I was at the Grove tonight to see a screening of director Steven Soderberg’s latest movie Haywire. It’s an action extravaganza starring MMA sensation Gina Carano, Michael Fassbender, Channing Tatum, Ewan McGregor and Michael Douglas.

I will be doing a full review later this week for The Flickcast. For now, just enjoy the above picture I took at the Grove this evening.

Yes, it’s actually even nicer than it looks in the picture.

On a related note, we’ve made the decision over at The Flickcast to make the site dark in protest of SOPA and PIPA. We firmly believe in stopping piracy but we don’t want to give up liberty to do it.

For more on how you can get involved, go HERE.

Because of my personal disgust with SOPA and PIPA, i won’t be posting here at all tomorrow either. Be back Thursday.

Have a great day off from me.

One of my favorites is the Peter Hyams sci-fi conspiracy thriller Capricorn One. It stars James Brolin, Elliott Gould, Sam Waterston, Hal Holbrook, Brenda Vaccaro and O.J. Simpson. In case you’re not familiar (and we could get into a bit of spoiler territory here), it concerns a group of NASA scientists who, along with some astronauts, fake a mission to and landing on Mars.

The astronauts go along with it until something goes wrong with the spacecraft sent up as part of the fake missions and the entire world ends up thinking they’re dead. So, in order for the conspiracy to keep going they have to be dead. . . for real.

Knowing this, they escape and try to survive long enough to let people know they’re alive and it was all a big hoax. It’s a fun movie and well worth watching. Give it a try.

For fun I’ve included the trailer for the film below. It’s fun to watch trailers made before MTV and before people’s attention spans dropped off to nothing. The editing style is so very different.

Of course, I bowed to convention and did one. It was published over at The Flickcast. However, because I like to help and I like you, I’ve included it below as well.

No need to thank me.

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As is the usual practice almost anywhere were column inches or post counts matter, writers such as myself take to their keyboards and make lists. I am no exception and, with a great deal of difficulty and toil, have managed to cobble together a list of what I think are some of the best things of 2011.

I don’t really want to bore you with a lot of explanations as to why I picked what I did. Suffice it to say these picks are mine and mine alone. Also, they are not in any particular order, mostly because I find it hard to rank them that closely. Or, I was just too lazy.

Either way, here you go.

Movies

Drive
The Artist
Attack the Block
X-Men: First Class
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
The Descendants
Thunder Soul
13 Assassins
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Hugo

TV

Game of Thrones
Fringe
Community
Homeland
Breaking Bad
Justified
Sons of Anarchy
Archer
Happy Endings
Boardwalk Empire

Games, Gadgets, Software, iOS Apps, etc.

Apple iPhone 4S
Apple iPad 2
Apple iOS 5
Wordpress
Final Draft
iA Writer
Batman: Arkham City
Cal of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Saints Row: The Third
Forza Motorsport 4

Comics

Detective Comics Batman (DC)
Justice League (DC)
Green Lantern (DC)
Irredeemable (BOOM! Studios)
Daredevil (Marvel)
Criminal: Last of the Innocents (Icon / Marvel)

I don’t think it’s much of a secret that I’m a film nerd. I love movies of all genres but have a special place in my heart for sci-fi. Among my favorites is Ridley Scott’s 1982 film Blade Runner.

The film, an adaptation of Phillip K. Dick’s novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,” made quite an impression on me as a young man. I saw the film at a rough cut screening in San Diego after having won tickets on a local radio station and was treated to a version somewhat different from the finished product. It was a great experience.

I’ve watched the film so many times since that day and each time I still see something new in it. It was definitely before its time and not something soon to be repeated — any potential reboot/remake notwithstanding.

One of the stars of the film is Sean Young. She played Rachel, the replicant who thought she was human. During my travels in Hollywood I almost worked with Sean on a film but she ended up doing it and I ended up dropping out. At least I had the pleasure of meeting her once during pre-production.

She could not have been nicer during the meeting and towards the end even put up with a few Blade Runner questions from me that had absolutely nothing to do with the project we were talking about at the time. I enjoyed that meeting very much.

Recently, Sean put up a bunch of polaroid photos of her, and others, taken during the Blade Runner shoot. They are pretty cool and show a lot of my favorite actors as their younger selves. They also give us a glimpse into the friendship and bond that takes place during the making of a film.

I’ve often heard people in the business describe the filmmaking process as like going to war. You have a mission and you have a group of people all working together to reach a common objective. I’ve never been to war nor do I ascribe the same significance to filmmaking as I do to the sacrifices made by our men and women in uniform.

However, I get what they mean. Long hours, sometimes difficult working conditions and a sense that you’re isolated except for the rest of the people working with you can lead to that esprit de corps often talked about in military circles.

I’ve experienced the bond and friendship that comes from hours, days, weeks and months “in the trenches” and often it is an amazing experience that you keep with you for the rest of your life. It’s one of the things I miss most about working in the business, on set, helping to create something.

Still, I do like what I’m doing now. Writing is, in some ways, much harder. But is also very rewarding when you know you’ve done a good job on something. As you often work alone, you don’t develop the camaraderie and bond as you would on set but the sense of accomplishing and creating something is certainly there, and often more pronounced.

No, I don’t think I would change how things are now. I’ve got my memories of the good times and I’m still great friends with many of my comrades in arms. For me, those are enough.

It’s fun and cool and goes a long way to tell you exactly what the movie is about. Which is, of course, everything you would want from a movie poster.

Plus, the movie looks pretty awesome too with a great cast including Danny Trejo, Robert DeNiro, Michelle Rodriguez, Jessica Alba, Jeff Fahey, Steven Segal and Lindsey Lohan. I know, right?

Check it out and enjoy. Also, if it’s still up, check out the trailer for the film over at The Flickcast.

I give you Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow in Iron Man 2. You’re welcome.

So, here’s my list of the best films of 2009, in no particular order. Enjoy.

Inglourious Basterds — 2009 saw the return of director Quentin Tarantino and the release of this amazing film. Some might consider it overlong or self-indulgent, but it showcases Tarantino’s filmmmaking skills at their finest and serves as an example of one filmmaker’s singular vision and immense storytelling craft.

This film provides the audience with something they never got from real life: closure. To finally see the Nazis, and in particular Hitler, get the ending they deserve is a testament to the power of this film and to its creator.

Star Trek — Coming along just when we needed it, director J.J. Abrams reboot of the franchise shows us that you can make a new movie based on an old, beloved franchise and manage to thrill new and old fans alike. The casting of Chris Pine as Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock and Karl Urban as McCoy helped catapult this film into the stratosphere of great entertainment. Truly one of the best “popcorn” movies of 2009 and the last decade.

A Single Man — Fashion designer and now director Tom Ford shows that talent in one arena can often mean talent in another. His story of a gay man coming to terms with the death of his longtime companion features a moving performance by Colin Firth, with deft support by Julianne Moore, and gives us a glimpse into how people deal with loss and the emptiness of being alone — even among other people.

Drag Me to Hell – Sam Raimi returned to form with this terrific horror film which shows why he’s considered by many to be one of the masters. Sadly, there was no Bruce Campbell appearance, but the movie still managed to thrill, chill and scare the crap out of audiences without resorting to extensive, and unnecessary, blood and gore. It was great to see Raimi do a film like this that he, and everyone involved, so obviously enjoyed making.

The Hurt Locker — Director Katherine Bigelow shows why she’s one of the best working today with her look at the Iraq war from the perspective of a bomb disposal squad. With a standout performance by actor-to-watch Jeremy Renner as the thrill-seeking William James, this film eschewed the political agenda and gave us a “boots on the ground” look at the horrors of modern war.

The Road – Even though it performed poorly at the box office, director John Hillcoat’s adaptation of the Cormac McCarthy novel ranks among the years best films. With brilliant performances by Viggo Motensen and newcomer Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Road is at times shocking, frightening, touching, harrowing and thought provoking. It shows us what humanity is capable of at its worst and at its best and reminds us, even with all the evil things that happen in the world, that love is the most important thing of all.

Up In the Air – This testament to doing what you do best and doing it with others only further showcased the immensely appealing talents of George Clooney. This funny, intelligent film serves to remind us of the importance other people can play in our daily lives. Sure, its nice to be on your own sometimes, but life is usually better when you live it with someone else.

District 9 – Director Neill Blomkamp showed that you don’t need a studio or a big budget to make edgy, though provoking, sci-fi entertainment. This standout film combines all that’s best about movies into one entertaining and visually impressive package. Even with the film’s thinly disguised political message, its inventive style, writing, direction and standout performances, particularly by Sharlto Copley, helped elevate this modestly budgeted, yet highly ambitions, film into the top echelon this year.

A Serious Man — The Coen brothers tale of Jewish guilt and sacrifice took me by surprise this year and over time has worked its way onto my list. This tale of a man’s struggle against his oppressive life resonates even if you’re lack of Jewish knowledge hinders you and occasionally prevents you from figuring out what all the fuss is about. Fortunately, this film explores themes and problems universal to the human condition that most anyone can relate to, which is one of the things that makes it such a great film.

Zombieland – This was one of the great surprises of the year. You’re with the movie and the characters from the first moments all the way to the end. You instantly like them, root for them and when the end does finally come, you’re sad to see them go. Zombieland offers a great time at the movies and though it doesn’t give us much of anything new to chew on in the zombie genre, its just so damn much fun and the cast is so enjoyable, you don’t mind one bit.

Special Mention: Avatar – Say what you will about James Cameron and his movies (and I have) but he knows how to deliver entertainment. Sure, it may not have the most original story and has some cringe-worthy dialog, but there’s no denying that Avatar packs more visual punch than ten normal movies. While it may not change the face of entertainment as we know it, it certainly is worth seeing and ranks among the most interesting and visually compelling movies of all time.

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Other films I thought were very impressive this year but didn’t quite make the cut include The Hangover, Precious, Moon, Anvil! The Story of Anvil, The Informant!, Watchmen, The Invention of Lying and Paranormal Activity.