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Showing posts from April, 2010

The Hobbit Pushed to 2013

Warner Bros. and IMAX Corp. have just issued a joint press release announcing a partnership through 2013 that will include placing upwards of 20 Warner Bros. films into IMAX theaters, (the biggest being Inception , Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pts. 1 & 2 , Happy Feet 2 , Batman 3 , as well as the new Superman film). The biggest news to come out of this whole thing is a tentative release date for The Hobbit of December 2013, two years after its initial date of December 2011. We assume part one will debut in 2013 and part 2 in 2014. Producer Peter Jackson revealed last week that both scripts for the two-part adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic fantasy novel are finished and apparently production will begin later in 2011. Good to see that despite MGM's financial woes that the film will commence filming within the next year.

Metropolis Is Fully Remastered and Coming to You

Fritz Lang's Metropolis, long forgotten and ravaged by time has been remastered and an additional twenty-five minutes of footage has been added. The film’s national theatrical release will occur on May 7, with a NY premiere at Film Forum, and on April 14, at Laemle’s Royal Theater in Los Angeles – followed by runs in all major markets throughout the US and Canada. If you cannot attend those (and really who can?) the DVD and Blu-ray release is set for November of this year.

Thoughts: The Losers (***)

I don't know why they were called The Losers . They were all quite accomplished, successful, and capable... of wide-scale carnage! It was a dumb action flick, but wasn't bad as those go; it was surely entertaining.

Avatars 2 & 3 Mapped Out

When interviewed by the LA Times plugging the Earth Day dvd release of Avatar Cameron revealed his larger plans for the franchise's proposed trilogy: "We created a broad canvas for the environment of film. That’s not just on Pandora, but throughout the Alpha Centauri AB system. And we expand out across that system and incorporate more into the story – not necessarily in the second film, but more toward a third film. I’ve already announced this, so I might as well say it: Part of my focus in the second film is in creating a different environment – a different setting within Pandora. And I’m going to be focusing on the ocean on Pandora, which will be equally rich and diverse and crazy and imaginative, but it just won’t be a rain forest. I’m not saying we won’t see what we’ve already seen; we’ll see more of that as well." I may be in the minority that really enjoyed the film, but I definitely want to see where Cameron goes with this. His work in the oceans in The A

Easy A Teaser Trailer

I think we're all familiar with a tune that initially we don't like, but grows on us after a very short period. "Hot & Cold" was stuck in my head when it first came out despite my intense dislike of Top 40 music. Easy A is about highschool student, Olive Penderghast (Emma Stone) whom after a little white lie about losing her virginity gets out, sees her life paralleling Hester Prynne's in "The Scarlet Letter," and decides to use the rumor mill to advance her social and financial standing.

Bond 23 Delayed

What will be viewed as a disappointment to many the 23rd Bond film while be delayed indefinitely until MGM's financial solution becomes clear. “Due to the continuing uncertainty surrounding the future of MGM and the failure to close a sale of the studio, we have suspended development on BOND 23 indefinitely. We do not know when development will resume and do not have a date for the release of BOND 23,” stated Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli jointly. I can only hope that MGM figures their stuff out before production of the Daniel Craig continuation of the Bond franchise and the Guillermo Del Toro helmed Hobbit film are driven too far back. Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace are two of the best Bond films in a long time and I want to see where this blonde Bond goes.

Superman Returns: A Retrospective

It has been almost four years since Bryan Singer's Superman Returns hit theatres and for the most part it has remained maligned by the community. Superman is a huge part of the collective consciousness of the pop culture lexicon. The story of a man who leaps tall buildings in a single bound is well known and all those familiar with Superman/Clark Kent's origin can find something to relate to. Superman Returns arrived at theatres with the excitement of seeing the Man of Steel returning to celluloid for the first time in nineteen years. Unfortunately, the return was met with stunted optimism in the midst of two wars, diminished prestige of the United States, and the beginnings of an economic downturn. The spectacle of Returns never seemed to really captivate with all of the action sequences requiring Superman/Clark Kent (Brandon Routh) to only catch a plane, carry an island out of the ocean, and getting shot in the eye. The film seemed like the reel was dragged

Review: Kick-Ass

After attending a screening of Matthew Vaughn's film, was surprised how badly this film played to me. I fit the main demographic Kick-Ass  is aimed at (under 25 male, superhero enthusiast) and despite that everyone else at the screening really seemed to enjoy Kick-Ass . I wouldn't have written anything about the film, except the general theme of reviews seems to be that this is Pulp Fiction meets Spider-man . While it could be argued that the film is fun, it isn't up to par with a Batman Begins , or Iron Man . The story starts off with a voice-over narration of Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) as the overlooked high-school student who decides that becoming a superhero in this day and age can be achieved. He dons the suit and mask of Kick-Ass and the story goes on. Unfortunately for Kick-Ass he discovers that he isn't even the most qualified vigilante on the streets and is soon outshined by the foul-mouthed and probably deranged Hit-Girl (Chloe Moritz) and

"Yes, I'm Still on Hold."

We enter the warehouse panning slowly from an expansive room closer to the desk of Barry Egan (Adam Sandler). He is pushed up against the corner speaking timidly to a line operator regarding airline miles--the currency of the future. Sandler scans the newspaper ad as if he were Indiana Jones in the proverbial Lost Ark. The isolation of the warehouse is soon to be contrasted by dreams of Hawaii. Escape is near and he'll be damned if it gets away from him this time.

Conan Back on T.V.

Conan O'Brien will be returning to television this November at TBS following the World Series! Many had speculated that he would end up at FOX, but the appeal of keeping control of his show and his audience was too much of a pull as he went to the Atlanta based cable network. His new TV show will air Mondays through Thursdays at 11 p.m.

Regret.

Joe Wright's Atonement did many things - one of which was remove the romantic aura from World War II - something a great deal of period films never do. Robbie Turner (James McAvoy) is a man falsely accused of rape forced into joining the army or rotting in prison. Four years have come and gone from his life and he is still no closer to reuniting with his love, Cecilia (Keira Knightley). He is suffering from considerable exhaustion and this scene captures the loss he's experiencing in the most haunting fashion.

Disney Puts 'Tron' Cart Before the Horse

The Hollywood Reporter has scooped that Lost co-writers Edward Kitsis and Josh Horowitz have been set in motion to write a third TRON film before Tron Legacy even hits theatres in December. While the cast and director Joseph Kosinski are lacking deals if buzz keeps building for Tron Legacy a sequel wouldn't be out of the question.

Inception's Dream Machine Revealed?

/Film editor and writer Peter Sciretta came across some Inception merchandise while attending the panel for Christopher Nolan's latest film and it included this t-shirt. More is becoming clear about the film as the year progresses and it appears as if Warner Bros. is definitely expecting something big from this film. (Courtesy: /Film)

Review: Greenberg

Writer/director Noah Baumbach has always been accused of being a cynic and for the most part, when he isn't teaming up with Wes Anderson, that is the truth, but Greenberg dials it up to eleven on the miserable bastard scale. Don't get me wrong Greenberg succeeds as a comedy, but only on the same plane that  A Serious Man did. This film will definitely be an acquired taste. The film opens up in a way that many films about California do not, instead of the splendor of Hollywood what we see instead are mass amounts of smog overtaking everything in sight. A way of foreshadowing Roger Greenberg's (Ben Stiller) mindset? Absolutely. The relationship between Florence (Greta Gerwig) is a hard-to-watch-one at best. While she sees a vulnerability in Greenberg, the audience sees an abusive relationship slowly unfolding to several awkward attempts at having sex because, "it feels good". Given that  Greenberg starts from her point of view is strange  considering F

The Losers Trailer

For those of you who haven't seen the trailer for The Losers yet, or haven't heard that Chris Evans is confirmed as Captain America, or don't know who Chris Evan is watch this. Mama didn't raise no fool may be the funniest thing in the whole trailer.