Well, at least you can’t say the studio isn’t behind them. The 4th instalment of the Harry Potter series will cost just slightly less money to make that all three of the Lord of the Rings films. Just think of that for a moment. What on earth are they planning for this film? Even if all the marketing for the movie sucks I’m still curious to see it just to witness what on earth they needed $305 million for. The Hogwarts Wire printed the following:

The Sunday Mail is reporting that Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire will be the most expensive film every made, according to director Mike Newell. Goblet of Fire will cost $305 million dollars, or √Ǭ£170 million, to make. Newell said: ”I think of myself as being really lucky. I’m going to make the most expensive film there has ever been. ‘These things are not like ordinary films they are world events.” Newell also said casting Madame Maxime has been difficult, saying: ”We are casting right now. I’ve been in Paris, looking for giant women and French schoolgirls.”

Looks like the fourth instalment of the Indiana Jones serise is in print. According to FilmForce:

Frank Darabont, the Young Indiana Jones writer, has completed his script for a fourth and final Indiana Jones movie, Variety magazine reports. Since it sounded like a more-or-less script was already in Spielberg’s hands last summer, this version of the screenplay may be a more polished re-write. “I’ve finished my work, so now it’s in the hands of God, or Spielberg and Lucas, if you prefer,” said Darabont. Darabont has been working on the script in close collaboration with presumed-director Spielberg, producer Lucas, and lead actor Harrison Ford.

Indiana Jones promises to follow in the footsteps of its wildly successful predecessors with lighthearted, globetrotting action. With Harrison Ford not getting any younger, the story will be set a decade or two later than The Last Crusade.

Read the whole article here.

Oh Yes! The Razzies are here! For those of you who may not know, the Razzies are the Anti-Oscar. Each year they give out the WORST awards, and a lot of people (including me) have come to anticipate them almost as much as the Oscars themselves! Even Al Pacino is nominated this year for Worst Supporting Actor for his work in Gigli. My pics are in red. Anyway, here’s the official nominee list. The “awards” are given out the day before the Oscars.

From the Internet Movie Database:

This (Danny the Dog) is the story of Danny(Li), a slave who has lived his whole life without any sort of normal human education, with the mind and personality of a young child, with only one lesson learned: how to fight. Treated like a dog by his owner/boss, Bart(Hoskins) which includes having to wear a collar, Danny has been raised to be a lethal fighting machine who fights in illegal gladiator-style fight clubs, where he earns lots of money for Bart as the undisputed champion. After a car accident that lands Bart in a coma, however, Danny meets a kind elderly blind piano tuner(Freeman) on the run because he knows secrets some bad guys don’t want known, who uses music to teach Danny some things about the world and about being human…

Hmmm… I love Morgan Freeman, and I really like Jet Li… but I have to admit this isin’t exactly a pair I ever thought I’d see on the screen together. I’m also not sure about the sound of this story. It sounds a little lame. Oh well, time will tell. I’ll drop $10 to see it when it comes out.

A couple of weeks ago I made the trek out to Toronto to Day-Vuh’s place to watch a DVD called “Hero“. It stars Jet Li and Day-Vuh insisted it was an amazing film. He was understating it. Hero is just a magical piece of film making that unfortunately has yet to be released in North American markets. Here’s what some of the critics said about it:

“Zhang Yimou may have dipped his cinematic pen in mere genre, but in doing so, he has inscribed a masterpiece.”
- Richard Corliss, TIME MAGAZINE

“A dazzlingly lensed, highly stylized meditation on heroism and the point at which individualism conflicts with the common good.”
- Derek Elley, VARIETY

Now there are some rumbling about there being a sequel. If you’ve seen Hero you’ll understand why I have a hard time imagining how they could do a follow-up film. Harry Knowles over at Ain’t It Cool News put it best:

I’m not really sure how anyone could possibly conceive of doing a sequel to HERO, I personally felt the ending was magnificently FINAL in it’s imagery and for the narrative itself. For those of you, who have seen the first film, please respect those that have yet to see the movie and that have been waiting patiently in the hopes that Miramax would in fact one day release this film which was nominated for Best Foreign Film… LAST YEAR.

I repeated myself in the title on purpose. Because the truths in the sentence number a few depending on how you look at it.

This movie is a true character piece and a SOLID one at that. Each character is very real, with ranging emotions and not just one characteristic that simply gets louder or softer through the movie. And yet, each character is so wildly different that the “window” into their life seems to be giving you a full view of very real, honest people that just happen to have a camera following them around.

Peter Dinklage plays Fin, short for Finbar. Fin is a very quiet, mysterious sort who’s worn spirit has been well-weathered by constant badgering about his height. Finbar is what we’d call a midget. Or just plain short. Peter stands 4 foot 6. “Fin” is 4 foot 5.

Finbar inherits a old, broken down, nearly-abandoned Train station depot in a quiet town in New Jeresy called Newfoundland. He befriends a few of the locals and a new ‘life’ begins in this context of a quiet town who may not be ready for a new occupant, or maybe that occupant is exactly what they need.

Folks, that’s just about it. “Is this one of those people films that’s all like, interaction and dialogue and stuff?” Yes, yes it is. If you want a glossy, party, blow-up, flips n tricks and cgi space flight sex scenes with explosions, then go somewhere else. But I really liked this movie. A lot. An AWFUL lot. The acting is completely class. Very solid from everyone. As most people say after the film, I LOVED Bobby Cannavale’s character “Joe”. Bobby, who I haven’t seen in very much, maybe in the odd ‘Oz’ episode, was absolutley hilarious. He’s the main source of comic relief, not from jokes or body humour, but just in his regular care-free self contrasting to everyone else - It was so amazing, it was inspiring to those who might be growing bitter in a town that’s too populated. Like say… oh… well, forget it. Idiot.

If you can folks, check this one out. It’s a small release, it’s an Independent release, it will be hard to find. It’s also incredible.

While I was reading around the net this evening I came across this nifty little site set up by Hollywood.Com called “Hollywood.Com’s guide to planning the perfect Oscar Party“. I like to have an Oscar party every year so it caught my attention. It’s a really neat little set up they have with several different ideas for themes, and even pre-made invitations that you can download and print to send out to your guests. One section even had a top ten things to do for your party:

1. Make sure your party shouts awards. Incorporate your own version of the red carpet, with klieg lights, paparazzi flashbulbs, etc.

2. Build a dinner party around a meal served in one or more of the nominated films, or design every new course to symbolize a certain celebrity.

3. Keep the show running on the biggest TV screen you have, and tune it in on screens in different rooms so guests can always keep their eyes on the awards yet still socialize.

4. Provide a fun giveaway: Hand out your own awards in categories you choose, or give each guest a trophy souvenir to take home.

5. Create a game around predicting the awards. Winning guests receive a kitschy prize or have to perform a party-making stunt, like give their own acceptance speech, or sing along with one of the nominated songs.

6. Serve a signature cocktail designed around one of the nominated movies or stars: whiskey-spiked “Cold Mountain Lemonade” or pewter mugs of mead for LOTR fans.

7. Hire a limo to deliver your guests and provide an extra air of glamour-not to mention a safe ride home.

8. If your party is adults-only, offer to help provide a babysitter. Or, decorate a themed kids’ room with plenty of entertainment to keep the tots occupied and the adults free to relax.

9. Always serve a fabulous dessert-it’s the key ingredient to getting a big thumbs-up from your guests.

10. Above all, focus on hospitality. Make all introductions, and plan your party around your guests’ likes and dislikes. Go beyond the call of duty to make sure every detail is handled.

If you or anyone you know is planning on throwing an Oscar Party this year, do yourself a favour and check the site out.

Good bye and good riddance! Well, I don’t think Steve Jobs of Pixar put it quite like that, but the general gist of it is just that. Pixar in finally going to be done with Disney. Hollywood.Com gives us this:

After failing to reach an agreement to renew their lucrative movie distribution deal, which has churned out hits such as Toy Story and Finding Nemo, Pixar Animation Studios Inc., the pioneering computer animation house founded by Apple Computer Inc.’s Steve Jobs, ended negotiations Thursday with the Walt Disney Co.

Reuters reports Pixar may now be looking for another studio partner to distribute its films starting in 2006, when its current deal with Disney expires. There are many studios who are very interested in jumping on Pixar’s bandwagon, including Warner Bros., Sony Corp., 20th Century Fox and Metro-Goldwyn Mayer.

“After 10 months of trying to strike a deal with Disney, we’re moving on,” Jobs said in a statement. “We’ve had a great run together-one of the most successful in Hollywood history-and it’s a shame that Disney won’t be participating in Pixar’s future successes.” Shares of both companies fell 6 percent hours after the announcement.

Observers had expected Pixar and Disney to renew their partnership, which has generated five megahits since 1995 and collected $2.5 billion at the box office, Reuter reports. The blow to Disney is severe, since Pixar product represented a large chunk of the Mouse House’s operating budget, but Disney ultimately rejected Pixar’s final offer on a renewed contract, saying it would have cost them too much money to maintain.

Disney Chief Executive Michael Eisner issued a statement wishing Pixar success. “Disney management could not accept Pixar’s final offer because it would have cost Disney hundreds of millions of dollars… under the existing agreement” without giving Disney enough return on new collaborations, the company said.

According to Reuters, a source close to Disney’s side of negotiations said that Pixar had also wanted copyright to the valuable library of previous films by the partnership. Disney now owns the copyright and can make sequels and other works based on the films in the current deal, which includes two upcoming titles-The Incredibles, set for a November release and Cars, due in 2005.

Eisner has been under fire of late, especially from Roy Disney, the former chairman of Disney’s animation department, who stepped down from the Disney board late last year and claims Eisner has mismanaged the company and sapped its creative energy. Roy Disney said that the breakup would be bad for the studio’s shareholders long-term and accused Eisner of failing to nurture the relationship with Pixar.

You can read the rest of the article here.

You know when you see trailers for films and you just KNOW that its going to suck? Well that’s the thought that crossed my mind when I saw the first couple of previews for The Perfect Score. Apparently I was right. As of right now it has a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 0%. I thought Erika Christensen was completely overrated in Traffic, she was terrible in Swim Fan, and yet for some reason some big movie exec thought she could carry a film like this one with no other notable talent to back her up. Don’t get me wrong… I’m not saying Erika Christensen doesn’t have any potential… she does… but she is just not ready to carry a film of her own. Here are the less than perfect scores the film is getting so far:

“Flounders about in a flux of narrative indecision and juvenile confusion.”
- Jeanne Aufmuth, PALO ALTO WEEKLY

“Hardly a perfect score. It’s not even a passing grade.”
- Michael Elliott, MOVIE PARABLES

“This undercooked high school heist movie is disfigured by flabby dialogue … unfunny pratfalls and criminally slack pacing.”
- John Patterson, L.A. WEEKLY

**My favorite one**
“Frankly, those of us for whom the SAT is a distant memory may not find it in our hearts to be all that sympathetic to a bunch of whiny kids afraid to take a test.”
- Luke Y. Thompson, NEW TIMES

One of the most critically aclaimed films this year with a totally killer cast and fantastic performances has gone by almost completely unoticed. 21 Grams in 10 weeks of release has made a grand total of… are you ready for this… $12 million. Yes you read that right… just $12 million bucks. I’m confused. Everyone knows about it. All the critics say its really good. It has BIG names in it (Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, Benicio Del Toro), it got itself some Oscar buzz, and yet nobody seems to have shelled out any money to go see it? Even Torque has made $17 million! What is wrong with this picture? I even thought the marketing of the film was pretty good… and yet… nothing. Anyone has any theories why this film has done so badly at the box office? Did YOU see it?

I came across some choice review quote about The Butterfly Effect. Thought I’d share them:

“If I could go back in time and change things, like they do in “Butterfly Effect,” I sure wouldn’t sit through the movie the first time.”
- Boo Allen, DENTON RECORD CHRONICLE (TX)

“What if on my way to the screening, something had intervened — a runaway bus, a lightning bolt — to prevent me from ever seeing this movie. How would my life have changed? Would I have become a happier, a kinder, a less bitter and disappointed man?”
- Rick Groen, GLOBE AND MAIL

“Ashton Kutcher wants to be taken seriously so badly it hurts. So does this metaphysical mess of a movie…”
- Sean Axmaker, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER

Tim Robbins did 2 extraordinary films that made me an instant fan of his work. The Player was a sharp movie that looked at the inside of the Hollywood circle within the context of a quasi murder mystery. The other is one of my top 5 films of all time… The Shawshank Redemption. I still believe it was a shame that Forest Gump won best picture over Shawshank and that Tom Hanks won best actor over Robbins (no disrespect intended to either Forest Gump or Tom Hanks).

Unfortunately over the last couple of years Robbins has disappeared into relative obscurity (not counting his political exploits). He appeared in films like Nothing to Lose, Arlington Road, Mission to Mars, the horrible AntiTrust… and in all of them he gave respectable performances, but nothing that measured up to the 2 films mentioned in my first paragraph.

Then along comes Mystic River, followed by a Golden Globe win and suddenly Tim is back. Despite the Golden Globe I think both Alec Baldwin (The Cooler) and Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai) are in line in front of Robbins for the supporting actor Oscar next month, but even so Robbins has reminded us that he is a top notch actor with a lot of good performances left in him. Personally I’m glad to see it, he’s been overlooked for far too long.

There’s a new Dawn of the Dead movie trailer posted over at Apple Trailers.

The trailer is pretty decent… it shows some pretty cool zombie scenes… especially the one at the first with the little girl. And at the end of the trailer, there’s a cool shot that could totally freak you out if you were watching the trailer on the big screen at the movie theatre.

Watching the trailer gave me the same feeling as when I first saw the 28 Days Later trailer. It will be interesting to see how they explain the zombies in this one. I can’t wait.

Well the nominations for the Oscars were announced this morning. Only a couple of surprises jumped out at me, the biggest of which was that Nicole Kidman was not nominated for best actress. The second surprise was that neither of the 2 Matrix films were nominated for Visual Effects. Besides that the list looks really solid.

The Nominees are listed below and my personal picks are bolded and in red. What do you think? Are you surprised by any of the nominations or those who were not nominated? What do you think of my picks?

The title of this post is pretty confusing, huh? Well, the Golden Globes were held, and the winners are in - And this is what we’ve got: Lord of the Rings Best Director and Picture and a couple others to give them a tally of 4. The only Picture with more than 4 awards was a TV movie. That’s odd. Who cares. The decisions seemed quite respectable I might say. Some I haven’t seen, but for most, it seems wise. On We go… HERE’S THE MOTHER LIST:

The Reviews for The Butterfly Effect are in√¢‚Ǩ¬¶ and while they aren’t the worst I’ve seen, they’re still not pretty. I’ve been saying this for a long time: “Ashton Kutcher is not a legitimate Hollywood leading man”. I will never understand for the life of me why he gets so much media attention when he clearly can not carry a film. To date his biggest accomplishment in the entertainment world is dating Demi Moore. Hats off to him, I wish I was in his shoes!

Here’s a rundown of what the critics are saying via Yahoo Movies:

Click here to see more of yahoo’s review list for The Butterfly Effect

Ok it’s official. I’m excited about seeing Van Helsing. I’m not saying the trailer is fantastic, but come on! Who doesn’t want to see Wolverine√¢‚Ǩ¬¶ er√¢‚Ǩ¬¶ I mean Hugh Jackman fighting Dracula, the Wolfman AND Frankenstein’s Monster? Ever since the first X-Man flick I’ve become a Jackman fan. I think I’ve liked every film he’s been in and thought he’s held his own VERY well while staring alongside some pretty big names (Swordfish, X-Men 1 & 2, Kate and Leopold, Someone Like You).

And now I shall expose my man parts. Co-staring in this film with Jackman is the stunningly attractive Kate Beckinsale, who was the very best thing going for Underworld. But instead of being a Vampire hunting Werewolves, this time she’s hunting Vampires and Werewolves. I think she’ll do well.

I’m not going to romanticize this film. I know it’s not going to win any Oscars or be “deep”. But it looks like a fun afternoon at the movies, which is all I’m asking it to do for me.

Here’s a quick little plot summary from the Internet Movie Database:

Set in the late 19th century, monster hunter Dr. Abraham Van Helsing (Jackman) is summoned to a mysterious land in East Europe to vanquish evil forces… evil forces with names like Count Dracula (Roxburgh), the Wolf Man (Kemp), and Frankenstein’s Monster (Hensley). Assisting him once he gets there is Anna (Beckinsale), the heir of a long-running family committed to hunting down and destroying Dracula. (Anaya, Colloca and Maran play Dracula’s brides; Wenham plays a friar, Carl, who escorts Van Helsing through the dangerous wilderness)

Go here to see the trailer

Okay, here it is: I know Harry of AintitCool news likes this teaser, and although it’s certainly MUCH, MUCH better than the Original Flash-embedded japanese TV Spot Teaser which came out a couple weeks ago, I’m actually not a fan of this new teaser very much either; albeit having a clear, heavy quirk to it.

Maybe I’m just anticipating a fun, action-packed trailer like we had for the first movie - but This New Teaser-Trailer simply doesn’t “do it” for me. Although I love the 1950’s screen visual style in front of the stationary car. Haven’t seen that for a while. However, that’s all there really is. Besides a couple lines from Mr Carradine.

So check out the trailer if you like, for me, I’ll wait for the next Full Trailer, or better yet just wait for the movie.
Later.

That’s right kids. On screen. Together. It’s a match made in my butt, but there it is. Kinda.

13 going on 30 is in post-production through Sony pictures and will be released later in April this year. It stars Jennifer Garner who plays a 13 year old who wishes she was a grown-up and lo, it comes true.

“Hey, wait a sec, didn’t they make this movie with Tom Hanks?” — Well, yes, yes they did. But you see, Tom Hanks is a BOY.. Jennifer Garner is (quite a) Girl. Big difference. That changes everything. In a round-a-bout shady type way.

One thing I will give The Trailer, it does have its perky moments (tiddy-boom) - and they did a bang-up job casting the 13 year old version of Miss Garner.

Oh yes, and then there’s Gollum. No, seriously. Gollum is in it. But he is cleverly disguised as a human being who likes to call itself Andy Serkis. I believe his role is actually quite small in the film, but they did put him in the trailer. — Probably because they figured nerds such as myself will discuss this fact and give them more free advertising. …Yeah right, as if anyone would fall for tha…. oh…… wait second……

Allow me to once again, draw into the spotlight, the best theatre in the universe. I’ve already explained twice why this theatre is amazing - and looky here, they’re doing more cool stuff.

On Saturday, February 7th, if you’re one of the 5 million people in the Greater Toronto Area, you should hop on the subway and check out Rainbow Cinemas’ Midnight Movie Marathon. It’s For a Good Cause even!! A minimum 20$ pledge gets you in the door and you get movies from 11:30pm to 11:30am. No really. They’ll even let you take a couple of breaks in there.

Here’s the schedule:

- 10:30pm - 12:00am: Registration
- 11:30pm - 1:30am: MOVIE
- 1:30 - 2:15: Break
- 2:15 - 4:15: MOVIE
- 4:30 - 6:30: MOVIE
- 6:30 - 7:15: Break
- 7:15 - 9:15: MOVIE
- 9:30 - 11:30: MOVIE

the 24 hour info line is: 416-494-9371. The participating Rainbow Cinema Theatres that are all holding Marathons are: Promenade, Market Square, Fairview and Woodbine Centre. Their website: www.rainbowcinemas.ca

All of the proceeds go towards United Way and also the Fresh Air Fund. The only drawback so far is: they haven’t announced what movies are playing - which is kind of odd - although you could probably guess they’ll all be close to guaranteed crowd pleaser movies. So book off the night of February 7th, that’s a Saturday. (well, book off Sunday too, cause that day’s a write off.) I reckon I’ll be at the Market Square.

Well, if you haven’t seen the first Trailer for Charlie Kaufman’s new movie yet, I’d advise that you do. It’s delightfully quirky and a little “off”.

The New Trailer is a little longer and goes into the guts of the story a little bit more than the first. And for those of you that love saying that Jim Carrey can only act one style, at least for the next month, this trailer proves he’s actually very good and definately has a denser side. Download the Trailer here:

- Tiny, Pip-squeak ‘I still have dial-up’ Size
- ‘There’s something not working right with your high speed’ Size
- ‘My high speed’s just fine but I have other things to get done’ Size
- ‘I have all the time in the world to download a trailer size I that could choke on’ Size.

With Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Elijah Wood, Kirsten Dunst, Tom Wilkinson and Mark Ruffalo - it’s a very solid cast. Michel Gondry is directing - he’s directed a LOT of music videos that you have seen and liked, you just didn’t know your were watching his stuff. If he pulls it off, this one could be “his big chance” to not be a “kept secret” anymore — than again, maybe he likes it like that.

Remember “For the Birds“? The animated short that preceded “Monsters Inc.” in the theatres that you almost had a heart attack over? I distinctly remember touching the floor to push myself back into my seat because I was laughing so hard.

Well, their next little diddy, entitled “Boundin’”(which I will only assume will part of the up-coming Pixar package: “The Incredibles“) is available to watch in a short snippet in Quicktime Format on their homepage. Their Quicktime plug-in for the preview is acting really screwy, so here’s the direct link with no embedding: Sneak Peek at Boundin.

While you’re at it, click that link for The Incredibles up there and watch a few clips for that as well. Good on ya, as they say.

I know I’m taking my life in my own hands with the title of this post, but if you’ll hang in there with me, you’ll see where I’m coming from. A few months ago I posted my top 10 actors living today list. Like any list it was totally subjective. However, I left Pacino and DeNiro off the list and several people have commented that it was a mistake to do so. Just today someone left this in the comments section:

Pathetic!! where’s Pacino and Da Niro?? Watch these films then re-do the list: Scarface (watch it about 10 times), Godfather parts 1 and 11 (about 8 times each), Carlito’s Way (about 4 times should do), Dog Day Afternoon (you’ll want to watch it again and again, Taxi Driver, Casino, The Deer Hunter. Respects for including Jack Nicholson, totally agree there. But come on - Robbin Williams??? If you don’t enjoy my listed movies you need to get your priorities right man!!

I’ll agree that both Pacino and Deniro have given some great performances and been in some remarkable films. HOWEVER, just because an actor is in a great film doesn√¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t mean he’s a great actor. Not to mention neither Pacino or Deniro have given a really good performance since Heat in 1995 (9 years ago).

How about these stinkers given to us by Pacino and Deniro over the last few years:
- City by the Sea (Deniro)
- Gigli (Pacino)
- Showtime (Deniro)
- The Recruit (Pacino)
- Analyze That (Deniro)
- Sim0ne (Oh gag) (Pacino)
- The Score (Deniro)
- The Devil’s Advocate (Pacino)
- 15 Minutes (gag gag gag) (Deniro)

Here’s something else to keep in mind about Pacino and Deniro. They are both essentially the SAME FRIGGING GUY in almost every film they’re in. They’re like Kevin Costner that way. Pacino always talks the same, moves the same√¢‚Ǩ¬¶ he’s the same frigging character with a different name in almost all his credits. Same with Deniro. Its all they can do! Granted, they both do it VERY well√¢‚Ǩ¬¶ but it’s still all they can do.

Contrast that with someone like Robin Williams. Williams can play almost ANY role with a shocking diversity you rarely see on screen. An unassuming killer in Insomnia, a disturbed and misunderstood loner in 1 Hour Photo, A psychotic maniacal kids show host in Death to Smotchy, the professor in Dead Poets Society (Which he SHOULD have won an Oscar for), the psychologist in Good Will Hunting (which he DID win an Oscar for)√¢‚Ǩ¬¶ and on and on and on. Williams has never been in a film as good as The Godfather and he’s never given a single performance as good as Pacino in Scarface or Deniro in Heat, but he is vastly more talented an actor when it comes to playing diverse rolls and different kinds of films. Deniro and Pacino have both shown they can’t.

Don’t get me wrong. I really like Pacino and Deniro both! As a matter of fact I think they’re great! They’ve given us some of the most memorable characters on the screen in the history of film. It’s just that most of those characters are all usually alike. You may leave your differing opinions (hate mail) in the comments section below.

I haven’t tried to be ambiguous about it since I first saw it. I personally think The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King is the best film ever made. It’s difficult not to sound like some teenage geek fan boy when I say that (I’m 31 by the way). With all due respect to 21 Grams, Mystic River, Lost in Translation, Monster and other excellent films this year, I’ll be shocked and outraged if the Academy doesn’t award Rings with best picture. Apparently the Producers Guild of America agrees. CNN Showbiz reports:

The Producers Guild of America gave the makers of “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” the top award at the 15th Annual Producers Guild of America Awards. Peter Jackson, Barrie M. Osborne and Fran Walsh produced “Return of the King,” the last installment of “The Lord of the Rings” fantasy trilogy. “Return of the King” is widely considered the franchise’s best shot to take top honors at the Academy Awards.

Well, it looks like Canadians have the option to rent movies online, Movies For Me is a website similar to Netflix, where you can rent unlimited movies online for $25 per month. They have thousands of movies to choose from, and you can create a list of movies you would like, and they will send them to you whenever they become available.

They use Canada Post to ship the rentals, and the best thing is that the shipping is free! If you’re thinking about signing up, they are offering a free 2 week trial.

Personally, I would think it would be easier to just go to your local Blockbuster… but if you’re into the whole mail-order thing, you should go check out their site.

Again, it’s not in Quicktime yet, so the picture doesn’t quite have optimum quality - but the Final Version for The Passion of the Christ’s Trailer is online at Yahoo Movies. - And it has been done very well — its even got a couple of subtitles in it - OooOooohhhh…

Click Here to See It.

With the stamp of “One Amazing Flick” coming from everyone from the Pope to Harry Knowles, it’s fascinating to see a serious movie done seriously well.

Well, now you know that Doc Ock gets his claws on the webbed wonder at least once. — However you also know that this Catwoman deal with Hally Berry isn’t being promoted with intellect in mind.

I mean, if you’re trying to capture cleavage, they’re earning their dollar, but this isn’t Catwoman. Sorry. Sure, you’ve admitted that “this isn’t the Gotham City Catwoman” — okay, well, that’s all well and good — but can you not name it after a Character that’s older than my Dad and more recognized than most celebrities? Are we asking too much? I dunno.

Aintitcool.com has larger versions of these pics posted.
Check ‘em out here: Spidey, Catwoman

Ok, I’m not sure what to make of this one. For years now George Lucas has been saying that these 3 new Star Wars films will be the final ones ever made. Personally, I believe him. However, Cinescape posted the following quote from TheForce.Net that will have lots of Star Wars fans raising an eyebrow or two:

If this turns out to be legit STAR WARS fans will have a Brit magazine named Hotdog to thank for it, but here goes: according to the December 2003 issue of that magazine, Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew said that when he signed his contract to work in EPISODE III, there was a clause that he would be “required” to work in EPISODES VII, XIII and IX of the STAR WARS film series.

Hmmm√¢‚Ǩ¬¶ I’ll have to send a couple of emails around to see if there is ANY truth to this. I doubt there is, but man I hope that if there is more Star Wars on the horizon George will let someone else direct them. Lucas (in my opinion) is the greatest story creator of our time, but he’s shown he’s not the best at TELLING those stories. I hope he writes new Star Wars films and has overall control over them, but allows another director to tell the story for him. Just my two cents worth.

Okay, I babbled on a couple posts ago about my issues with the Disney Corporation and their general stupidity.

And Roy Disney, son of Disney’s co-founder, and Walt Disney’s very own nephew, feels exactly the same way and has decided to do something about it. In light of that, please visit:

On his site, you’ll find a solid longing for the type of animation, films and corporate standards that Walt stood for all those years ago. Roy’s written Statement is extremely revealing and open-hearted. Here’s a nice little snippet:

“My Dad was quoted once as saying, “it’s easy to make decisions, once you know what your values are.” That speaks volumes about what’s gone wrong with the company.

But I also believe that our identity, as I’ve described, has been compromised by many factors: the addition of unrelated assets which live by different value systems; the perception that, in the absence of ideas, the road to success is to cut, slowly and cruelly, back on everyone and everything that once made us successful, no longer giving our guests value for money; the shifting moral grounds that this conglomeration of companies has created. Try this one: “The Walt Disney Company’s ABC Presents the Victoria’s Secret Lingerie Show.” I’m not making that up, in case you wondered.

We need to remember that the product itself is important, not just the selling of a “brand” name.” —Roy E. Disney

Folks, Disney’s gone fart. That’s right, Fart. Sure, I’m a ‘grown-up’ now, but someone out there is mucking around with my childhood happiness and frankly, that pisses me off. Give Roy Disney a couple minutes of your time and check out www.savedisney.com. Seriously.

Remember the Forgein Film Movie God guy? Yeah well, he directed me over to a couple of interesting little articles at Monkeypeaches.com.

On the official Japan Kill Bill Website, you can indeed watch a VERY short (and sort of uninteresting) Flash embedded Teaser Trailer for Kill Bill Vol. 2. Here’s the page www.killbill.jp

Second, Variety reports Miramax has apparently pushed the release of Kill Bill vol 2 to April 16th. What’s so big about April 16th you ask? Well, that’s the current release date for Hero. What’s Hero you ask? Sigh… Hero is an absolutley remarkable Martial Arts Epic that will change your life. If you even remotely appreciated Crouching Tiger, you really need to see Hero. No Seriously. I’m not kidding. It’s got assassins - 3 of em - and a fight with Donnie Yen and Jet Li and this archer military that’ll make ya wet your pants. Round that out with absolutley stunning cinematography - seriously folks, it’s shot like a moving oil painting - Wait till you see the falling leaves scene. Easily one of the best Foreign Films I’ve seen in recent years, if ever. Please watch Hero’s Trailers - they aren’t in Quicktime, so the quality isn’t the best, but my oh my. - I recommend the second trailer a little more…

The Article continued to point out that Hero may be released similar to Crouching Tiger: NY, LA, possibly Toronto and then gradually expand it in the week/weekends that follow.

So Check out Kill Bill’s new Teaser Trailer if you want, and demand everyone you know to check out Hero when it’s released. If they are released on the same weekend, it will be interesting to see if the Kill Bill release helps it or hinders it.

Step 1:
- Ignore the lesson you should have learnt about NOT making sequels to Jim Carrey movies that don’t star Jim Carrey.

Step 2:
- Make a sequel to “The Mask” that doesn’t star Jim Carrey.

Step 3:
- Advertise it with THIS.

This is no ill-will against some of the talented people IN this movie, but this Teaser SUCKS. Oh My Lanta. Spare Me.

(That’s right, the notion that he’s frozen is only a rumour.)
Well, as you’ve probably heard, the all-mighty and powerful Corporation powered by money and complete Morons has decided to close its 2-D Animation Studio in Florida. (Read the Article here) It is a Sad Day. A Day that might make us reflect on days when the sun shone brighter - like the way it shone on Snow White, Ichabod Crane, Sleeping Beauty or newer films like Beauty and the Beast or Aladdin. Disney’s attitude toward those days? “F*ck ‘em”. Sigh…. Stupid, stupid rich people.

In a way, this move is only deserving as the studio has released only the occasional bubble of charm in a tidal wave of she-ite.

Maybe I’m goin WAY too far out on a limb here, but if you’re releasing such bad 2-D animated movies, that it results in a closure of an ENTIRE studio, then WHAT ON EARTH makes you think that adding a 3rd dimension to the film is going to make the acting, the directing, the characters or hey, maybe even the FLIPPIN STORY any better?!?!?! Why am I not getting paid to come up with these earth-shattering conclusions??? — Or better yet, why is someone GETTING paid to NOT come up with them??

If I sucked at math (which, is VERY possible) and I dropped out of my math courses to chase a career in… oh let’s say… nuclear physics - I’d really hope that one of my close friends would punch me up the side of the head with a car. Why? Because doing such a thing is very very very very very very very very Stupid. It’s exactly what I suck at — only harder. If you can’t get the fundamentals right, don’t even bother trying the next step.

Like I mentioned in this post, Here are some proofs that 2-D animating is alive and well.

- Lion King sells 3 million DVD copies in two days - Almost 10 years after its release.
- Disney purchases and “distributes” “Spirited Away”, but distribute and market it so poorly, hardly anyone has heard of it. They resevered the marketing budget to pump Disney’s own train wreck, Treasure Planet - Animated, but also littered with tons of computer stuff.
- Treasure Planet Bombs. (this point doesn’t help prove much, but I just love saying it)
- Spirited Away wins an Oscar at the 75th Academies for Best Animated Film. Beating out Ice Age (Oh! a 3-D film!) and Treasure Planet. (Suckers)
- Two words: Iron Giant.
- Do your kids still watch cartoons on Saturday mornings? Yeah… they do. 80% of which are 2-D. Did someone not notice this? Of course not.
- Wanna take a guess how much Anime rakes in every year? Todd the Foreign Flim God may be able to tell us, but I guarantee it’s more than your mom.

Fortunately, There Is Hope:

Former Disney animators have banded together and are opening their OWN studio that will specialize in 2-D animation for Film, Television and Commercials (Read the Article here) Wanna know where they are setting up shop? In Orlando, Florida - right next to the big Mouse himself. The neighbourhood just got a bit tense. From Their Website: “Legacy’s goal is to create quality animated films with compelling stories and strong characters and to continue Walt Disney’s legacy of hand drawn animation. Legacy will also be dedicated to developing original properties for television and film.“. Apparently, they have 3 productions on the table. They already have my dollar when it comes out.

Thank You, Disney for all of my childhood cartoon memories. I will treasure them for years. But as far as your animation goes, in my mind, you can stay in the past with them. Cheers.

This also doubles as a plea for intelligent comments. I realize with the name “Johnny Depp” in the title of this post, I have about as much chance remaining childish post-free as I do getting hit by a random anvil in the next 5 minutes, but we can all dream.

Either way, the movie based on Stephen King’s book (don’t worry they’re not ALL bad - only most — remember, keep dreaming) stars Johnny Depp and the glorious John Turturro about one writer accusing another and the haunting / hunting that ensues. It also stars Timothy Hutton and, this is for you John, Ving Rhames. (I’d include links for the other actors, but the Internet Movie Database is loading like garbage today, so screw it.) The trailer’s pretty sharp. Check it out here.

**Welcome to my spat of the moment**
Okay, before I start, I’d like to clarify that I actually LIKED Ringu, much more so than the American version, but I won’t go into that. — However, I hate calling it Ringu which cleanly brings me to a segway into why I hate it. Still with me? I don’t care…

Ever Seen “Ringu”? you probably haven’t. Ever seen the cover for it? Besides right over there? Yeah well, on the cover it just says “Ring” not ‘Rings’ or ‘Ringu’ or ‘The Ringu’… Just RING. That’s it. Ring. Period. In fact, there isn’t even a period. One Word. Four Letters. In a legible, subsequent order. Still with me? Screw you. Anyway…

North Americans all watched the new “The Ring” on video and DVD and saw the adverisment at the end of the film advertising “Ringu”.. because that’s what the original is called here. It’s some weird translation thing that I don’t quite understand. My friend and I would talk about “The Ring” (the original) fairly often before the American got put to print, and now everyone, being the experts they are, when I say “…in the original Ring”, they say: “Oh, you mean Ringu?” … DAH!!ASDDksdhflsdkhg;oaishsjklcvhbs’;dlkghW[;’ I BLOODY HATE IT!! Yeah I’m so sorry.. I meant ‘RingU‘…. excuse me while I’m obviously so far behind on my movie titles. The title is flippin “RING”. The American one is called “The American One”. I have spoken. Be still.

2nd Reason: Much Like Sixth Sense did for any movie that had tension ANYWHERE in the plot, “Ring” (again, the original) is compared to EVERY — SINGLE — SPOOKY — MOVIE — with Asians in it. Suddenly Everything(from areas that go from Thai to Chinese to Korean flicks) like the Eye, Tetsuo, the Phone, The Grudge, Dark Water (okay, same director with Dark Water, so that’s okay), All Night Long, EVERYTHING before or after “Ring” are all subjected to attempts at hot-shot reviews like:

“Well, compared to Ringu - which, for those of you that aren’t nearly as cool as me, is the title of the japanese version….”

BLAHBLAHBLAHBLAH.. Shut UP!!!! How bout numbering your foriegn movie library past your current count of ONE??? How’d that be for a mind-scramble? Or a Mind-scrambleU, if you will. Does that help? Shut up…

Wow.. I feel a lot better now. I won’t go to the shrink this week.

Alright I’ll admit it. When The Rock was in the process of doing his first couple of films I thought him as a leading man would never fly. I was wrong. The Rock has that old 80’s style macho hero thing going on and it works really well. I’ve actually enjoyed him in everything he’s been in so far. His newest flick is called Walking Tall and will co-star Johnny Knoxville (why oh why?). Anyway, here’s a little write up on the film from Rope Of Silicon:

In Walking Tall, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson plays Chris Vaughn, a retired soldier who returns to his hometown to make a new life for himself, only to discover his wealthy high school rival, Jay Hamilton (Neal McDonough), has closed the once-prosperous lumber mill and turned the town’s resources towards his own criminal gains. The place Chris grew up is now overrun with crime, drugs, and violence.

Enlisting the help of his old pal Ray Templeton (Johnny Knoxville), Chris gets elected sheriff and vows to shut down Hamilton’s operations. His actions endanger his family and threaten his own life, but Chris refuses to back down until his hometown once again feels like home.

Oh come on now folks… who knows… it could be fun. For a look at a bigger version of the poster click here

Why is it that people in the American (or Canadian for that matter) entertainment industry feel like they have an important voice in world politics? Anyway, it looks like political differences are fueling an impromptu war of words between Robert Duvall and Steven Spielberg. CNN says:

In a CBS “60 Minutes II” interview set for broadcast Wednesday, the Oscar-winning performer sharply criticized filmmaker and DreamWorks SKG studio co-founder Steven Spielberg for visiting Cuba in November 2002.

(more…)

I love the Die Hard flicks, and personally I thought the 3rd one was the best of the bunch. Apparently Willis wants to do another one. I’d love it! I almost don’t care if the story is any good. I just want to see John running around in bare feet shootin badies again. MyMovies.Net reported the following:

Willis also spoke this week about the possibility of a fourth “Die Hard” movie. He told newspaper USA Today “We√¢‚ǨÀúre working on it. Fox wants to do it. I want to do it. It depends on the script.” However it seems that the film could still be years away; the actor went on to say “It√¢‚ǨÀús hard today to do. The whole Die Hard trilogy so far has been based on some element of terrorism, and it√¢‚ǨÀús difficult in today√¢‚ǨÀús world to do stories that fictionally portray terrorism.”

The Online Film Critics Society has been gaining more and more credibility each passing year. They just gave out their annual awards and I have to say that I pretty much agree with everything they named, most of all Return of the King as best picture:

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King won nine awards including Best Picture in the 7th Annual Online Film Critics Society Awards. The awards were voted by the 146-member Online Film Critics Society, the international professional association of Internet-based cinema journalists. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King also picked up the Best Director Award for Peter Jackson, the Best Adapated Screenplay Award (for Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh), Best Original Score honors for Howard Shore, and technical awards for achievements in Cinematography, Art Direction, Costume Design, Sound and Visual Effects. Lost in Translation won two awards: Bill Murray for Best Actor and Sofia Coppola for Best Original Screenplay. Naomi Watts was named Best Actress for 21 Grams, Peter Sarsgaaard won Best Supporting Actor honors for Shattered Glass and Shohreh Aghdashloo won the Best Supporting Actress Award for House of Sand and Fog. more …

With Buffy the Vampire Slayer off the air, actress Michelle Trachtenberg (Buffy’s little sister Dawn) didn’t take long to find new employment, including a gig with Disney. The good folks at CHUD.Com reported the following:

In addition to the upcoming Dreamworks romp Euro Trip (the marketing of which seems entirely focused on her pert young breasts), starlet Michelle Trachtenberg has a pact with Disney to star in Ice Princess. The fairy-tale film follows an aspiring skater overcoming various obstacles to become a champion. Former Nick chick Trachtenberg is no stranger to Disney, having previously co-starred in their live-action Inspector Gadget flick. She’s also currently planning to step into a recurring role on HBO’s drastically overrated series Six Feet Under.

Well, 2003 was a great year for movies. Some of the blockbusters for the year included the Matrix movies, LOTR: Return of the King, X2, the Hulk, and the list goes on… Now that we’re into 2004, we have a whole new year of movies to look forward to. I’ve compiled a list of the of the big blockbusters to look forward to for this year.