Wholpin no. 6

"Movies began in the short form, but quickly shorts became nothing more than ballast for features, and then, come the '60s, were not even that. (Anthology-style TV series may count — think of each "Twilight Zone" episode as a 24-minute short — but look how that format has fallen out of favor as well.) Filmmakers continue to make them, largely as résumé-builders, but a substantial audience has never been acculturated to appreciate them.

We could use a broad variety of semi-annual DVD "magazines" releasing shorts into the public bloodstream, but Wholphin is already much better than that — like Eggers's other periodicals, it's a magazine/program with a distinctly ironic personality, an endlessly entertaining point of view and a rabid hunger for what's brand new and supercool, internationally, in this least market-impacted region of moviemaking. Not just any decent short is allowed through the door — the Wholphin philosophy runs toward the eccentric and politically radical, while largely excluding the abstract-underground school and the earnest political doc. Anyone at all would be well-served by catching up with volumes one through five (editions have come biannually since 2005), which have already included, amidst eye-popping nature footage (trap-jaw ants, drunk bees, etc.), re-dubbed Russian sitcoms and excerpts from idiosyncratic features, and some of the most spectacular and vital shorts I've ever seen: Anthony Lucas's "The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello," Bill Morrison's re-edited lost film "The Mesmerist," Alice Winocour's lobster tribulation "Kitchen," Olivo Barbieri's eye-defying "site specific_LAS VEGAS 05," Ray Tintori's junkyard Oz neo-myth "Death to the Tinman," the Oscar-nominated mega-retro-animation "Madame Tutli-Putli," inexplicable chapters from Spanish astro-surrealist César Velasco Broca's "Echos Der Buchrücken" and so, fabulously, on. Wholphin No. 6 does not disappoint, from the electrifying science fiction of Catherine Chalmers' digi-vid insect close-ups (used, as Wholphin is wont to do, as menu-movies, as well as an independent entry, "Safari") to Matthew Lessner's "Darling Darling," a domestic absurdism starring Michael Cera and featuring multiple dubbing options, involving either John Cleese or Daniel Handler, but not both. But the best spoonfuls range from an excerpt from Weijun Chen's doc "Please Vote for Me," in which Chinese grade-schoolers are instructed to wage classroom campaigns that quickly devolve into all-too-familiar democratic skullduggery; Adam Keker's "On the Assassination of the President," a mock-classified-briefing film that whips up a computerized Pynchonian conspiracy lather in just six minutes; "Lucky," Nash Edgerton's slam-bang snatch of harrowment that barely gets from a locked trunk into a hurtling car's driver seat; and Randy Krallman's "Force 1 TD," which matter-of-factly, and sweetly, mates gangsta life and seeing-eye Shetlands. Each Wholphin comes with a rather McSweeney's-ish booklet of interviews and statements, where the queries most often answered are, how and why in the hell did you do that?
Source: www.ifc.com/film

Prince of Persia's mythology

"The story is also loosely based on Persian mythology and the twin gods Ormazd (read: good) and Ahriman (read: bad). It seems that something's amiss with the Tree of Life--which holds the power of life and death--and an evil corruption is spreading across the land. Throughout your quest you'll need to heal the world one area at a time by destroying enemies that serve as a manifestation of that corruption, thereby ridding the land of it. The enemies you'll encounter in Prince of Persia represent physical manifestations of the corruption. They're neither human nor mechanical but instead are a result of the gooey, organic corruption coagulating into adversaries, which, unlike in previous games where you fought multiple enemies at once, now have to be taken out one at a time. The series has always had elements of acrobatics, puzzle-solving, and combat. However, on this outing the prince will have to rely more heavily on acrobatics to advance through the game. That isn't to say there won't be any adversaries or any puzzles to solve, but the emphasis will be more on exploration and using the prince's abilities to reach new areas. Standard Prince of Persia moves are back, but the prince also now sports a glowing, metallic glove that will allow you to perform an array of new moves, including the Grip Fall--a move that gives you a second chance in instances where you might otherwise have plunged to an untimely death.

The game has a partly open-ended structure, in that the order in which you explore each area is completely up to you. However, the path to each objective will still be linear. The developers didn't elaborate, but we were told that the order in which you complete the objectives will also have an effect on gameplay.

The game's world is divided into dark and light areas, which represent the two states of cursed land and healed land. One of the major objectives in one of the regions we saw was represented by a beam of light that extended high into the sky. When we came close to reaching the healing ground from which it emitted, we were confronted by a huge beastly creature called a hunter. After a short fight he was disposed of, and we were then ready to step into the light, presumably to vanquish corruption from the region, yet unfortunately for us, it was at this point that the demonstration drew to a close.

Prince of Persia will be making its way to the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, and DS later this year. Source: www.gamespot.com
"The new game's plot will return to the Arabian Nights and Persian mythology, specifically retelling the legend of twin good and evil deity brothers Ohrmazd and Ahriman. According to myth, Evil Brother (Ahriman) was once imprisoned within a magic box after a battle between the twins turned ugly, but he is accidentally unleashed upon the world when the box is opened by an unsuspecting desert bandit. As Ahriman ravages the world, the thief (i.e. the Prince) must rise to his destiny as a true hero by correcting his mistake and setting things right in the world. Ubisoft's description of this progression sounds almost Okami-like, with trees growing, life flourishing, and the land returning to health in real-time as Ahriman's evil is re-sealed by the Prince in mystical wells.

The new game's plot has zero connection with the events of the previous Prince of Persia games, making us wonder whether or not we're even going to be talking about the same type of princely archetype at all. Creative director Jean-Christophe Guyot describes the game as "Zelda-esque" with "old school, very contrasting levels" leading ultimately to more open and organic gameplay than in previous PoP games.
Combat has been given a similar overhaul, with a focus self-described by the development team as "less God of War and more Soul Calibur." Ubisoft says that the emphasis this time around is on strong one-on-one duels with villains who (we're guessing) correspond roughly to the kind of theatrical foe more commonly seen in a game like Metal Gear Solid". Source: www.1up.com

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The Prince of Persia E3 Trailer:

Joker make-up

Similar make-up, don't you think?
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"The Prince of Persia" graphic novel trailer

Prince of Persia Videoclips

"Destiny brings together two princes from different centuries of historic Persia in this fantastical epic graphic novel. As their city begins to fall, and everything they believe in crumbles and decays, they find that only they can stand against the twilight of their eras.

Created by Jordan Mechner, the creator of the Prince of Persia video games, this graphic novel is beautifully written by award-winning poet A.B. Sina and strikingly illustrated by LeUyen Pham and Alex Puvilland".

Actual Footage of Mechner's Motion Study for Prince of Persia 1
© 1998 The Learning Company, Inc. and its subsidiaries, and Jordan Mechner. All Rights Reserved. Prince of Persia is a registered trademark and Red Orb Entertainment is a trademark of The Learning Company, Inc

Actual Footage of the Motion Study for Prince of Persia:

Michelle Williams and Spike Jonze

"Following the devastating loss of her ex-fiancé Heath Ledger in January, it is rumoured that Michelle Williams has finally found love again, and is dating Spike Jonze.

The actress and director worked together last year, when Williams won a role in Jonze's film, Syecdoche, and they quickly became friends.

Now US magazine Star is reporting that the Brokeback Mountain star has been spotted visiting the director's New York apartment on a number of occasions recently, and that an eye-witness spotted them kissing outside.

The source revealed, 'Michelle kissed Spike with a closed mouth on the corner of his lips. There was definitely a bit of caressing going on. She was clutching his arm.'Jonze is the ex-husband of Lost In Translation director Sofia Coppola, and has previously been linked to Drew Barrymore". Source: www.marieclaire.co.uk

Maggie Gyllenhaal in Tokyo

"Maggie Gyllenhaal dons a daring orange see-through dress by Jean Paul Gaultier at the Japanese premiere of The Dark Knight held at Tokyo International Forum on Thursday in Tokyo, Japan.

The Dark Knight has been dominating the international box office with $65.6 million at 7,143 theaters in 43 markets, pushing its foreign cumulative take to $126.3 million. It’s international gross total stands right now at $126.3 million, and worldwide at over $440 million.

The Batman sequel will open on August 9th in Japan. France, Germany, South Korea, and Spain will also have their release dates in August". Source: JustJared.buzznet.com