxes from his dad's auto parts store into his own arcade made of cardboard. There were some pretty genius design elements to these hand-crafted games, but sadly, there was almost no foot traffic to his location. Until he got his first customer, who not only loved the experience but decided to help give Caine a big surprise, and film the entire thing.

Seriously, the short film created by this chance encounter with a creative little boy will have smiling ear to ear. Hit the jump to make your day.

First teaser for Rian Johnson's Looper released online

Director Rian Johnson has made a name for himself critically with his past releases -- Brick, a film-noir-take on high school, and The Brothers Bloom, a charming attempt at a con movie. Now he's taking on the sci-fi genre with his upcoming time-travel action flick, Looper.

Time travel can be a pretty hard topic to tackle in media, because there's always a slew of perceptive nerds ready to call you out on any oversight or inaccuracy. Still, given his track record, I'm excited to see what he's come up with.

Hit the jump to point out any logical failings that might have occurred in the teaser trailer.

Can't We All Just Stop with the Spoilers, Please?

I was standing in a comic book shop in the summer of 2005 when I watched as a customer smugly spoiled the ending of the newest Harry Potter book to his friends. His justification was that they would enjoy it anyways and who really cared about a dumb kiddie book. What he didn't see was the 7 year-old behind a rack of books who was crying into his mother's thigh. He looked like he had just been punched in the stomach.

I can't stand spoilers. I believe all people dislike spoilers in some way or another and the personal attachment to the subject being spoiled definitely factors in. For me, I like to be surprised by everything. An action scene that some may find exciting in a trailer just tells me what I can expect at some point in the movie and that can have an effect on my enjoyment of earlier scenes. Maybe this is a little extreme. I think most people probably fall into a looser category.

4 Bands That Should Dip Their Toes in a New Medium

With The Aquabats' show premiering, and the mc chris cartoon on its way, it seems like musicians are stepping out of their normal routine and dabbling in new forms of media. That might not work for every band, but there are plenty who could benefit from trying out some new ways to entertain. Here are four bands that I'd love to see put out something other than music.

GWAR -- TV Show or Video Game

You knew they'd be on my list. GWAR has quite a storied history of sometimes completely nonsensical mythology behind them. Whether it be from their live shows, countless DVDs, or actual music, they're always telling wacky tales that beg to be made into an equally goofy, adult-oriented cartoon. Just look at the popularity of Metalocalypse for proof that this show could work.

I'd love to tune in weekly to see who GWAR was doing battle with next. Maybe they're feeding the human filth to The World Maggot; Maybe they've gone to space in search of Cardinal Syn; Or perhaps they'd just be sitting around their Antarctican fortress snorting crack. No matter what, it'd have to be entertaining.

If that doesn't work, make it a video game. Brutal Legend is your example there, just, leave out the RTS elements. Apparently people don't like that stuff.

Director Jay Cheel Seeks Funds to Make Next Feature-Length Documentary 'How to Build a Time Machine'

Crowd-sourcing your project's budget has become all the rage, especially amongst indie-type creators. And why wouldn't it, what with all the success stories lately. Well Canadian director Jay Cheel is hopping on the bandwagon and asking for help to fund his second full-length documentary, How To Build A Time Machine. The movie will dig into the tale of John Titor, a supposed time-traveller from 2036, who travelled back to 1975 to obtain an IBM 5100 computer, then stopped off in the year 2000 and set off the imaginations of an Internet community of time-travel enthusiasts with details about the future and how his time machine works.

But you've already donated to several projects just in the last month or so and you feel plenty of warm-fuzzies having given to deserving endeavors; Why should you care about yet another? All you'd have to do is watch the simultaneously fascinating and hilarious campaign video after the jump, but I'll tell you why else you should.

It's Always Bloody In Dead Island: Becoming a Movie Character, and then Breaking Out of the Role

There have been many films that portray a foolish decision made by an idiot. It happens often during the course of horror flicks, repeatedly leading to the demise of Dingleberry McNoname. Most of these nincompoops conjure me to speak, out loud, as if they can hear me.

“Don’t go in there,” I say. “Don’t forget your gun!” I courteously remind them. “I warned you,” I eulogize. It’s a sad, bewildering way to end the fictional life of a fictional character on a good-not-great movie.

Yet there I was, living a nightmare, driving recklessly down a narrow road on Banoi Island. I skidded around a corner, as nervous as a teenage girl with braces and holy-cow-those-are-magnifying-glasses glasses, who’s waiting for the phone call from the hottest guy in school (who is really her blood brother that was given-up for adoption by her promiscuous mother, but neither one will find out until they are to be married years down the line), hoping that I could make it safely back to the lifeguard tower. Blood clouded my vision; most of my weapons were broken because I was gang-attacked by a group of overly-cruel zombies; and the truck I was careening around in was in a bad way.

Things looked grim.

What the Movies of 2012 Can Learn From Those of 2011

It hurts to admit this, but I went to the movie theater less in 2011 than I ever have in the ten years since I started working and could afford to go whenever I wanted. It wasn't necessarily the quality of the movies in 2011 but more the lack of ambition. I just didn't feel like I needed to go and see that many movies. With that being said, I will use my favorite movies from last year to illustrate what I would like to see more of in 2012.

Most Anticipated Movies of 2012

Disappointed with last year's movie offerings? Well, don't worry. 2012 is looking to be a bright year for the cinema. This list is chock full of awesomeness that the new year has to offer, so settle down with your buttered popcorn, pop open those M&M's, and throw some elbows to claim that armrest! These are my most anticipated movies of 2012.

The Impending Doom of 3D: Can Hollywood Save its Savior?

What seems like quite a long time ago, the talk of the town was that 3D would be the savior of the film industry. The reincarnated effect was going to make the movies fun again, make new and exciting experiences that couldn't be recreated at home and (most importantly) bring in new revenue for studios that had begun to flounder and stagnate. 3D was going to solve all of their problems, forever. Remember?

So what the hell happened?

Video Round-Up: Awesome Ads Edition

Video Round-Up is a weekly post collecting an assortment of videos from around the web. Whether they be music videos, creative viral marketing, just plain cool, or just plain ridiculous, they will all be found on Video Round-Up.
This week in the Video Round-Up we have a collection of awesome commercials. Whether they are great viral internet ads, awfully hilarious commercials for dumpy local stores, or ingenious send-ups of big company ads by the Davids of the world, we've got them here. So sit back and enjoy being sold to.

Movie Review: Green Lantern

It's understandable that most comic book movies begin as an origin story. Mainstream audiences who are unfamiliar with a character or setting need to be briefed on all the basics of motivation and circumstance that spawned the creation of a superhero. The problem with this is that it leads to “creation fatigue” for comic book fans who are already well-versed in the complete histories of most heroes.

There are only so many reboots of Batman or Spider-Man we can be subjected to before audiences will start thinking, “We get it, already!” Therein lies the problem with Green Lantern: just telling his origin story involves much more than just introducing Hal Jordan and showing how he comes to possess his all-powerful ring. The Green Lantern Corps (an inter-galactic police force) and the Guardians of Oa who are responsible for the creation of the Corps must be introduced as well, in addition to explaining the power that fuels the Green Lanterns and their rings. If you over-simplify these things, what you're left with is pretty lack-luster.

Movie Review: X-Men: First Class

I can't imagine that there was a lot of need for an origin story concerning Professor Xavier and Magneto for the audiences that never read the comics. For fans of the comics who already knew the story, it couldn't have been too exciting given that the movies have taken so many liberties with the canon already. Despite all this, Matthew Vaughn (who impressed with Kick-Ass and Layer Cake) has managed to create a prequel to the X-Men trilogy that not only gives fans a solid schooling in history but is damn entertaining to boot.

Movie Review: Midnight in Paris

Woody Allen puts out a movie a year, a fact that puts him at an immediate disadvantage. While most of his films have good central ideas, they tend to get clouded by mediocre details due to what I can only imagine to be grossly insufficient time and effort. “Midnight In Paris,” however, is an example of what Allen can do when he takes the time to really polish a script and work out the nuances. This film is filled with several familiar Allen tropes, but here he makes them work. This may be because the story is such a perfect vehicle for his style.

“Midnight” is beautifully shot and really low-key, never careening into the melodrama or high-camp comedy that has been his downfall in the past. Rather, “Midnight” feels like a comfortable, leisurely stroll through the very city of its setting. What a great surprise for the early Summer season.

Movie Review: The Hangover Part II

Films rely on surprise to engage their audience. Much in the way that a horror movie wouldn't be scary if you saw the killer stalking his victim for five minutes in broad daylight, a comedy must rely on the unexpected to garner a laugh. Perhaps you see a punchline coming and it's more over the top than you expected or it zigs when you expected a zag. Revisiting a comedy you love is more about reliving the moments you found so hilarious the first time and still finding joy in them. But what if someone took a previous movie, reworked the barest of specifics in the plot summary and then slapped a “2” on it? You'd be expected to pay full price for a sequel that really plays like reheated leftovers...that were left out to get cold again. This is how it is for The Hangover Part II.

Netflix Minute: Young@Heart

Netflix Minute is a weekly feature highlighting a title from Netflix's catalog of instant view films. If you want to spend a night snuggled up with a bag of popcorn and don't want to drive to the video store, this is for you.

Young@Heart was nowhere near my radar when I hit the blue "Play" button on Netflix's website. Less than five minutes in, the sights and sounds of an 80-year old woman singing "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" in front of a full cheering theater audience kept me watching. The premise of the Young at Heart Chorus should do the same for you. Simply put, this movie tells the story of a chorus of a seniors aged 70 and up who tour the world singing songs unconventional for their age.

Movie Review: Bridesmaids

When you think "raunchy comedy about pre-wedding shenanigans starring a group of thirty-somethings", you probably think The Hangover. Producer Judd Apatow and writer/actress Kristen Wiig are trying to change that this summer with their release of Bridesmaids, which attacks the institution of engagement jitters from the female perspective (with no less bluntness, however).

Netflix Minute: The Other Guys

Netflix Minute is a weekly feature highlighting a title from Netflix's catalog of instant view films. If you want to spend a night snuggled up with a bag of popcorn and don't want to drive to the video store, this is for you.

Comedy is a fairly tricky genre to contend with nowadays, especially with so many well-exploited sub-genres like college sex comedy or romantic comedy. Making a truly unique one is no simple task, which is why The Other Guys feels so refreshing before the question of "well how funny is it though?" even hits the table.

Movie Review: Hanna

There comes a point in any adolescent's life where the world is revealed for what it is and the time for childish games is gone. Hanna is fiercely portrayed by Saoirse Ronan as a 16 year-old who has no idea what it means to be a teenager. She has never had time for childish games, nor would she know what they are to begin with. Her father, played by Eric Bana, has raised her on the outskirts of the Arctic Circle, away from anything resembling a normal existence. She has trained all her life, learned every language, and would be a match for any James Bond or Jason Bourne.