A Hype To Remember, Blog

A Hype to Remember: Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983)

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ALL OF US HERE AT AFTER THE HYPE LOVE STAR WARS, BECAUSE… WELL… IT’S STAR WARS!

In honor of Star Wars Day (May 4th) we will be releasing one “Hype to Remember” a day to cover all 8 of the released Star Wars films!  I’m RETURNing today because OF THE JEDI!

 

Three years isn’t the longest you’ve ever had to wait for a sequel.  But when the last movie you saw was Empire Strikes Back, that 3 years might as well be 300.  People were losing thier minds!  Who is the other?  Is Vader really Luke’s dad? WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO HAN??? Then boom!  Revenge of the Jedi trailer is released and, well… at least one of the questions is answered:

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A Hype To Remember, Blog

A Hype To Remember: Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

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All of us here at After The Hype love Star Wars, because… well… it’s STAR WARS!

In honor of Star Wars Day (May 4th) we will be releasing one “Hype to Remember” a day to cover all 8 of the released Star Wars films!  I get the honor of talking about the BEST film in the series thus far – THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK!

 

I jumped on board the Star Wars train roughly around ’97 when they re-released the original trilogy back in theaters, so I had the benefit of knowing that this was part of a larger saga that would (hopefully) be ongoing. It’s weird to go back and watch the original marketing materials for these movies, especially after living through the updates, re-releases, and the marketing for the new movies still to come.

 

This trailer feels very much like a sales pitch, stating matter-of-fact what we’re getting in the movie, which is more of what made the first one so great, plus this new guy LANDO CALRISSIAN. It also spoils a lot of the movie (minus the big reveal), which I wasn’t really expecting.

 

And yet I don’t really mind all that much. There’s a rough-around-the-edges charm here that the franchise has lacked for a long-ass time, and I hope we can get back to that somehow.

 

Anyway! The trailer!

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A Hype to Remember : Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)

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All of us here at After The Hype love Star Wars, because… well… it’s STAR WARS!

In honor of Star Wars Day (May 4th) we will be releasing one “Hype to Remember” a day to cover all 8 of the released Star Wars films!  I’ll kick things off with STAR WARS: EPISODE IV – A NEW HOPE!

Star Wars is so much more than a movie.  It’s a way of life.  I have no idea when the first time I saw Star Wars was, it’s always just been a part of me.  I wish I was around to see this trailer in theaters for the first time.  It’s such a joy to watch.

Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)

 

 

They have no idea how to market this movie!  Is it a fantasy? An action movie? They just keep telling us how great it is, then throwing in a random clip.  Clearly they didn’t have James Earl Jones voice track in yet.  They didn’t have colors on the light sabers.  The whole thing looks like a cheap 70’s sci-fi flop.  But still, somehow, looks totally amazing!  This trailer had a tough job to do, and it does it perfectly!  I can only imagine seeing this once, maybe, then seeing the finished product in theaters!  My mind would have been blown!

I love this trailer, it’s the perfect set up to the perfect movie!

 

A Hype To Remember, Blog

A Hype to Remember: Mass Effect 3

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If I could only play one game series for the rest of my life, that series would be Mass Effect.

 

I’ve been playing a ton of Mass Effect Andromeda, and I can’t shake the feeling that this isn’t Mass Effect. Yes the characters designs are there, they say the right words, and it all looks very Mass Effecty. But it just doesn’t capture that feeling that the original trilogy did. This has to be partly on me right? Maybe I’m not giving this game the a fair shake. But I just don’t feel that excitement I had when ME3 was coming out. Son of Krogan I was excited for that game!

 

I have to watch that trailer again!

MASS EFFECT 3 (2012)

 

 

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Celluladies

Katniss & the Strength of Vulnerability

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When your government forces you to murder teenagers on a live TV show, you really need somebody to hug.

 

Let’s talk about girls.

 

I’m a girl. You may or may not be a girl. But one thing we both know is that girls don’t always get the best roles in film. I watch a lot of action films, and sometimes I’ll watch a movie that is otherwise spectacular, but has zero women in it. Sometimes action films will have a cool prostitute character who keeps our hero grounded emotionally while also having super sweaty sex with him.

 

There was a time when conventional wisdom was that you couldn’t get an action film made with a lady in the lead unless that lady was Angelina.

 

That was then.

 

Now I have all kinds of girl crushes. Watching women kick ass is probably my favorite thing in the whole world besides impressing strangers at a karaoke bar.

 

Every so often I’ll be popping by here to talk about films from the lady perspective. I won’t just stick to action films, but I will start there.

 

One of my biggest girl crushes is Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games. If you haven’t seen the movies, go watch them right now and come back, otherwise you’re gonna be super spoiled by what comes next.

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A Hype To Remember

A Hype to Remember: Fast & Furious (2009)

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There is a solid argument to be made that the Fast and Furious trailer from the 2009 film is one of the greatest teaser trailers of all time.

We here at After the Hype are unashamed FF fans. Well, 3 out of 4 of us are — looking at you Ryan! But I’d argue that without this teaser, there would be no franchise for us to be fans of.

 

I was living in Chicago in a lovely little apartment when this came out.

 

Not anymore
My actual apartment!

 
I had just gotten into this new band, Does It Offend You Yeah?  Then I saw online that they had their music featured in the new Fast and Furious trailer so I decided to give it a shot.  Up to that point, I had enjoyed the first, laughed at the second, and like the rest of the world, skipped the third… But the band is cool, so let’s give it a whirl…

 
W. T. FUCK?

 
I’m so ready to watch that movie!! I ran to my room mates room (Friend and guest of the show Graham) and made him watch it with me. We both agreed, whatever they were smoking when they made Tokyo Drifting to Sleep, they were done with.  I couldn’t have been more pumped.

Now I’m going to watch it again, and beat-by-beat tell you what I’m feeling, as if it were the first time.

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A Hype To Remember: Hellboy (2004)

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There are all manner of things that go bump in the night. This trailer for Guillermo del Toro’s HELLBOY (2004) bumps back.

 

Hellboy was my first introduction to Guillermo del Toro as a filmmaker, and what an introduction it was! This trailer is pretty tame by today’s standards, but it also doesn’t spoil any of the best moments from the film. I can count a few iconic moments that would have easily made their way to a trailer today. Now to dig out my copy of this movie and revisit this fun flick!

HELLBOY (2004)

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Blog, Comic-Con

Comic-Con: A Four-Day Love Affair Spanning Sixteen Years

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COMIC-CON is a yearly event that holds a special place in my heart, and I’m here to take you on a four-day journey spanning sixteen years!

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Christopher Ortiz, and I have been going to the San Diego Comic-Con for sixteen years. Sixteen years of delightful nerd memories that have taken me on this mysterious journey we call life.

 

“Theme From Jurassic Park,” by John Williams. That’s the song I hear come July when I arrive at the San Diego Convention Center. You know the tune, and you sure as hell know the scene; Sam Neil, Laura Dern, and – nerd God himself – Jeff Goldblum are all sitting in Jeeps waiting to see just what the hell Richard Attenborough is so enthusiastic about, when out of nowhere a dinosaur emerges. They are speechless, filled with wonder at the sight, and we as an audience are right there with them. Words don’t suffice, hence those stunning visuals, and that soul-stirring music.

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A Hype To Remember, Blog

A Hype To Remember: Trainspotting (1996)

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Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose this trailer for Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting, just in time for the sequel!

 

You can’t get much better than the drum beat of “Lust for Life” to kick off a trailer, and it sets the tone for the whole movie. The 90’s were a great time for young, dumb anarchist adventures, before it was a little too close to home, and TRAINSPOTTING set the bar high. Hopefully the filmmakers aged along with their audience, and deliver something meaningful to the current generation in T2!

TRAINSPOTTING (1996)

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A Hype To Remember: Dragnet (1987)

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Just the facts, ma’am. We’re looking back to a time when Tom Hanks and Dan Aykroyd joined forces to fight crime.

 

It’s been awhile since I’ve seen this film, and I’d like to revisit it again soon. Watching this trailer, I’m struck by how much the marketing for these kinds of movies has changed while remaining largely the same. That said, there’s a sense of goofiness here that has largely disappeared in the modern trailer. Would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little sad about that.

DRAGNET (1987)

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