I know their releases are almost a year apart… but I’m interested in knowing which one of these two films you’re more looking forward to.

Hands down and without question the top 2 Superheroes are Batman and Superman. The two are polar opposites and bring a totally different mythology to the table. Both films have fantastic directors at the helm (Nolan and Singer) and both films have solid casts (although I think you have to give the casting nod to Batman).

So come on and tell us… which of these two films are you looking forward to the most… and why?

I guess acne isn’t one of the first things you think of that could go wrong on a film set, but apparently that’s one of the challenges the makers of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire are facing.

A bunch of the young cast got a massive breakout of pimples during shooting of the film. According to the good folks over at Monsters and Critics, things got so bad they:

…had to bring in an expert to airbrush the images and hide the blemishes as the finishing touches were put to the film, due out in November, the report said.

“We have had to employ a special effects man to go through every frame clearing up their complexions,” one insider told the newspaper. “Harry Potter” star Daniel Radcliffe, now 15, 17-year-old Rupert Grint, who plays Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger reportedly were among the worst affected.

As stupid as this sounds, the first time I see this movie now I’ll just be totally distracted because I’ll always be looking for the digital work on their faces to see if I can catch a glimpse of the magical zits. Oh well… at least I actually HAVE a reason to watch it now.

The choice between Michael Bay and Roland Emmerich seems to be over with news from Cinescape through Comic Book Movie that he has signed up for the Directors role.

Producer Don Murphy has announced on his message board that, “Michael Bay is signed at this point for the film - BUT- he has to finish The Island and it’s not finished yet - before he can focus on TF…We were hoping to have a script last week but we don’t. But we will soon. Voice actors and Arcee and other things will be addressed at the right time. Welcome to the hell that is Producing - things move VERY slowly in my world. And yes, it is frustrating to me.”

I know there was quite a bit of discussion about which one was the best choice for the role, do you think it’s the best choice? Interestingly there’s no script yet either, does that mean Bay will have a chance to shape it?

I’d had this link saved from Boing Boing for some time as the main picture and blurb had me quite interested.

This is a reproduction of a very funny slide/talk by biologist/SF author Peter Watts (actually delivered at a Toronto SF convention this spring) with audio track and PowerPoint type slides. It brilliantly satirizes talks at Big Pharma conferences as it describes (from a Big Pharma standpoint) the evolutionary explanation for the existence of vampire, and the argument for genetic tweaking to create more vampires, backed up with real biology. Runs approximately 30 mins. Take special note of the various “company” slogans in the bottom corners of the slides.

So when there was a quiet news day this morning and I couldn’t really be bothered writing anything having woken up with a stinking migraine, so I decided to watch this short. Great idea with a migraine! Anyway, it turns out to be very cleverly written, with some small moments of sharp wit, the tagline on the slide shown says “Exceptional profits. Acceptable side effects”. However, it does play over thirty minutes and requires a flash plugin.

Have a look at it here and see what you think, it does actually sound like it would make an interesting tie in to a complete story.

There’s a big furore just now that Eddie from The Indy Experience has highlighted. George Lucas has approved the script for the new Indiana Jones movie. Considering his amazing script writing for Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, I wouldn’t be exceedingly happy about this, I’d be wanting it double checked a few times.

That just might be happening as there is one more person who has to approve it - is it any wonder it’s taken this long to make it this far - Harrison Ford. Let’s hope he’s seen Revenge and won’t settle for a poor script. Mind you Spielberg has already approved it, so here’s hoping.

If he does okay it, the next hurdle is getting the film made. Spielberg has quite a busy schedule and it might be a while before anything starts to happen. That is unless Lucas films it and drops in a ton of CGI.

It seemed like everything was in place for a Rush Hour 3. I was even kinda excited about it since I thought Rush Hour 2 was pretty funny. But apparently Chris Tucker has walked out of the project because… well… no one really knows why. Tucker is an overrated performer who just walked away from the one project that was ready to overpay him. Stupid move.

The great folks over at Moviehole report the following:

Chris Tucker, who the trades reported would be most likely signing on for “Rush Hour 3″, has nixed the idea of a second sequel to the action-comedy hit. No word on what will happen to the film now, but as Jackie Chan’s about as excited to return to Hollywood as a kid is to school, we’re guessing it’s as dead as restaurant snail.

Yeah, it’s dead. Maybe it’s for the best. Still… Rush Hour 2 was the one North American Jackie Chan film I actually liked. Too bad.

File this one under the “Someone please shoot me” category. Next up in the grand tradition of huge stupid mistakes, Fred Durst (lead man of Limp Bizkit) has been cast to appear in the upcoming film Population 436. When will these people ever learn?!?!

Ok, without going into my usual whole tiraid about music stars getting big roles in films, let me just give you this equation:

Music Star + Leading Movie Role = Stupidity

Don’t get me wrong, I really like Durst’s music… I’m actually a fan, but I’d be just as grumpy if I found out that Bono (U2 is my favorite band of all time) got a lead in a film. Durst is a SINGER NOT AN ACTOR!!!

Anyway, the film itse’f looks interesting. Here’s what the good folks over at Monsters and Critics have to say about it:

Michelle MacLaren will direct the psychological thriller set in an idyllic town whose population of 436 has stayed the same for a century. A census worker (Sisto) is sent to find out why this is the case and dsicovers it is not just chance that keeps the popualtion static. Filming will start next month in Winnipeg.

On a more positive note, the film will also star Jeremy Sisto of Six Feet Under fame.

I became a fan of Paul Bettany’s the day I saw A Knight’s Tale (and the movie wasn’t even that good). So learning that he’s now officially in the upcoming Da Vinci Code film has upgraded my enthusiasm for the project from “Totally Indifferent” to “Mildly Interested”.

Bettany is going to be a major star in the next 5 years. He has fantastic comedic timing, but has also shown that he can carry himself in a major dramatic roll (A Beautiful Mind and Master and Commander). The sign of a potential star is when they can shine in a mediocre film (Wimbledon).

So now Bettany is lined up for The Da Vinci Code. Here’s what the good folks over at FilmFodder have to say:

The last piece of the “Da Vinci Code” casting puzzle has snapped into place. Variety says Paul Bettany (“Wimbledon”) will play Silas, the albino religious fanatic/henchman. Bettany’s casting solidifies the film’s major roles. Now, all that stands between the movie and ungodly box office receipts is the actual filming, which is scheduled to begin next month.

Like I said, Bettany’s presence has me a bit more interested in the project… and you can rarely go wrong with Tom Hanks… but I still have a hard time getting excited about this film and I’m not really sure why.

The MTV Movie Awards in and of itself is pretty damn useless. The categories mean nothing, the awards mean nothing and the nominee list is often a total joke. However, one can’t deny that it also a pretty entertaining show to watch since they usually come up with some VERY funny stuff (The acceptance speech given by Gollum for Best Animated Character was the greatest acceptance speech of all time).

So chalk up another great PR move for the folks over at MTV. Apparently they are getting the original cast of The Breakfast Club back together for this year’s show. Here’s what the good folks over at The USA Today has to say:

At the 2005 MTV Movie Awards, to air June 9, the network plans to reunite the cast of the classic ’80s movie, the cable channel said Friday. Though Emilio Estevez, who played Andrew Clark, isn’t confirmed, in attendance will be Molly Ringwald (Claire Standish), Ally Sheedy (Allison Reynolds), Anthony Michael Hall (Brian Johnson) and Judd Nelson (John Bender).

I LOVED The Breakfast Club. It’s a film that pretty much unintentionally presented a definition of the diversity of my generation. Hmmmm… perhaps they should do a “Breakfast Club 2: 20 Years Later”. Oh forget it.

What a dream team this is, Dario Argento, Tobe Hooper and Monte Hellman are each taking one film of a horror trilogy. For horror fans, this is a dream team, although Hellman’s credits are more in cult classics than horror.

From Dark Dreams through Twitch, the concept is following hot on the heels of the TV series Masters of Horror where a plethero of top horror directors and writers.

Dario had signed to do a new horror portmanteau picture with Tobe Hooper and Monte Hellman. We all knew he had joined Hooper, John Landis, John Carpenter, Roger Corman, Joe Dante etc. for the 13 one-hour TV series MASTERS OF HORROR. But the so-far-untitled anthology (THREE EVIL EYES?) being financed by Japanese backers was a total surprise. Due to start shooting in September, the terror trilogy has been scripted by Dennis Bartok, programme director of the American Cinematheque and one of those people endlessly thanked on such ‘Making Of’ DVD extras for EVIL DEAD, THE FOG, THE HOWLING and TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE.

Despite the news that Sylvester Stallone is going to be directing a movie on the great writer Edgar Allen Poe it’s pretty certain that the next step in the Rambo franchise is on.

According to Moviehole filming for Rambo IV is set to being in Bulgaria in January 2006 and moving to India and finally the USA. They also have details of the storyline:

According to Stallone, the new plotline sees the character of Rambo as having “assimilated into the tapestry of America”, living with his family - including daughter - in relative peace for the past fifteen years but still working for the military, when work pressures force him to move his family to the American outback. The Navajo-Indian former Green Beret and his family are then subject to an attack by white-supremacists, and Rambo has to risk life-and-limb in rescuing his 10-year old daughter from being held hostage.

Stallone will be bringing in a new, younger actor for this movie and it definitely sounds like he’ll be handing over the baton for the lead.

Nu Image/ Millennium Films acquired the rights to the ‘Rambo’ film franchise, with their chairman, Avi Lerner, stating that Stallone is “one of the smartest guys I know.” Having persuaded Stallone to co-star with a younger actor in ‘Rambo IV’, Lerner is confident about the film’s future success. “It’s a franchise,” he says. “If No. 4 works, then you have a No. 5.”

Personally I think that the current rating system for movies is very good. What I do think is really funny is the practice of the descriptive warnings alongside the movie rating. “May contain slight scenes of mild peril” or “May contain scenes of futuristic robot terror”, silly and can actually end up becoming quite misleading.

The story from Screen Rant has some exceedingly good comments on the subject of the new Bewitched movie. It’s a PG-13 and the warning words alongside state “Rated PG-13 for some language, including sex and drug references, and partial nudity.”.

WHAT??? You have got to be kidding me! Can someone please explain this to me? Why in the heck is it necessary to make a movie based on the classic TV show Bewitched, PG-13? Is it that difficult to create funny situations without relying on drugs, sex and nudity? Did the folks writing this not watch the show?

I think Vic just said it for me. Okay, there may be some reasons for this rating. Perhaps the makers weren’t expecting it, had written the references in as some clever plot device and decided not to edit them out after the MPAA rating. Or maybe it’s the case that the references are really light and the MPAA have gone over the top with the warning, however if that was the case they’d have either appealed or removed the references.

That is, and this is the reason I’m more inclined to believe, that they’ve deliberately spiced it up to try and gain an audience that are a bit more mature. Now I totally agree with Vic on this, why do they need to do this, why do they have to add sex, violence or drugs to a story that never had any of that and was a truly wholesome programme? Does it make it better? Is it purely for appeal to gain an audience and make money?

The trailer is now out for the new John Singleton movie Four Brothers, and I have to say even without sound (I’m on someone else’s computer today) it does look great.

Thanks to Twitch for the heads up, grab the larger poster through them, and the trailer from Yahoo.

It looks a strong, powerful and violent film. Anyone else interested in this movie and more excited with the trailer? I’m looking forward to good performances from Andre 3000 and of course, Mark Wahlberg.

It’s good that the lure of Hollywood hasn’t affected Michelle Yeoh that much, she’s not sold out and started making Hollywood movies galore and eased off on her talents and projects, and that’s always a nice thing to see.

That doesn’t mean that she’s not going to be appearing in Hollywood movies, and quite frankly that’s also a good thing. She’s a great actress and she looks lovely too. Moviehole are reporting that she’s almost signed up for Mission: Impossible 3, and thank the lord there’s some female talent coming to this movie!

According to Monkey Peaches, Yeoh ["Tomorrow Never Dies", "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"] is in talks to play a role in Paramount’s “Mission : Impossible 3″. According to the actress, her deal’s near sealed for the Cruise blockbuster.

It also suggests that she’s up for a role in Young Hannibal too, and that this might cause scheduling conflicts.

If I were Yeoh (oh, the comedy) then I would seriously think about taking the Lecter movie. MI:3 is going to show audiences more of her in that Tomorrow Never Dies role. What Lecter could give her is a role that’s more psychological and less action, that could be something new for the Hollywood audiences. Also, MI:3 could end up as a stinker looking at current casting rumours. Which role would you suggest for her?

I really got sidetracked looking at this company American World Pictures after the last two posts, and a couple of movies stood out at me, mainly for the cheese factor.

Pterodactyl - “Evil is in the air”, woa does that look cheesy, but hey it’s got Coolio!

The Condemned looks a little bit better, but loses it near the end of the trailer and stars Steve Austin. The Portrait of Dorian Grey looks an interesting story, but just poor.

However what caught my eye was Chasing Ghosts starring Michael Madsen, Gary Busey…okay, and Meat Loaf. Still, the trailer is worth a visit.

I like Madsen, and I like Busey, and I actually think that Meat isn’t that bad either. However it could just be me looking at too many movies from this site and seeing the best being streets ahead, or maybe it could be quite good. What do you think from the trailer? Check them all through the company link at the top of the post. An invisible killer?…Mmmm.

Following hot on the previous post, I felt this deserved a little one of its own. Christopher Lambert is coming back to our screens, yes we know this Richard I hear you say, but not just in the one movie.

He’s currently in pre-production for Highlander: The Source. It’s a bit thin on information so far, here’s the summary:

Duncan MacLeod and his fellow Immortals search for the meaning of Immortality.

Counting Down have some more information, but strangely say that Lambert isn’t in it despite a direct credit on IMDB, in fact the only acting credit there as yet.

…it’s rumoured to tell the story of four new charismatic Immortals as they quest to locate the Holy Grail of their world.

If IMDB are right, Lambert is in as Connor, obviously. The writing credits are many and come from places such as Highlander TV series, Hellboy, Foreverman, Highlander: Endgame, Highlander III: The Sorcerer, Highlander II: The Quickening, Dracula 2000 and sequels, The Prophecy and sequels, Mimic 2 and Hellraiser: Hellworld.

You getting the idea now? It promises more cheese than a bucket of the stuff. Still, for those Highlander fans out there…are there any looking forward to this?

For those of us who may have wondered, what happened to Christopher Lambert and when is he coming back to our big screen, the answer is here.

From reader Joe K comes a cool little link to a movie he’s just completing called Day of Wrath, let me drop you in the IMDB blurb.

Set in the 16th century, a sheriff working on a series of murders has to choose between his conscience and protecting his family when he’s tied to the crimes.

Brian Blessed and James Faulkner are also starring, and we have a link to the early trailer.

Okay, the voiceover is a bit cheesy, and there are a few rougher moments, but I have to say it looks a bit intruiging. The tie in with the Inquisition and the only briefly hinted at secrets have some allure for me, but I find it hard to forget who Lambert really is, Connor. Check out the trailer over at American World Pictures and let us know your thoughts.

Another day, another international trailer. This one’s for the Fantastic Four, and there’s not that much difference. We get a bit longer between cuts, and a few more scenes, but not a dramatic difference as with the Island trailer.

Have a look from Apple through Comic Book Movie, come back and let us know what you think - Hot, or cheesy?

I was a bit wary of watching this ten minute extended trailer for Batman Begins from AllDumb through JoBlo.

I read it right though, and so did you, it’s a ten minute extended trailer, it’s not the first ten minutes of the movie. I don’t think there’s many real spoilers in it and it’s really an extension of the existing scenes we’ve, well, seen. However, if you don’t thrive on the hype and want to keep the movie fresh and clean, then don’t watch it.

After watching it though, I’m so hyped up for this movie you would not believe. There are some amazing touches in the trailer, and they are a tiny bit of a spoiler, but it makes me want to see the whole piece even more, the completed Batman hard at work.

Now this caught my eye over at Twitch, Danny Boyle has agreed an Asian remake of Shallow Grave:

“If you are going to remake Shallow Grave you would make it in Shanghai,” Boyle said. “What a brilliant place to do it — it’s bursting with capitalist frenzy. We made Shallow Grave at a time in Britain when everyone was sick of the corruption of the Tories. Shallow Grave was really a very cynical look at what that obsession with money did to people. Now there is an explosion in Shanghai and it seems really worthwhile to remake the film. This is a case where the idea for the remake is an even better one than the original.”

Well that’s cool, it’s a great movie, and if you look at it with the knowledge of a good few Asian movies under your belt you’ll see some great similarities. Yet there’s a larger part to this story that caught me. Hollywood is busy remaking every Asian horror they can get their hands on and here’s Boyle turning around and letting an Asian team remake his movie. That’s class. You listening Hollywood?

I caught the sixty second interview in the Metro Newspaper this morning on the bus into work. This is where a celebrity answers sixty seconds worth of questions, nothing that special normally, but this morning it was Vin Diesel talking about his new foray into kids movies and also his circumstances for turning downxXx: State of the Union.

The action films are physically demanding but otherwise almost too easy. It’s a genre that I’m comfortable in but I’m really one for career diversification. It’s great to do something that’s different from what people expect.

When asked about the rumours that he had wanted $30million to make the xXx sequel, he plays it quite diplomatically.

You have to know where these storied come from and understand the tactics behind them. If someone wants you to be in a film and you don’t want to do it, they won’t say you didn’t do it because the script sucked.

No, they’ll say you asked for a ridiculous salary.
Of course. And you have to accept that’s the way it is.

Interesting. I think we can take it from that quote that he didn’t like the movie, said no, and then the powers behind the movie leaked the story.

My favourite quote of the whole story though is this.

Any plans to follow your fellow action star Arnold Schwarzenegger into politics?
I would go into politics if I wasn’t a moron. What can I do? I’m a monkey.

You know, this whole “who is the lead female in Mission Impossible 3″ drama is starting to get as boring as the “who will be Bond” thing that we went through the last couple of months. First it’s Lindsay Lohan, then it’s the future Mrs. Tom Cruise. Now it’s being reported that Michelle Monaghan is a done deal as the lead love interest in the project.

The good (and usually reliable) folks over at Ananova offer up the following:

According to the Hollywood Reporter Michelle, who starred in Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, won the role as after Scarlett Johansson pulled out. Carrie-Anne Moss and Kenneth Branagh have also dropped out due to several delays in the project. Monaghan, 28, also previously appeared in Constantine and The Bourne Supremacy and will be seen in the upcoming Brad Pitt-Angelina Jolie movie Mr and Mrs Smith.

I kinda like this girl. She’s not a huge name by any stretch of the imagination… which is a good thing… but I think she’s got some chops. She’ll be a HUGE step up from the dreadful Thandie Newton.

Pierce Brosnan is going to be hosting “AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Movie Quote: America’s Greatest Quips, Comebacks and Catchphrases” speacial to air on CBS June 21st 2005.

Personally I’m really excited to see this. I’ve enjoyed every single one of the AFI’s specials so far. “AFI’s 100 Year… 100 Movies,” “AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Stars,” “AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Laughs,” “AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Thrills,” “AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Passions”, “AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Heroes & Villains” and “AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Songs”. To me, they’re always good fodder for conversation and debate. And they just reaffirm the pure subjectivity of film.

Personally, I think “May the Force be with you” should be #1. But I’m a little biased. I’m sure “Show me the money” and “There’s no place like home” or “My precious” will all be on the list too.

I’ve become a moderate fan of both Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez. While they have distinct styles, their approach to filmmaking is stunningly similar. Put the two of them together and you got Sin City (although Tarantino’s contribution was a minor one… but still).

Now Reuters is reporting that Bob and Harvey Weinstein’s new studio is putting the pair together again for a new project. The concept is an interesting one (not completely original… but an interesting one nonetheless). This is what’s going on:

Tarantino and Rodriguez will each write and direct a 60-minute horror film, and the two films will be packaged under the title “Grind House,” which is planned for a spring 2006 release through the Weinstein Co.

It also will include its own trailers, bonus materials and added extras from other filmmakers that will be packaged together between the two horror flicks in a tribute to the old, big-city movie houses like those on New York’s 42nd Street that earned the moniker grindhouses for programing genre pictures back to back.

This sounds like a neat Pulp Fiction/Sin City formula. I only hope that in a project like this one they aim to have a little more crossover… although from reading the description it sounds like they’re going to keep them 2 parts pretty isolated from each other.

Special thanks to Stacy for the heads up.

Well they’re not really hidden bits, and the most interesting for me has already been told - the appearance of the Millenium Falcon - however there are some references and cameos that are nice to know if you are a complete Star Wars fan (and I know there are a few out there). I’m also sure that this is not the complete list and we’re sure to see this expand.

For now, through Coming Soon, check out a list of bits that you might have missed in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith over at StarWars.com. The impressive list includes the appearance of the Falcon, some interesting cameos, boxing Clone Troopers and that Jar Jar character everyone hates. (Although saying that someone on opening night in my local cinema was wearing a Jar Jar backpack!)

Have you seen anymore? No, I mean really seen, not made up!

There’s another trailer online for War of the Worlds and this one is being billed as the trailer, so the rest were just teasers!

There’s a bit more action in here, with more background and a few more glimpses at the alien ships. I’d agree though, this is the trailer, and it does make you feel anxious and on edge. Very well edited. Anticipation is high for this, have a look at the trailer, and then come back and give us your opinion, what you’re thinking about the movie and if you’re looking forward to it or not.

I don’t often understand why there are different trailers for the different markets, oh I know the reasoning, but I don’t understand the rationale. It labels groups of countries as intelligent, biased against foreign actors, dumb, etc, etc. It’s only until I compare this trailer with the previous US release trailer that I realised the obvious differences. This European version has:

• More of the British actors on screen and voiceover
• Less action
• More suspense building
• Closer scrutiny on the story and the explanation
• More psychological play on the Big Brother and Corporate evil theme

Whereas the first trailer was all action. I get why the first trailer would create a success, and why this one would too, but for very different reasons. It’s also interesting to think that they both portray different movies to a degree, and I think the US trailer will turn out to be the real content of the movie. What are your thoughts after you’ve checked it out? I saw it courtesy of Coming Soon.

I’ve heard some really good things about this movie, and even on some high brow review programmes they’ve commented on how good it is, they just used longer words! So it was with a bit of expectation I watched this trailer and it did deliver, but in a different way. My excitement can be pinned down to the following, Viggo Mortensen (breaking from his epic persona), Ed Harris (personal favourite) and William Hurt (awesome actor), let’s not even think about the story on the human effects of violence or the imagination of David Cronenberg.

Check out the trailer for A History of Violence at Apple Movie Trailers, and tell us what you think and hope for this movie.

Yes, I could hardly believe it when I read it the first time, but now I’ve had time to digest it (so to speak) I actually think it’s a cool idea. According to Bloody Disgusting through Coming Soon Adam Sandler was caught…

…saying one of his favorite remakes was the “Dawn of the Dead” remake. I asked him if he had considered doing a remake of a horror movie and he said “We actually talked, still do, about Killer Tomatoes. I think we should do that one - lots of gore, but lots of laughs too. Robby’s in. That’s a classic man….we definitely goin to look at that again soon.”

The bizarre humour of Sandler and the movie itself make an excellent coupling I think. Despite Attack of the Killer Tomatoes not being that big a hit you could really see something off the wall being done and it being remade with Sandler. It has a strange kind of appeal for me.

So Alexander was rubbish, I think it’s quite clear that most people felt like that and voiced their opinions on the site.

However, it looks like it might just get a second chance on DVD. Oliver Stone has drastically recut and reworked the original movie, from DVD Times:

On DVD Oliver Stone presents a breathtaking new cut of his sweeping epic film, ALEXANDER, the true story of the world’s greatest warrior. Using footage never seen in theaters and dramatically reshaping dozens of scenes…

…The dramatically original DIRECTOR’S CUT re-imagines and re-shapes the original theatrical film with virtually hundreds of edits and re-configurations of sequences, in exactly the kind of vigorous creative action that stands as a trademark of this endlessly inventive director. As Stone says, “We shot a mountain of rich material on ALEXANDER. The first cut was accomplished in 7 months, this second cut in 10 months. Each represents a different approach to a very tall mountain.”

Definitely sounds interesting, and I think it could save his movie in history. Obviously we’ll have to wait until the DVD comes out, but it looks very promising. However, in an annoying move the Directors Cut is released with only an Audio Commentary, all the additional extras are on the normal theatrical release, suggesting that you buy both. Damn those marketing people!

If you want more teasers of what Batman Begins is going to give us, then you should head over to Coming Soon and check out their plethero of photos from the movie, fifty five in all.

If you don’t want to, then trust me that they look great and there’s been nothing I’ve seen to date that makes me think anything negative of this movie. I hope it lives up to the hype, to be quite honest my excitement level is higher than that of Revenge of the Sith, what about you guys? Have you seen anything that doesn’t make you feel positive about this movie and its image of Wayne, Batman and Gotham?

Remakes and sequels in one! Not content with remaking a foreign movie and then sequelisationing (?!) the remake, it looks like they are set to sequelise the sequelisation of the remake!! You got to love Hollywood.

IGN Film Force have a snippet or two from the production guys behind some huge earners of late, including The Ring.

We asked the two about potential upcoming sequels to two of their recent hits, Ring 2 and Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. “We had a year of sequels,” MacDonald laughed. “Ring 3, we’re talking about. We actually had kind of a cool approach to it. That’s kind of in the beginning stages. Lemony Snicket’s is still something Paramount is interested in pursuing and we’re going to be talking with them more.”

The clever bunch at IGN then pressed on to the subject of casting the Ring…there’s a joke or two in there…

So does that mean Ring 3 could feature an entirely new cast? “Not necessarily, but it’s by it’s very nature a small, intimate movie.”

So not much information really, but there is definite progress towards a third movie. I haven’t seen the second yet, and being a huge fan of foreign film and in particular Japanese and Spanish horror, I’m still not sure I will watch it. So I doubt I’ll be going anywhere near a third.

What about you? Are you a fan of the remake and its sequel and are keen for a third? Or are you a Japanese horror fan and think it’s a complete travesty?

So why did Scarlett Johansson get bumped from Mission: Impossible III? Well she didn’t get bumped at all, it’s that old issue of scheduling conflicts.

FilmForce have a little interview with her, chatting about her upcoming movies The Island, The Black Dahlia and the as yet untitled Woody Allen project.

“I was attached to it. I’m working this summer with Woody and we just had scheduling conflict. When you have a big production like that, they can’t move stuff around that easily. I wanted to work with Woody so, unfortunately, that was a casualty, I guess.”

Oh well, nothing dark there. Still I don’t think her voiced replacements are up to her standard.

The Dukes of Hazzard is turing into one of those project that EVERYONE just seems to know is going to be stupid beyond belief… and yet it also carries as much attention from us as the next Superman movie. Why is that?

I also can’t stand the new tag line for the movie: “Cousins. Outlaws. Thrillbillies” Oh man, someone actually got paid to come up with that? Give me a break. This doesn’t do anything to raise my expectations.

Anyway, the new poster for The Dukes of Hazzard has hit the web. I still think the movie will be a waste… but it’s a good solid poster. If you want, you can see a much larger and better version of the poster here. Your thoughts?

The Longest Yard looked totally stupid to me for a long time. I thought it was totally mis-cast. After seeing the first trailer for the film I wasn’t all that impressed either. However, I must admit that after seeing some “making of” material, and a few interviews, my excitement for The Longest Yard has been upgraded from “Could Care Less” to “Somewhat Indifferent”.

I still don’t buy Adam Sandler in this role… but who knows.

The reviews are coming in and they aren’t looking good so far. Here’s what some of the critics have to say:

“When Adam Sandler isn’t interesting enough to hold your attention in an Adam Sandler movie, something is certainly amiss.”
- Rob Blackwelder, SPLICEDWIRE

“More Mirth Machine than Mean Machine, this agreeable remake still manages to go the distance.”
- Michael Rechtshaffen, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

“Sandler is trying to outrun his clownish boy-man past, but since everything about Yard is transparently fake, it loses him career yardage.”
- Tim Appelo, SEATTLE WEEKLY

It looks like a film that is going to have to heavily rely on funny one-liners to carry it through to the endzone (hehe… get it? That’s a football joke… oh shut up). You can read more reviews for The Longest Yard here.

Despite the fact that the trailer had a couple of pretty funny moments… you could just tell that Madagascar was going to be the first legitimate let-down for a 3D animated feature. Yes, the film has an allstar cast of names doing the voices… but unlike Pixar films, they just don’t seem to be voices that bring a creative edge or personality to the characters they’re portraying.

So the reviews are coming in, and predictably they aren’t so hot… they aren’t HORRIBLE… but they are easily the worst I’ve seen for a 3D animated feature so far. Here’s what’s being said:

“Kinda funny. Kinda annoying. Pretty. In love with its own mediocrity.”
- Phil Villarreal, ARIZONA DAILY STAR

“Modestly improving upon the wretched DreamWorks animation template, Madagascar still fails to approximate Pixar’s trademark mix of hilarity and poignancy.”
- Nicholas Schager, SLANT MAGAZINE

“After you see Madagascar, you start to think that the movies are being dumbed down even for small children.”
- David Denby, NEW YORKER

I’ll still be going to see this on Friday, because it’s in my nature to give all 3D films a chance, but my expectations remain low. If you want to read more reviews of Madagascar you can go here.

One could be forgiven for thinking that Sky High is just a project that was put together in the hope of capitalizing on the popularity of The Incredibles and Harry Potter. Because on the surface… that’s all this thing looks like.

Having said that, the film has Kurt Russell and Bruce Campbell in it… which automatically means it’s cool (no matter how stupid it might be). I love Bruce Campbell… so pretty much anything he appears in is automatically added to my “must have this DVD” list. So what is Sky High about?

Will faces the pressure of being the third generation of the Stronghold family to attend the esteemed and celebrated Sky High. This elite school is entrusted with the responsibility of molding today’s power-gifted students into tomorrow’s superheroes. The only problem… Will is starting his freshman year without any super powers of his own. Worst of all, he must hide all of his troubles or face the disappointment of his parents, the crime-fighting duo - The Commander (Kurt Russell) and Jetstream (Kelly Preston) - the most revered and beloved superheroes in the business today.

Yup, Harry Potter meets The Incredibles. Oh well… after seeing the trailer I’ve decided that the movie has the potential to make up with cuteness for what they lack in creativity. And oh yeah… Kurt Russell and Bruce Campbell. Also of note, Lynda Carter (yes folks, the original Wonder Woman) plays the principal of the school.

You can grab the trailer here.

I’m not so knowledgeable on the Lindsay Lohan front, but it seems she’s not exactly well liked out there, and I’m not sure why. That aside, JoBlo have a story from Cinescape about her blurting out that she’s next up in a remake of the Jane Fonda classic Barbarella.

a Cinescape reader was out in LA and bumped into LL (who was out at Tower Records buying Ludacris) and asked her what she was up to. Still holding out hope she said MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 3 and then BARBARELLA after that. Did this guy actually meet Linds? Did she actually say that? Is she so hungry she’s hallucinating?

Ah, is that why she’s so disliked? Well I certainly think that in some shots she could well live up to the look of Barbarella, if not the height. However how can you make something that is so firmly locked in the time it was made? When you look at that wild film it’s so steeped in the culture of the time you watch it with that in mind, I find it hard to believe that it will translate to anything but a comedy nowadays. Your thoughts? Do you think she could do a good Fonda, or could this film actually work?