chris | word

I’m a big fan of movies. Some of you might already know that. I have a particular fondness for movies from the 70s and in particular, conspiracy/thrillers.

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.

I’ve been very busy getting The Flickcast on its feet at new hosting (Thank you Media Temple) so I’ve been remiss with the blog. Shocking, I know. Fortunately, I’ve got a great video to share with you this week.

I don’t have much to say about this video except that its extremely funny, especially if you’re an avid fan of both Magnum, P.I. and Star Wars. Which, I’m happy to say, I am.

Enjoy this and realize what it took to make it work. These guys are pretty smart indeed.

I like space stuff. Some of my favorite movies and TV shows have been about space. Shows like Apollo 13, The Right Stuff and From the Earth to the Moon have always fascinated me. So, I’m pretty interested in the new movie Moon starring Sam Rockwell and directed by Duncan Jones.

The trailer looks great and gives some good insight into the psychology of isolation that’s obviously going to play out in the film. Plus, I’ve always been a fan of Sam Rockwell. I’m looking forward to seeing this one as soon as I can. Enjoy.

Oh, and I’ll just take this moment to mention that there’s a new episode of The Flickcast now available We’ve also we’ve started posting some other material today as well. So, head on over and check it out.

Today’s special Tuesday edition of ‘Video Friday’ comes from a show called Robot Chicken. If you are not watching Robot Chicken, you should be. It’s that good.

I won’t bother making any brilliant, funny or incisive comments about the video. Suffice to say that its just plain awesome and you should watch it. Now.

Much like previous weeks, this Friday brings another “Star Wars” themed video. Yes, I like Star Wars, so what? When you have your own blog you can post videos about your favorite movies, no matter what they are.

Until then, enjoy this one about, you guessed it, “Star Wars.” Did I mention this is about “Star Wars”? I just want to make sure I mention “Star Wars” enough so there’s no confusion regarding this video. Its about “Star Wars.” Clear? Good. Enjoy.

Here he is. Its Matt Smith, the eleventh actor to portray the iconic character. He seems like a nice enough fellow — at least in this interview. He also seems genuinely excited to have the role. How will he be as the Doctor? I guess we’ll find out soon enough. Enjoy.