'A Dream of Flying'

Written and narrated by Neil Gaiman, A Dream of Flying is an excellent short film about a girl who can fly. Rather than experiencing true freedom through her abilities though, she is put into an institution with other gifted children, where the adults try to "cure" them and force them to become "normal".

Stories like this, no matter how beautiful, always aggravate me a little inside. If such gifted individuals were ever discovered, I'd like to think that we would celebrate them rather than react out of fear. But maybe I'm just naïve.

How would you react?

Dear Mr. Watterson

Here's the trailer for the upcoming documentary that takes a look at the life and work of Bill Watterson, the creator of Calvin and Hobbes. It would be an understatement to say that I'm really excited about seeing this film.

After you watch the trailer, be sure to also check out Gavin Aung Than's excellent comic-strip recreation of Watterson's most famous inspirational speech over on Zen Pencils.

Hayao Miyazaki is Retiring

Miyazaki's (and by extension, Studio Ghibli's) films have always been some of my favorites, with their often-breathtaking visuals, interesting characters, and a certain passion for flight. I'll be sad to see Miyazaki go.

iTunes Movie Bundle Sale

A whole bunch of awesome HD film bundles are currently on sale in the iTunes store at huge discounts. Here are some of the better deals I've seen so far:

• Harry Potter Complete Collection — $60 (normally $126)
• The Lord of the Rings Trilogy — $10 (normally $45)
• The Matrix Trilogy — $10 (normally $45)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1-3 — $10 (normally $45)
• Jurassic Park Trilogy — $20 (normally $45)
• The Bourne Collection — $30 (normally $60)
• X-Men Quadrilogy — $25 (normally $60)
• Spider-Man Trilogy — $20 (normally $33)
• Star Trek 1 - 10 — $50 (normally $100)
• Blade Trilogy — $18 (normally $45)
• Lethal Weapon Movie Collection — $20 (normally $60)
• Austin Powers Collection — $18 (normally $40)
• Back to the Future Trilogy — $20 (normally $45)
• Die Hard Ultimate Collection — $40 (normally $75)
• Taken Double Feature — $13 (normally $30)
• Ice Age Triple Pack — $18 (normally $45)
• Night at the Museum Double Feature — $13 (normally $30)
• The Godfather Trilogy: The Coppola Restoration — $20 (normally $54)

The Harry Potter bundle is especially crazy because it has all eight films for only ten bucks. I think I'll be picking up that one, the Bourne Collection, and the X-Men Quadrilogy.

UPDATE: It looks like the Harry Potter collection has jumped up to $60. Still a decent deal comparatively, but come on, Apple :(

"Man of Steel Broke My Heart"

Mark Waid, author of Superman Birthright, gives his (somewhat spoiler-y) review of the new Man of Steel film. Given that the film just came out last night and most people haven't had time to see it yet, I'm opting not to blockquote anything Mark wrote.

Once you've seen the film though, head over there and read the review because it's very good. I don't entirely agree with Mark's vision for how Superman should be characterized throughout the canon, but I definitely feel where he's coming from.