What on earth happened that suddenly made Jamie Foxx decide he was going to be a top notch actor?!?! I have HATED Foxx for a long time. Uggg.. I still have bad dreams of his horrible work in Any Given Sunday, Booty Call, I never liked him on In Living Color either, and don’t even get me started on The Jamie Foxx Show.

Then came along this under the radar action/comedy flick called Bait. That was the first time I thought Foxx wasn’t half bad. He seemed to have some decent timing and the film (while not spectacular) worked for what it was. Then he was solid in Ali playing a very respectable supporting role. After that he got his first bit of real critical acclaim for his performance in the TV movie Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story. All of a sudden Foxx wasn’t a joke. But I still wasn’t a believer, and when I first saw the trailers for Collateral I told a friend it was a huge mistake to cast Foxx in that role and the movie lost all credibility in my eyes. BOY WAS I WRONG! Foxx did an AMAZING job opposite Tom Cruise (who was also at his very best) and some have whispered about a possible Oscar nomination for Foxx.

Now, Ray is almost upon us and the Oscar whispers are turning into loud shouts. Foxx looks terrific in the trailers, and those in the know are saying it’s one of the best performances of the year. So what happened? How did this guy suddenly become so darn good? Is he the next Denzel Washington? Your thoughts?

I love just about everything Dreamworks has done… but let’s all admit it… we all had a sinking (get it? SINKING!!! Oh forget it) feeling about this movie from the first moment we saw the trailers. Shark Tale has looked like a blatant attempt to rip off and capitalize on the success of Finding Nemo that appears to rely on cool hip-hop cultural references to be funny instead of really good material. I have never thought this movie looked good, and now those who have already seen it are only solidifying that fear. Here’s what’s being said:

“If your kid sees the comic side of mafia vengeance killing, the whole family will have a great time”
- Willie Waffle, WAFFLEMOVIES.COM

“By this time next year Shark Tale will be on a sale rack at Wal-Mart for $5.99, probably as part of a bargain double-pack with Ice Age.”
- Joshua Tyler, CINEMABLEND.COM

“Oddly lacking a heart. In its place is misguided material decidedly unsavory for most of its target audience, and a string of inappropriate ethnic and racial stereotypes.”
- Dustin Putman, THEMOVIEBOY.COM

“A soulless platform for the Will Smith persona.”
- Walter Chaw, FILM FREAK CENTRAL

Oh well.. who cares. The Incredibles are almost here!

Have you ever seen previews for a movie that deep down you really WANT to like… but already know this is gonna be a stinker? Well Ladder 49 (aka Backdraft 2) is one such film for me. Ever since Gladiator I’ve been a HUGE fan of Joaquin Phoenix (I still grumble at the fact he didn’t win the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in that). Even though EVERYTHING John Travolta has done in the last 5 years has been a bust I still cheer for him. And how can you not appreciate a film that glorifies firefighters… perhaps the most brave people on the planet?

The film however has a couple of strikes against it. First of all it just looks too much like a Backdraft rip off (Amazing bloody film by the way). Secondly, and I’d hate to say this… but Travolta’s name is now a liability to the credibility of a movie. I know that sounds harsh… but it’s true. You do enough lemons in a row and eventually movie going audiences start to associate your name with bad films… I don’t like it, but that’s just the way it is

The critics are now giving their two cents worth, predictably, and unfortunately, they’re looking mostly negative:

“I hate this film.”
- Walter Chaw, FILM FREAK CENTRAL

“As for the soulless fire sequences, they’re so big and suspenseful you half expect to see Celine Dion standing on top of a building wailing “My Heart Will Go On.””
- Ed Gonzalez, SLANT MAGAZINE

“Filmmaking of least resistance, in which true heroism is exploited for emotional spare change.”
- David Foucher, EDGE BOSTON

“Smothered by the heart-on-sleeve melodramatics of the storytelling, which seems intent on leaving no cliche unused and pounding each of them home.”
- Frank Swietek, ONE GUY’S OPINION

Too bad. I think I’ll see it anyway just to say I did, but my expectations are somewhere under my shoe now. For more Ladder 49 reviews head over to Rotten Tomatoes.

There’s a difference between having a great cast in a film and a star studded cast. A star studded cast just means huge names without necessarily meaning quality (take the Arnold version of Batman for instance: Arnold, George, Uma, Chris). Then there are films with great casts, Ocean’s 11 for example. I Heart Huckabees definitely falls into the “Great Cast” category. Heck, put Dustin Hoffman in just about anything and I’ll see it, Jude Law is going to win an Oscar one day, Mark Wahlberg doesn’t get the credit he often deserves, Naomi Watts is going to be a HUGE name in the next couple of years, and so on and so on. So right off the bat Huckabees seems to have a lot going for it. Even the trailers look fantastic. So far the critics are generally enjoying what they’re seeing:

“a script akin to a late night dorm room debate among college philosophy majors who enjoy the wacky tobacky, but it’s a delightfully quirky and entertaining story”
- Willie Waffle, WAFFLEMOVIES.COM

“A dizzying shout-out to those who believe there’s only one answer for everything, whether it be faith, political principles or love.”
- Erik Childress, EFILMCRITIC.COM

“Clever but distancing, this existential comedy bounces along on the backs of its tasty cast, witty writing and stylistic verve.”
- David Rooney, VARIETY

Well… that all sounds good doesn’t it? Yeah, it’s going to be great right? Ok, here’s my one worry… Huckabees strikes me as the kind of movie that critics are SUPPOSED to say they like, cause they won’t look cool if they say it’s bad… know what I mean? Because it’s billed as an “existential comedy”, you’re automatically accused of just “not getting it” if you say you don’t like it. I HATE it when people do that… I say I don’t like a film that they love, and the first thing they say is “Oh, well you just don’t understand it then“! GRRRR!!!! Homicide seems like such an option at those times. The third Matrix movie sucked huge eggs (in my opinion), and all these people start yelling that i just didn’t “get” the film. Did they ever stop to consider that I did “get” it, and yet didn’t enjoy it? Anyway, I’m getting off track here.

The point is that Huckabees could very well turn out to be an amazing bit of film work… but I’m nervous. The reviews quoted above(even though positive) tend to make me think the critics are just writing what they feel they’re expected to write. But then I come across a review from Slant (which I really respect), and they say this:

“David O. Russell’s I Heart Huckabees is content to wallow in obscurantist quirk and flash.”
- Keith Uhlich, SLANT MAGAZINE

Hmmm… makes me worry that something funny is going on. It’s like we’re all already programed to say we like it… and if we don’t like it then it’s because they’re something wrong with us. I guess we’ll have to see for ourselves. I’m sceptical. If you’d like to see more Huckabees reviews head over to Rotten Tomatoes.

I still remember the first time I watched Silence of the Lambs. Its one of those movies that freaks the life out of you… but you really can’t explain why, other than the fact that Hannibal is one of the most brilliant film villains of all time. There’s just something so suave about him, so brilliant, so frightening… and so darn cool. All brought to life by one of the best individual performances of all time courtesy of Anthony Hopkins.

Then came news of the sequel, Hannibal. Sadly, the film had a strike against it before day one of shooting began, Jodie Foster had decided not to reprise her role as Clarice. Julianne Moore did a great job filling in… but the character already belonged to Foster and seeing someone else in the part never felt right. Not to mention, the movie didn’t live up to it’s predecessor at all. It was a half decent film (I will always remember Ray Liotta getting his brains eaten), but no where near as special as Lambs.

Last night, before going to bed, I sat back and watched the third installment again. I had forgotten just how good Red Dragon was. I’d go so far as to say that I LOVED it. Unfortunately, I think the general movie going audience had already made up it’s mind that the Hannibal franchise was in decline and that the third one would be a bust. Red Dragon never did do all that well at the Box Office (although it was certainly no bust) and I’m still surprised at how many people I talk to that have never seen it.

After seeing it again, I began thinking to myself “There’s still gas in this tank. I hope they do another one”. The fact of the matter is that Hannibal is just too damn cool a character to not explore further. No, I don’t think another “prequel” is the way to go (I still want to know if Lecter cut off his own hand or not!!!). Get Foster back on board and I think there is still another good story to be told. Look, I’m not one who thinks you should make a sequel just for the sake of making one… but there’s just too much story still to tell, and I for one would like to see it told. Not to mention, I don’t think Hopkins has come across a role that’s truly been worthy of him since Lecter that’s allowed him to really show off his talent (except perhaps Shadowlands).

Hmmm… well it looks like all those people who said Mel Gibson would be destroyed for making a religious film are eating huge doses of crow these days. Not only was Passion of the Christ a HUGE Box Office success, but Gibson himself is going to be given the Hollywood Film Festival’s Producer of the Year award as well. Rope of Silicon gives us this:

“Mel Gibson’s career exemplifies extraordinary ability, craftsmanship, and determination. He is an excellent example of a highly talented filmmaker whose work and creative vision are to be honored,” festival founder Carlos de Abreu said.

I couldn’t agree more. Boy this guys has come a long way from Mad Max. Good on ya Mel.

The good folks over at Coming Soon are reporting that Sean Connery has up and left the Josiah’s Canon project. This is a real shame. Connery is universally thought to be one of the best actors out there (even with his share of lemons), and he hasn’t been in a good flick since Finding Forrester over 4 years ago.

“Canon” is a dramatic heist story about a Holocaust survivor who leads the world’s foremost team of bank robbers. The criminal mastermind sets his sights on an supposedly impenetrable bank in Switzerland, which holds special appeal: It purportedly houses gelt deposited by Jews prior to the Holocaust.

See!!! Now THIS is a film I was dying to see. To be honest I’m still looking forward to it… but with Connery attached to it, Josiah’s Canon had the pieces in place to be really classic (then again so did League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and look how awful that turned out). It’ll be interesting to see who they get to fill in for Sean… but no matter who it is this is a blow for the production… and the film just lost about 20 million in Box Office even before it started shooting. Oh yeah, Connery also walked away from a reported 17.5 million bucks for the movie!!!! Umm… I don’t think I’d walk away from castration if I had 17.5 million coming to me for it. Oh well… to each their own. Good grief… the man is practically 100 years old and he still looks like he could kick my ass.

I don’t know why, but I’ve become a fan of Dennis Quaid ever since Meg Ryan left him. Maybe I just like cheering for the underdog. At any rate, the last time I went to see Shaun of the Dead they played the new trailer for Quaid’s new flick Flight of the Phoenix. The first 15 seconds I thought to myself “This is stupid”, but the rest of the trailer changed my mind.

From what I can gather, the film looks like a cross between Alive and MacGyver. A plain (piloted by Quaid) goes down in the middle of the dessert far from civilization. Supplies are running out when one of the survivors suggests not fixing the plain… but building a new plain from what’s left of the destroyed one. Throw in some action shoots and you’ve got a neat little movie.

Yes, this is a remake, but I still say for today the idea of the film is pretty fresh. I like films with isolated environments because it really allows the actors to take over and carry a film. If you’d like to see the trailer just go here.

Hands down, the funniest line ever in a film is still “Now you will see that evil will always triumph… Because good… is dumb!” Oh yeah baby, Mel Brooks has been reported as saying that he’s already writing Spaceballs 2. I’m so excited I think my feet are sweating. Cinema Blend gives us this:

I’m writing myself back into the Spaceballs sequel that I’m now writing, so you haven’t seen the last of my face. Why another Spaceballs? It wouldn’t feel right have anyone else play Yoghurt and the first one was the best experience I’ve had making a movie since Blazing Saddles.

Oh sweet heavens! I think I may go out for Halloween as Dark Helmet this year! On a sad note, John Candy’s presence will be missed. No one else could play Barf quite like him. Maybe Will Ferrell could do it. The article goes on to suggest that Brooks may be aiming to have Spaceballs 2 in theaters just BEFORE Star Wars Episode III. Can you really film a movie and get it into theaters that fast without it being total crap? Here’s hoping.

Hey everyone, John here. I don’t know how I let this one slip under my nose (especially since I was keeping an eye on it earlier this month), but early last week The Movie Blog passed the 1000 post marker. It’s good to celebrate little milestones. So today, to celebrate, I shall put on some brand spanking new underwear and perhaps even shave! LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL!

I’ve had such a blast with this little website I started just over a year ago. I’ve met some very cool people, it’s got me on TV, Radio, and it even gets me into my movies for free… something that could otherwise cost me millions of dollars a month (Thank you SOOOO much Cineplex Odeon!!!). A whole lot of those 1000+ posts were done by other people along the way. Bubba (now Master Sensi over at Twitch FIlm), Day-Vuh, Rod, Brad, Dave and a few others. But this isn’t about them. THIS IS ABOUT ME DAMNIT! So all Hail me! Cheers.

I just loved X-Men 2. For my money (which isn’t a lot) it’s the best superhero genre flick of all time. Yeah I know most of you disagree, but I liked it more than either of the Spider-Man offerings or even Superman.

Now for those of you in “the know”, at the end of X-Men 2 (and throughout the film really) we get glimpses of Jean Grey evolving or changing into Dark Phoenix (a character she becomes in the X-Men comics). And it looks like X3 could revolves around this character. Comic Book Movie gives us this:

Regarding casting, Halle Berry as Storm is still uncertain, the source said. “They’re working on that.” However, Hugh Jackman (Wolverine) is reportedly back on board as is Famke Janssen (Jean Grey) who has much more to do this time around, the insider said.

Now, we all knew that we’d see Dark Phoenix enter the scene at some point, but to be honest I was really hoping that they’d leave that for a while and move on to Apocalypse as the next major baddie! For those of you who don’t read the comics, The Age of Apocalypse is one of the greatest comic stories ever told and would make a KILLER chapter in the X-Men film series.

But I’m not trying to complain. Any X3 movie is fine with me. I’m just glad they’re moving ahead with it. I thought it might be finished when Singer jumped ship to direct Superman.

Ever walk through the video store and accidentally comes across an old movie that you haven’t seen in YEARS and suddenly have flash backs of certain scenes that just absolutely made you HOWL? Yeah, well Johnny Dangerously is one of those flicks for me (and probably the ONLY half decent movie Joe Piscopo ever appeared in). For some reason, as a young kid, it just made me laugh my fool head off. The best part about it was the fact that it introduced me to one of the more interesting players in Hollywood: Michael Keaton.

Yes, before Dangerously there was the huge hit Mr. Mom and even the moderately successful Night Shift, but it was Dangerously that stuck in my head.

From there Keaton went on to do what even some of the best actors of all time haven’t done… gone on to appear in solid comedy AND dramatic roles. For a short kinda awkward looking guy he managed to show amazing versatility. From Pacific Heights, Clean and Sober, One Good Cop, My Life, and the ENORMOUSLY underrated Desperate Measures to lighter comedy/fantasy/thriller stuff like Batman, Beetle Juice, Gung Ho (which I loved as a kid) and The Dream Team Keaton could take just about any genre, any film and just make them work. How many other actors can you say that about? Answer: Not Many.

However, Keaton started making some bad decisions about which films he appeared in. Multiplicity and Jack Frost are just a couple that come to mind. Then for the longest time Michael Keaton just sorta quietly dropped off the radar. Popping up once in a while in small cameo roles in a couple of films (like Out of Sight), but that was about it. Now, slowly, Keaton is starting to appear again and has a darn good looking horror on the horizons that marks his first serious leading role in a while… White Noise.

From what I can piece together, Keaton plays a guy who is desperate to make contact with his dead wife, but in doing so opens the door for something far more sinister to come through and start doing naughty things. Yes, the premise does sound a little like Stir of Echoes, but take my word for it… the trailer looks pretty darn snappy.

So it looks like Keaton may finally be back. I for one am glad to see it.

Well, the word buzzing around the net this morning is that Mark Wahlberg et al have signed up for a sequel to The Italian Job. Most are rolling their eyes at the idea, but personally, I think I’m looking forward to it. I always thought The Italian job was underrated and not really given a fair chance. Does that mean that every decent movie should have a sequel? Heavens no! Then why do I like this idea? Because I’m a sucker for Heist movies, and good Heist movies are hard to come by. I sill think Sneakers may be my favorite of all time. However, if they try to turn this flick into some kind of romantic comedy or just action flick, then even though I get into the movies for free I’ll probably skip it. The last time I checked there isn’t a fatal shortage of romantic comedies in North America today.

Meh… I don’t know if I like. I think the first one was better. Your thought?

Turning a comic book into a movie has many challenges, and one of the biggest ones is coming up with the “look” of the characters. Many comic fans want the screen version of the heroes to be EXACTLY the same as they are in the comics. From a purist point of view I can understand the desire to see the characters as they imagine them… but in reality MANY great comic characters would just look silly on the big screen as they are portrayed in ink. Can you imagine Wolverine in X-Men wearing the tight yellow spandex?!?! Looks great in the comic book… but it would have just been laughable in the film. So it’s important for a film maker to come up with a good look for the characters while staying true to the essence of who they are.

I was a bit surprised by some peoples reactions to the look of The Thing in the new Fantastic four movie. Some people commented they didn’t like it, the eyebrows aren’t right, he should be smoking a cigar… ect. ect. ect. I think too many people want him to look EXACTLY like he does in the comic… and that just doesn’t always work. In the case of The Thing it’s also not very practical. With that in mind, I thought the look for The Thing was fantastic and I can’t wait to see him in action.

Look at Batman for a minute too. To be honest, the Adam West costume of the 60’s TV show is a lot closer to the comic than Burton’s 1989 movie version… but the movie version just worked a lot better for the movie.

Some characters do lend themselves to ink and screen. Spider-Man for instance. The Hulk. Hellboy. But others need to be adapted to work properly. What do you think?

I’ve liked Natalie Portman ever since her young role in The Professional (thank you Tran and Rod for being the first people to introduce me to that flick). Then she became a religious Icon to me snagging a role in the new Star Wars films… but it wasn’t until I saw Anywhere But Here and Where the Heart Is that I became a major fan of hers as an actress. This woman can act. Still so young, and yet she’s been handed, and rocked in, some really diverse roles. It looks like her diversity is now being stretched even more with her role in the film Closer. The IMDB describes closer like this:

An intriguing story of passion, drama, love, and abandonment involving two couples, which only gets more complicated when the man from the first couple gets acquainted with the woman from the second coupling.

The good folks over at Cinema Eye have posted a couple of rather steamy pictures of Portman in the film (the picture on the left is just a small teaser to get you over there to see the full versions yourself). If you’d like to check out the trailer you can go here. Ummm…. yeah. I’ll see it.

Despite the fact that my movie fan heart was broken at the news Bryan Singer was removing himself from the X-Men 3 project, I’ve been extremely excited at the idea that he’s the man to helm the new Superman (thank heavens McG got kicked off it). The way Singer crafted the X-Men (and entire superhero genre) to life should give us nothing but hope that Superman will regain his rightful place as king of the superheroes (although it looks like Batman will give him a run for his money).

According to AICN, Singer was recently at NYU talking to a group of film students and Superman was really the topic of the day. Here’s an excerpt:

He said that he really wants to cast an unknown in the lead. Caviezel came up. He said, with ample humor, that since Caviezel, is KNOWN, he won’t cast him. He also mentioned that he’s looking for an actor between 25 and 30.

I asked him afterwards (that’s right, I talked to him! Yeah! Sigh…) if he was going to, as a director, go for a mythic Donner-like approach or more character based, like Smallvile aspires to be (i don’t that show, consequently, despite the fact that Superman is my religion), and he responded quickly. “Mythic. Definitely.”

On related subjects, he says that he’s going to have a Logan’s Run “room” setup in Sydney so he can develop it during the filming of Superman, and move on it immediately afterwards. He says that he feels bad about not participating in X-Men 3 (which he won’t). He mentioned a lot of the pre-visualizations on Logan’s has already been done, and he seemed really, really excited about it.

Ok, good news all around! I love the fact that they’re looking for an unknown, even though I wouldn’t have minded seeing Caviezel in the sacred tights. And YAY!!!! He’s still planning on doing Logan’s Run! The article also mentions that they’ve set March as the date to start the actual filming. No More Delays!. Ok, the rest of the article is a good read and you can check it out here.

Every once in a while you stumble across something so special that you just can’t wait for everyone else to discover it too. Well about a couple of months ago I discovered Shaun of the Dead. Yes I know, we here at The Movie Blog have been yacking about this film for months. Well it’s here now folks, and in your local theater, so get off your can and get over there, drop your $10 and see one of the few films this year that are actually worth the price of your admission ticket.

It’s difficult to define the genre that Shaun of the Dead falls into. It’s not exactly a comedy… it’s not exactly a horror… it’s not really a spoof… it’s probably best defined by it’s poster: “A Romantic Comedy with Zombies”.

Shaun of the Dead is the brain child of co-writers Edgar Wright (also the Director) and Simon Pegg (also the star). On the one hand it’s a tribute film to a whole lot of other great flicks, while standing on it’s own as a heavyweight comedy. Throw in there some legitimately scary scenes and a couple that made a couple of people in the theater actually cry and you’ve got a treasure of a flick.

The premise sort of follows the standard Zombie movie formula: There a viral outbreak that kills a person and them brings them back to life as a Zombie. The virus is transmitted when an “infected” person bites an uninfected person. There you have it.

However, to say this is a “Zombie” film would be misleading. Nor is it a “spoof” on Zombie films. At it’s heart (despite the efforts of some other critics to see a deeper meaning to the film) Shaun of the Dead is a sharp and witty comedy that makes a couple of observations about the zombie-like-way we all lives our lives in one way or another.

I noticed a couple of “easter eggs” in the film. Names like “Ash” were dropped here and there all over the place. I asked Edgar Wright if there were more than the 6 or seven I had noticed… to our surprise he mentioned there were probably about 50-60 of them in total, some obvious ones and others more obscure that he was sure no one would even notice. Being an Army of Darkness fan this stuff brought a huge grin to my otherwise boring face.

There are already a million other Shaun of the Dead reviews out there that you can avail yourself to, so just let me say this: The movie is hilarious, charming, and quite creative with it’s use of characters and dialogue. It’s already been in theaters for 24 hours people… why the heck haven’t you seen it yet?!?! I put this film in my top 3 best films of the year so far and I proudly give it a 9/10.

You know what Ben… I thought you were an ok guy. I really did. When everyone else would slam you I’d say “Hey, don’t be hatin my man Ben”. When people would say you were the weak link between you and Matt Damon I’d tell them “Don’t be under estimating the Fleck Man”. When people said DareDevil sucked I boldly said “Nuh uh… DareDevil Rocks my friends”. Yes Ben, I have been there for you. But now it’s all over the place that you’re dating Jennifer Garner… you… dirty… bastard!!!

What?!?! Dating J-Lo, and Gweneth Paltrow wasn’t enough for you? Oh no… you had to go out and get Garner too. I hate you. I hate you with an unrelenting passion you big jerk! For you see… while Garner was single, it gave the rest of us shmoes a chance… albeit an extremely small one. So screw you Affleck, and your little Christmas movie too. i spit at your shadow and pee on anything even resembling your image (they’re not going to like me at the Blockbusters). How i rue the day that IMDB reported this:

Ben Affleck’s low-key romance with Jennifer Garner has become a real challenge for paparazzi - because they’ve yet to snap the stars together. According to reports, the Daredevil co-stars started dating in late July after Affleck appeared on the Vancouver, Canada, set of their movie’s spin-off Elektra to film a cameo. And while a number of publications, such as People and Us Weekly, have declared sightings of Affleck and Garner together at each other’s homes and around Los Angeles, the telling picture - which would be worth a fortune - has yet to be captured.

Well, on the bright side at least it looks like DareDevil is going to be making an appearance in Elektra. Exactly how is it fair that one man gets to date J-Lo, Paltrow AND Garner?

For those of you who may not know, aside from writing and directing the new Blade: Trinity film, David Goyer also wrote the script for the new (and improved) Batman franchise. I found a great little aricle and interview with him over at USA Today. Here’s an excpert:

The last two Batman movies stunk. How do we know this one won’t?

“(Laughs) Aside from my word? Well, I don’t think it sucks. But also, Chris and I showed about three minutes of footage to a select group of fans at the Wizard (comic book) convention in Chicago last month. We crashed a Green Lantern panel and gathered them up in a room. It wasn’t a trailer, just a montage of scenes. Afterward, we got a standing ovation. And a couple of tears were shed in the room. I’m not sure what that meant, but I think it’s good.”

What happened to the Batman franchise?

“I think the movies started getting too much like the TV show. It got campy. Back when the movies were coming out, the comic books were in a very good place. (Comic book illustrator) Frank Miller was doing some amazing work. They were really dark. The Joker had killed Robin, and the books had a very grim tone. They weren’t messing around. But the movies ignored all that, and the fans turned against it.”

The rest of the article is really worth the read. Head on over and check it out.

With the fruition and multiplication of all the Hero genre films out there (and upcoming) you knew it was only time before someone put up the cash for a Superhero Spoof flick. It even looks like it’ll just be called “Superhero”. The good folks over at Comic Book Movie give us this:

David Zucker, Craig Mazin and Robert Weiss, the producers of Scary Movie 3, plan Superhero, a spoof on several cape and cowl films, including Spider-Man, Fantastic Four and Batman Begins. Mazin will write the script for Zucker to direct for Dimension Films.

This makes me both sad and happy. I think the concept is a good one but I also think every one of the “Scary Movie” films have out sucked black holes. For those of you who may not know much about black holes… trust me… that’s a LOT of sucking mister. Oh well… wait and see I suppose.

It’s hard to imagine a Terminator flick without Arnold Schwarzenegger, but that may be exactly what we’re getting. According to Variety, Warner Bros. has put the gears in motion to get another Terminator film out there. The plan has filming beginning in 2005… when Arnie is still the Govenator of California. You’ve gotta believe he’ll at least put in a cameo appearance.. but that’ll probably be about it.

I know I’m in the minority here… but I really enjoyed T3. I realize it wasn’t in the same spirit as the first 2, but it was a lot of fun with big explosions… what else can a man ask for? Having said that, I think this is a bad idea. There is no place else for this “story” to go. It’s done. They were great… but it’s time to put Terminator to bed folks. And without Arnlod?!?! No way this will work. Just my opinion. Who knows, maybe WB will make me eat my words. What do you think?

Whoo Hooo! House of Flying Daggers is looking better and better all the time! We’ve been talking about this flick here for a while now and the excitement grows! Go here to check out the trailers via AICN.

Hey, for all you Fantastic Four fans, here’s a better picture of the new Thing than the last one I put up. Personally I think he looks FANTASTIC! I can’t imagine how you could make him look any better without going totally CG… and Hell Boy proved you don’t have to do that. What do you think of it? Wanna see the whole cast? Go here. Thanks to Richard for the pointer.

As someone who has produced his own Indy film (with several others) I have an appreciation for those who undertake this labour of love. No millions of dollars to be made here. You simply make the movie because you love it… and that still means something.

Having said that, I got a neat little email from a chap named Andy who went on to tell me about his new Indy film called Dumped - The Musical. It’s a neat looking little project, but here’s the interesting part… in an attempt to raise money (something all indy film makers must do) they came up with the cool idea of selling “Associate Producer” titles on Ebay for $19.95. If I understood Andy correctly, you basically donate $19.95 through ebay, and you’re put in the credits as an Associate Producer. Some people would call that whoring yourself out. I call it creative thinking. Want in on this? Go to the Ebay page here.

Oh wow… you know what’s NEVER been done before??? You know what would be a really unique and original idea for a movie that I bet no one has ever even thought of??? Take a popular music artist and put them in their own movie where they play a character who dreams of a music career! Oh wait a second… THAT HAS BEEN DONE 1000 FRICKEN TIMES ALREADY!!!!! Will someone please stop this madness!?!?!

Ok, I know you regular readers are probably sick and tired of me ranting about how much I hate it when non-actors (or sucky actors as the case may be) are given roles in film… ESPECIALLY when they’re music icons who have no business on the big screen. So now 50 Cent is in on the act. Good grief Charlie Brown. Yes that’s right. They’re making a movie with 50 Cent as… are you ready for this… a street guy with dreams of making it in the music industry. SHOCKING!!!!

Make no mistake about it folks… this movie is not about creating “art”… it’s not about the love of film. This movie is all about being a huge MONEY GRAB. 50 Cent fans will buy tickets to see it just because 50 Cent is in it… and who cares if he, or it is any good. And no matter how bad it turns out to be, those 50 Cent fans will swear it was “awesome” because of the very fact that they’re 50 fans (just look at our forum for “You Got Served” to see this dynamic in action). I need a nap I’m so frustrated.

How can you not like Adrien Brody after seeing The Pianist? The guy is killer (in my opinion), and was probably the best thing going for The Village.

For my money, George Reeves is still Superman. As a kid I used to be able to find the old old Superman show on the weekends. That show was made when Sci-Fi was really just in it’s infancy, and the awe and wonder of Superman was never stronger. I still see it once in a while on those obscure chanells after midnight sometimes. Great stuff. Now Brody is signed up to appear in a picture about Reeves’ life (and apparently death) called “Truth, Justice, and the American Way“. Cinema Blend gives us the following:

After spending the early part of this year rolling around with Keira Knightly on the set of The Jacket and the rest of this year in New Zealand with PJ chillin’ with Kong Adrien Brody is now attached to star in the new Superman Movie.

Relax, Captain Big schnoz will not don the cape nor will he be in anything Superman related. The flick he’s signed on for is the George Reeves biopic, Truth, Justice, and the American Way, to be directed by Allen Coulter (“The Sopranos”). George Reeves was Superman on the 1950’s TV show. Brody will be playing the lead detective investigating the mysterious death of the actor. No word yet on when filming goes underway.

I think this is a great idea, and with all the Superman hype going on right now (The new Movie, Smallville) it’s a perfect time to get this thing in development. I’m looking forward to it.

You know how every once in a while you see a guy and think to yourself “That guy is all man”. Clint Eastwood is one, Charles Bronson was one… andJames Garnerranks right up there too. The Screen Actors Guild is giving Garner the lifetime achievement award this year, and very few deserve it as much as this guy. He’s always been underrated, often never noticed, but he puts on a damn good show when he’s on the screen and I for one am glad to see the man get his props. CNN gives us this:

Garner, 76, who built a career playing ruggedly charming, good-natured anti-heroes, will be presented with SAG’s annual lifetime achievement award at its gala awards show on February 5. The show is carried live on the cable channel TNT.

Garner, an Oklahoma native, entered show business in the 1950s after serving in the Korean War and gained fame on the TV western “Maverick.” He played the wise-cracking Bret Maverick, a gambler and ladies man, who got by on his wits rather than a sixgun and would just as soon duck a fight as face a showdown. He left the show in 1960 in a contract dispute with producers, but brought his “Maverick”-like alter ego to a series of films, including “Thrill of It All,” “Move Over, Darling,” “The Great Escape” and “Support Your Local Sheriff!”

Garner said his screen persona as a guy smart enough to steer clear of a fight ran only so deep. “At times it’s like me, but I used to have this temper. I used to get in a fight in a heartbeat. But that was many years ago,” he told Reuters. Garner had another prime-time hit as ex-con turned private detective Jim Rockford in “The Rockford Files,” which ran from 1974 until he abruptly quit the show in 1980. He reprised Rockford for several TV movies in the late 1990s.

If you’d like to read the whole article, go here. And oh yeah, if you haven’t seen Space Cowboys yet… go rent it tonight and enjoy.

I’m a sucker for quirky little facts and figures (probably because I’m a sports fan). So when I came across this little chart at Box Office Mojo I was instantly interested. Wheeeeeeee!!!! Star Wars is still #1 all time at the box office with Lord of the Rings right on it’s tail. Some of the more surprising entries on this list are Back to the Future only being ranked #11 while the pathetic Home Alone is ranked 3 places higher at #8. Another one is Crocodile Dundee at #21 being ahead of Superman at #22. The Godfather only at #28!?!?! And for all you Star Trek Fans out there, The Karate Kid is ahead of you at #29. Anyway, here’s an abbreviated look at the list of all time trilogy box office leaders. For the full list go here.

1) Star Wars 4-6 $1,060,779,251
2) The Lord of the Rings $1,033,551,625
3) Harry Potter $828,439,167
4) Jurassic Park $767,326,501
5) Indiana Jones $619,416,531
6) Batman $598,051,734
7) The Matrix $592,327,301
8) Home Alone $490,229,274
9) Austin Powers $473,231,964
10) Beverly Hills Cop $431,040,426
11) Back to the Future $416,787,347
12) Terminator $393,585,657
13) Hannibal Lecter $388,985,088
14) Jaws $387,283,062
15) Lethal Weapon $357,192,640
16) American Pie $352,229,713
17) Scary Movie $338,331,985
18) Jack Ryan $327,551,947
19) Rocky $327,466,432
20) Spy Kids $310,327,412
21) Crocodile Dundee $309,745,398
22) Superman $302,354,347
23) Die Hard $300,562,298
24) Scream $293,553,139
25) The Exorcist $289,518,977
26) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles $256,196,337
27) Rambo $251,343,947
28) The Godfather $249,175,314
29) The Karate Kid
30) Star Trek $237,642,465

It’s just been announced that Rosamund Pike has been singed up to appear in the upcoming DOOM movie. I like (not love) this choice for a couple of reasons. First of all the movie already has all the “name” power it needs (with The Rock and Karl Urban already on board), secondly I thought she did a fine job with her role in Die Another Day , and thirdly I think she’s got the look for an action film heroine (ok that last one is pretty subjective and weak, but hey, that’s my opinion).

My biggest fear with this picture is that they rush it into theaters to try to capitalize on the remaining buzz from the release of the third installment of the video game series. If they take their time, focus on making a good sci-fi action film instead of a cheap ass video game cinematic, then they have a shot at making something pretty enjoyable. I already like the cast. The good folks over at Cinescape give us this little synopsis of the project:

Pike will play a scientist named Samantha in the action flick, working with special ops soldier John Grimm (to be played by Karl Urban) as they try to fight a seemingly limitless army of demons unleashed through a portal. Swayne “The Rock” Johnson also co-stars in the movie. Shooting is still on track to start next month for a summer 2005 release.

Despite what I said I’m not actually naive enough to think this is going to be a cinematic masterpiece… but I am holding out a little hope that it could be half entertaining. If you’d like to read the whole Cinescape article go here.

I’m a big Michael Moore fan. His “Roger and Me” documentary got me hooked on the genre at an early age and I’ve loved his stuff ever since. I’m not saying I necessarily agree with all his politics, but the man knows how to make a compelling and well thought out documentary. It looks like his next project isn’t going to wade into the political arena (as much). “Sicko” is going to be a look at the American Health Care system. This should be great since I’ve already seen him do a couple of smaller bits attacking the way the system works right now (and he usually props the Canadian system at the same time!). I’ll be keeping an eye on this one.

Oh yes my friends!!!! The day is drawing nigh! Shaun of the Dead opens in just 2 days. I (along with Todd and Dave) already had a chance to see the film a few weeks ago with the director, Edgar Wright and 2 stars, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (ok, a little bit of bragging there) and was TOTALLY AMAZED. I was hoping to LIKE this movie, but I ended up LOVING it. I’ll put up my personal review of the film in the next day or 2, but for now, here are what some of the other critics are saying about it!

“This is a zombie movie with brains. Or, as the zombies themselves would put it, with braainnnnssss.”
Ethan Alter, FILM JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

“There are certainly touches that only the homegrown crowd will get, but there’s sufficient energy and scattershot horror movie references that it should please fans of gross-out humor everywhere.”
Ray Bennett, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

“Co-scripters Pegg and Wright structure it as a classic three-acter (set-up, journey, finale) with enough twists, character development and small set pieces to keep the comedy boiling.”
Derek Elley, VARIETY

“A side-splitting, head-smashing, gloriously gory horror comedy.”
Nev Pierce, BBC

GO SEE THIS FILM! It’s an absolute blast. To see more critics thoughts on Shaun of the Dead check out Rotten Tomatoes. To see the trailer for Shaun of the Dead go here.

I am sad this morning my good readership. One of the few films that I’ve truly been looking forward to post summer was The Forgotten. Solid cast, interesting trailer without giving ANYTHING away, and a cool title all worked together to build my hopes up for seeing it this Friday. But alas, even with Julianne Moore, Gary Sinise and Anthony Edwards this one is getting negative shouts from the critic community. They’re not all bad… but most of them are. Check it out:

“Frightening and enthralling, and quite often, but the film’s consummate thematic missteps cripple the project beyond repair.”
Dustin Putman, THEMOVIEBOY.COM

“Car chases, special-effects jolts, and a socially irrelevant sci-fi story line lifted whole from The X-Files.”
Mark Holcomb, VILLAGE VOICE

“Folks are inhaled into the sky like a line of coke up a producer’s nose. If ever there was a movie where the cast should be sucked into the stratosphere, this would be it.”
Mark Ramsey, MOVIEJUICE!

“…a serviceable thriller…even though it feels an awful lot like a mediocre ‘X-Files’ episode at times.”
JoBlo, JOBLO’S MOVIE EMPORIUM

Well, I’ll still be in line to see it this weekend and judge for myself. To check out more reviews of The Forgotten, head over to Rotten Tomatoes. To see the trailer for The Forgotten, go here.

It seems like no matter what Alec Baldwin does, he’s destined to not get the respect he deserves as a top notch actor. Maybe it’s because of his brothers, maybe it’s because of his divorce from Kim Basinger or perhaps he ticked of some whitch doctor. Who knows. Pair him up with the also underrated (in my opinion) Matthew Broderick and you’ve got The Last Shot. I’ve liked the looks of this flick ever since the first trailer. The reviews are starting to trickle out now, and it seems like the reaction is mixed so far.

“instead of a sharp satiric edge, there is the dull thud of overripe tomatoes hitting the pavement”
Andrea Chase, Killer Movie Reviews

“More or less a neutered version of Robert Altman’s sexy beast The Player.”
Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine

“An affectionate satire of Hollywood’s fringe players.”
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper

I don’t know. I’m still holding out hope for this one. If you wanna check out the trailer go here.

There are very few things that can upset us as much as false advertising in just about any form. The flyer said it was $5‚Ķ why are you charging me $7? You told me you liked me‚Ķ now you just want to be friends?!?! That commercial swore chicks would dig me if I wore this body spray‚Ķ and yet I’m still home alone tonight just typing this article.

Yes, we’ve come to almost expect advertising to be a bunch of lies. But now they’ve gone too far! Movie promotion that boasts a big star is “starring” in a movie, when in reality they’re barely in it at all.

The first time I remember really feeling ripped off by a film’s marketing was with Mission Impossible 2. The commercials declared “Starring Tom Cruise and Anthony Hopkins“. This excited me because I wasn’t really thrilled with the first one and thought Hopkins could really bring a great new dynamic to the franchise. Imagine my surprise when Hopkins had about a 4 minute scene near the beginning and another 1 minute scene at the end. I was so ticked off‚Ķ and the movie sucked to boot.

The most recent occurrence of this marketing deception is in Sky Captain. A great film‚Ķ but the commercials and posters CLEARLY state the film stars Jude Law (true), Gwyneth Paltrow (true) and Angelina Jolie (LIES LIES LIES LIES)!!!!. Jolie probably appears for a grand total of 3 ¬Ω minutes of screen time and doesn’t even show up in the film till about ¬æ of the way through.

Some films take the higher ground and will have a big name star and not even tell you about it. This is always a nice surprise. Take The Village for instance. Academy Award winner Adrien Brody had a major role in the film and I didn’t even know it until I saw the flick. That was a great surprise and increased my enjoyment of the film.

So what is my message to the movie marketing people? DON’T LIE TO ME YOU DIRTY BASTARDS! Prop your movie. Give me glimpses of the best parts if you want. Make the film look better than it is if you need to. But DON’T tell me some big star is “STARRING” in the movie when all they really have is a glorified cameo. Is that too much to ask?

Out of curiosity, what other movies can you think of that do this? Or, what other flicks gave you the pleasant surprise of having a great actor in it without showing them in the ads?

This comes from Digital Spy:

Locals outraged by Demi Moore movie The producers of Demi Moore’s new movie, Half Light, have been accused of destroying a natural beauty spot, according to Ananova. The movie is being filmed on the remote island of Ynyf Llanddwyn, off Anglesey in Wales, however locals are unhappy about the way that the film’s producers are using the island. The island’s lighthouse, its main tourist attraction, has been painted red, while the film sets are ruining the beautiful landscape. A 12th century wall was bulldozed to make way for parking space, and locals have been inconvenienced by producers closing the community centre without any notice.

This is really sad. When you watch the special features on The Lord of the Rings DVD’s you see how careful Peter Jackson and his crew were with preserving all the natural beauty of the places they shot. They even went WAY out of their way to make 100% sure that as little as possible was disturbed and that EVERYTHING was left EXACTLY as they found it. It’s too bad when you come across stories like this one of Hollywood producers not giving a crap about the locals or the history of a place. BULLDOZING A 12th CENTURY WALL FOR PARKING?!?!?! Someone should be hung.

To read the whole article head over here.

The biggest question mark for me heading into production of The Fantastic Four (and for most people) has been how on earth they’re going to pull off Ben Grimm (AKA The Thing). I think we all just accepted that he wasn’t going to look exactly like he does in the comics… so we just hold out hope that they find a good way to pull off the “essence” of The Thing without having to make him look just like the comics.

Well, the good folks over at Hollywood North Report have posted this first behind the scenes look at The Thing, and man I gotta say that I’m impressed!!! I’ve put up a tiny version of it here just to wet your appetites! Go over immediately to HNR to see a much bigger and better version of it!

Web Log’s are such useful things (Ok, I’m biased). They’re a great way to keep in touch with people, and even a great way for businesses or marketers to keep in touch with their target audience. With that in mind, Team America’s music composer Marc Shaiman is keeping an online journal over at the official website. Very cool idea (although not the first ones to do it). Head on over and take a look at it!

I know opinions on the original Hulk flick have been mixed, but as I’ve said before I really enjoyed it and have been hoping a sequel would get done. Well it looks even more like this will happen with the news that Jennifer Connelly has signed her name on
to be a part of it.

I’ve had a huge respect for Connelly ever since seeing Requiem for a Dream. She went on to win an Oscar for her work in A Beautiful Mind (where she met her husband Paul Bettany). So forgive me if I’m a bit giddy. Now, take all this with the grain of salt that I think they MUST get Eric Bana back or this thing doesn’t work. The good folks over at Comic Book Movie give us this:

Jennifer Connelly’s rep told USA Today she’s contracted to do Hulk 2. She was recently spotted supporting husband Paul Bettany whose film Wimbledon debuted last week. In the first film, Connelly played Betty Ross, the scientist daughter of Col. Thunderbolt Ross and girlfriend of Bruce Banner.

Ever since the Blair Witch Project, I’ve developed a small fascination with movies produced on a relatively small budget. Ginger Snaps is one that jumps out at me as well as the recent Open Water. I’ve also always loved films that take a new look at classic fables… put the two together and you’ve got Abominable. I like it already! The good folks over at CHUD describle the movie like this:

Shot on the cheap by Ryan Schifrin (yes, the son of legendary composer Lalo Schifrin, who provides the score), the Rear Window-esque movie stars Matt McCoy (The Hand That Rocks the Cradle) as a paralyzed man living in a secluded cabin. Jeffrey Combs (every B-horror movie), Dee Wallace-Stone (every other B-horror movie), Paul Gleason (Die Hard’s Deputy Chief Dwayne T. Robinson), some nubile college students and one huge, pissed-off and extremely hairy beast of legend also star.

Ok, we all know that trailers can been enormously deceiving, but I think this one looks pretty damn cool. To take a gander at the trailer go here.