Movies

Hollywood has been churning out remakes lately. Most of them suck. This week we even found out that Red Sonja is being remade. 100% chance of suckage. But there’s hope. Once in a while a remake comes along that actually makes sense. Where modern technology can actually help tell the story in a more convincing way. I know humbly present one of these rare opportunities: Clash of the Titans.

Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier is set to direct an updated version of the 1981 classic. If his last film is any indication, Leterrier knows how to use special effects, which should greatly help improve the story’s presentation.

Admittedly there was something charming about the special effects in the original Clash of the Titans. Ray Harryhausen’s stop motion effects are great, but they look dated. Really dated. If the remake can keep the same spirit as the original, but update the effects to modern standards, the result could be fantastic. If they try to go overboard and rely on effects at the expense of the story, it will suck hard. I guess we’ll just have to wait until 2010 to find out.

This new trailer for The Dark Knight is brought to us by Dominos Pizza. They make shitty pizza, but the trailer is fresh and tasty. It features some new dialogue and footage, and focuses heavily on Batman’s psyche. Is it July 18th yet?

There’s apparently no end to the marketing for The Dark Knight. Here’s yet another poster, and this one is good. It shows the connection between The Joker and Batman by making an image of the hero out of the villain’s trademark playing cards. Awesome.

As always, click to enlarge.

I’ll be the first to admit I’ve never been a huge James Bond fan. Sure, the movies are fun, and have their exciting moments, and everyone loves Sean Connery. But for some reason they never really grabbed me. Until Casino Royale that is. I really liked the re-imagining of the Bond franchise. The grittier feel. Daniel Craig’s darker spin on the character. They make for a far more interesting storyline.

So it’s with a fair amount of anticipation that I present the first trailer for the next chapter in the Bond series: Quantum of Solace:

I’d say so far it looks pretty good. Almost like a Bourne movie. Which can only be a good thing.

Quantum of Solace hits theaters November 7th.

One can only expect fun and fireworks when two former Daily Show correspondents get together. And that’s just what we got when Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell got together at NYC’s Apple Store for a sit down about Carell’s Get Smart. The pair shows off their wide range of talents when they decide to sing the National Anthem, in harmony! Check it out:

From the “wha?” department…

Rose McGowan is set to star in a remake of the ridiculous classic 80’s fantasy Red Sonja. Even stranger, the movie is set to be made by her boyfriend, Robert Rodriguez.

If you don’t remember Red Sonja I don’t blame you. I’m pretty sure the only reason I do is that my little brother watched it on about 200 times on an endless loop (on Beta, nonetheless). The basic premise is that Sonja is a female version of Conan the Barbarian, and she has to save her world from an evil bad guy out to take it over.

Now that you’re caught up, let’s count the ways this is a bad idea. First, in the original Sonja is played by Brigitte Nielsen, a 6′ 1″ Dane who is built to play an ass-kicking Valkyrie. McGowan is 5′ 4″. Not exactly barbarian material.

Second, Rodriguez is a good director, but he doesn’t exactly have any experience in the fantasy genre. He does great with Mexican westerns (Desperado, El Mariachi) and zombie flicks (Planet Terror), so-so with comic book movies (Sin City), and I’m assuming fairly well with kids movies (all the Spy Kids movies). But what makes us think he’ll be any good at epic fantasy?

Finally, and most importantly, the original movie was just stupid. So how about we just leave it alone? To wither and die. Like it should.

Producer Frank Marshall confirmed to IESB that the fourth installment of the Bourne franchise will hit theaters in 2010. No word yet on the story, though it will not be based on any of the books. Not that the first three were really based on the books either.

via SlashFilm

It’s a recipe for disaster: take a current TV star and put him in a movie version of a classic TV show. It’s sure to disappoint both the star’s fans and fans of the old show. The script will be contrived, stuck between slipping in homages to the original and providing modern audiences with what they expect from current movies. The director is sure to assemble lots of other stars in supporting roles, to bring in audience members who aren’t fans of either the TV star or the original series, and they will end up being completely wrong for their parts. In short, it will be exactly the sort of summer blockbuster shit that nobody actually enjoys, yet somehow makes money.
Read the rest of this entry »

The Dark Knight is getting closer. We’re less than a month away now! And as July 18th creeps up on us the TV ads have increased. Here’s a round-up of all the TV ads so far, just in case you’re the kind of obsessive fanboy that has to see every piece of footage that’s been released so far.
Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been going back and forth about Wanted ever since I saw the first trailer. Would it be a hyper-kick-ass, balls to the wall action film? Or a completely over-the-top parody of itself? As each new trailer has come out I’ve watched, and tried to figure it out. I was finally leaning towards the former, but this fact has pushed me right over the edge into full-on excitedness: It has a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. Holy shit. The Matrix only has an 86%.

In case you’ve missed it, here’s the red band trailer for Wanted, which hits theaters this Friday:

via CanMag

The first poster for the upcoming G.I. Joe movie is out. It shows Joe leader Duke in his ridiculous body armor and overly fancy gun. It also shows something we haven’t seen before: the movie’s subtitle. I have to say that up until now I’ve been very skeptical of this shameless attempt to rape my childhood memories nostalgia-fest, but now that I know that it’s subtitled Rise of Cobra, I have to say, I’m, well, unchanged. Really. This does nothing for me. Meh.

via this Dutch movie blog

This post combines two things I love: trailer remixes and Superbad. Here’s what the hilarious movie would look like as a blockbuster action film:

via SlashFilm

It’s starting to look like Quentin Tarantino doesn’t like standalone films anymore.  First he gave us the two-part epic Kill Bill.  Then he teamed with buddy Robert Rodriguez on the Grindhouse double feature.  Now there’s news that his next project is another two-parter.

Inglorious Bastards will be Tarantino’s first foray into the war movie genre. He’s been working on the script for years, and he announced at Cannes that he’s finally finished it. Not only that, but it’s so big it’s going to be two movies!

The film will follow a group of criminals on a military transport during WWII. The transport is attacked by Nazis and only the prisoners survive. The decide to head for the freedom of neutral Switzerland, but have to fight both Nazis and Allies along the way. Great premise.

The films title is taken from a 1977 Italian movie of the same name. Apparently it’s similar to that film, but more of an homage than a remake.

No set release date or cast yet. Ain’t it Cool News has more info.

Following what seems to be a theme recently, here’s the international teaser trailer for the Coen brothers’ upcoming comedy, Burn After Reading:

Not a whole lot of new stuff here. Regardless, this movie’s starting to look like another Big Lebowski for the Coens. Only funny.

Burn After Reading comes to a theater near you September 12th.

Behold the first poster for the Coen brothers’ upcoming Burn After Reading. It’s a great homage to classic Hollywood posters, especially those by Saul Bass from the 50s and 60s. Film School Rejects has some good examples of Bass’ posters.

If the poster doesn’t help get you excited for Burn After Reading, go back and watch the trailer. That should do the trick.

Burn After Reading hits theaters September 12th.

The release of The Dark Knight is just over a month away, but more and more stuff keeps trickling out. Today, as part of the massive viral marketing campaign associated with the movie, Warner Bros launched a website for Gotham City Pizzeria. Clicking on the “HA” in Gotham on the site takes you to this clip, showing a brief glimpse of Two-Face:

Really it’s not much. You can’t even really see anything. Unlike the picture of Two-Face that came out a while ago. What’s more interesting is trying to figure out how this fits into the movie. Any thoughts?

The second trailer for the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars is out, and it’s just as mediocre as the first one. Is anyone other than the hardcore Star Wars fanboys actually looking forward to August 15th? Check out the uninspiringness below:

More info at SlashFilm

Here’s yet another trailer for The Dark Knight. A few new clips, but nothing too major. Still can’t wait for July 18th..

Behold, the first poster for Righteous Kill, the upcoming police thriller starring Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro. If you haven’t seen the trailer for it yet, Al and Bobby play cops trying to track down a serial killer. The twist? The serial killer is killing criminals. Cool!

Righteous Kill comes to theaters September 12th.

American Teen follows five teenagers through their last year in high school. They make up a cross-section of high school life - a jock, a geek, a princess, a rebel, and a heart throb. Sound familiar? Yep, it’s The Breakfast Club, only it’s a documentary. Kick ass.

If you haven’t seen The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters this probably isn’t going to make much sense. But then again you kind of deserve to be punished for not seeing it, so I’m fine with that. In case you’re still interested, it’s a documentary following the world’s two best Donkey Kong players. Steve Weibe is the upstart, coming out of nowhere to challenge Billy Mitchell, the man who’s owned the world record score for 20 years. I won’t ruin the movie for you, but let’s just say they don’t get along so well.

Now that you’re all caught up, here’s G4’s take on what a sequel would look like:

via FilmSchoolRejects

Can’t…stop…laughing… Some genius took the audio from a conversation between Joe Pesci and Robert DeNiro from Casino and synched it to Elmo talking to DeNiro. Hilarious.

Via BoingBoing

Hot on the heels of their latest masterpiece, No Country for Old Men, the Coen brothers are back. This time it seems they’re going a different route, with a comedy about spies and gym employees. Burn After Reading assembles an all star cast, including Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Frances McDormand, John Malkivich, and Tilda Swinton.

Burn After Reading is scheduled to hit theaters September 12th. SlashFilm has all the details

The first teaser for Kevin Smith’s Zack and Miri Make a Porno hit the web late last night. It features stars Seth Rogan and Elizabeth Banks ad libbing their way through porn auditions. Smith says it’s just a teaser, not a trailer, because none of the footage actually appears in the movie, but it does give you a feel for the movie’s tone.

Zack and Miri hit theaters October 31st.

As a bonus, you can now order the sweet Monroeville Zombies hockey jersey from the film (pictured above). For those of you who aren’t big George Romero fans, the joke is that Dawn of the Dead was filmed in the Monroeville (PA) mall, and Zack and Miri also filmed there.

Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro are cops.  Cops who have seen a lot.  Cops who may or may not play by the rules.  Suddenly bad guys start ending up dead.  They need to figure out who’s killing them.  Is it some sort of righteous vigilante?  Or a cop with a score to settle?  September 12th we’ll find out.  That’s when Righteous Kill comes out.  Here’s the second trailer for the film.

I was already interested after the first trailer.  But this one raised the bar.  Who can resist two of the world’s greatest actors in a crime drama?

There’s a new red band trailer out for the summer comedy Step Brothers, starring Will Ferrell as two stunted adults who suddenly become step brothers. Despite Ferrell and Reilly, and the fact that it’s directed by Adam McKay, who did Anchorman and Talladega Nights, I was luke warm on this after the first trailer. But this one definitely made me laugh. Of course at heart I’m still 12, so collapsing bunk beds will always make me laugh…Just rememeber, “This house is a prison. On planet Bullshit. In the galaxy of This Sucks Camel Dick.” Awesome.

Step Brothers hits theaters July 25th.

Film director, producer, and actor Sydney Pollack died Monday at age 73. He directed Hollywood classics such as Tootsie, Out of Africa, and Three Days of the Condor, and acted dozens of films, including Michael Clayton and The Firm. NY Times has a full obituary.

I had no idea what to expect going into Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I had seen the trailers and a couple of production photos, but I had avoided all of the early reviews. Typically I don’t mind know a lot going into a movie, but Indy is such an iconic character and a deep part of my childhood that I wanted to be surprised. So, after a 19 year layoff can Indy still deliver adrenaline and one-liners with equal skill? Will Spielberg and Lucas find a good way to restart the franchise? And will the adult version of me be as swept away as the kid was by the first three movies?
Read the rest of this entry »

British newspaper The Telegraph has a story today about Otto Rahn, the German archaeologist who served as the inspiration for Indiana Jones. He was obsessed with finding the Holy Grail, was at one point a gay Nazi, and may have been Jewish. Yep, the inspiration for Indiana Jones was a gay Jewish Nazi. After his homosexuality was found out by the Nazi party he committed suicide at the young age of 34.

Indiana Jones is great and all, but this seems like a hell of a movie all by itself, without the giant boulders or angry natives. Hey Lucas and Spielberg, can we get this guy’s life story?

What happens when everyone’s favorite movie anchorman interviews a real anchorman? Hilarity.

There’s really not much to say about this. It’s another badass looking poster/banner of Heath Ledger as The Joker from The Dark Knight. Click to see the full thing.

via SlashFilm

When the first trailer for Ben Stiller’s Tropic Thunder came out I thought it looked pretty good. The concept is promising: a group of mismatched actors goes into the jungle to film a war movie and doesn’t realize that they’re in a real war. The cast is great, with Jack Black, Steve Coogan, Nick Nolte, and Robert Downey Jr (as an Australian who gets a medical procedure so he can play an African-American) joining Ben Stiller.

Now there’s a second trailer out, and it’s gloriously red band. And it looks AWESOME. But don’t take my word for it, click on the picture below to watch it for yourself.

Suddenly August 15th can’t come fast enough…

Looks like the latest attempt to cash in on 80s nostalgia is the beloved Jim Henson creation Fraggle Rock.  The Weinstein Company announced plans to make a live-action musical version of the show for the big screen.  The movie will reportedly take the main Fraggle characters outside of Fraggle Rock, where they’ll interact with humans.  No word yet on when we can expect this shameless attempt to part nostalgic twenty and thirtysomethings from their disposible income.

SlashFilm has all the details

Yahoo Movies has the first seven minutes of Speed Racer up. Go ahead and watch, then we’ll discuss.

I have to say, this it’s truly unique. The Wachowski Brothers have done a fantastic job creating a live-action cartoon, but will that be enough to engage an audience for over two hours? What do you think?

Up to this point there’s been a lot of focus on Heath Ledger’s portrayal of The Joker in The Dark Knight, and not a lot of information on Aaron Eckhardt as Two-Face. Well that all changed this week when the first picture of Two-Face hit the net. The picture is after the jump.
Read the rest of this entry »

I’m a little behind on this, but here’s the second trailer for the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. It really seems like it keeps the same nostalgic feel as the first three movies.

The latest chapter of the Indiana Jones tale hits theaters May 22nd. Can’t wait!

Iron Man is just about everything a comic book movie should be. It’s funny, it’s exhilarating, and it’s got great characters. Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark is perfect. Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts is a perfect foil for Downey’s cocksure playboy. The Dude is very good as the menacing bad guy. And director Jon Favreau is so money baby, and he doesn’t even know it. If Iron Man is any indication of what we can expect from this year’s crop of comic book adaptations we’re in for a treat.

Rating:

This new trailer doesn’t officially hit the internets until Sunday, but it’s running 12 cities and someone managed to capture it. So here’s a bootleg to tide us over until the real thing hits:

Removed at WB’s request. Check back when it gets officially released
Here’s the real thing:

So what do you think?

Courtesy of some true heroes down in Brazil, here are five new posters from The Dark Knight. Check them out below, then we’ll dicuss.

Pretty damn cool, huh? Especially the closeups of Joker, Batman, and Harvey Dent. I love the way half of Dent’s face is covered. The Batpod one is pretty lame though. So far that’s the only thing I’ve seen from the movie that doesn’t look completely badass. Oh well, I guess you can’t win them all…

UPDATE
Here’s yet another new one, courtesy of Film School Rejects

There’s a great new poster out for The Dark Knight.  It shows Batman against the backdrop of a building with the bat symbol burned into it, and features the tagline “Welcome to a World Without Rules”.  This.  Is.  Going.  To.  Be.  AWESOME!

(click the header to see the full poster)

This summer will see the release of the latest movie in the Will Smith, Action Hero genre. This time the Fresh Prince plays a reluctant super hero in Hancock. Check out the first real look into what the movie is all about:

Hancock is due to hit theaters on July 2nd. What do you think? A worthwhile summer popcorn flick? Or more mindless blockbuster poo?

It looks like the badass DVD edition of Kill Bill we’ve all been waiting for may actually be on its way, and it may be even more badass than we could have imagined. Uma Thurman let slip to MTV that Quentin Tarantino is working on the Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair version of the DVD, and it’s set to include both movies. Plus an intermission. Made up of a whole new chapter of the story. Done in anime. Kick ass.

No word on a release date, but you can bet we’ll be keeping our eyes out.

Noooooooooooooooooo! Über-suck actor Brendan Frasier is going to appear as Gung Ho in the upcoming G.I. Joe movie. You may remember Mr. Fraser from such “films” as The Mummy, Encino Man, The Mummy Returns, George of the Jungle, and Duddley Do-Right. Yep, a world-class resume of suck. Any hopes for the movie to be cool just went out the window. Because Brendan Fraser is the antidote for good movies.

Full details at Slash Film

Bear with me a second here, because this movie is going to sound pretty dumb. The premise is this: A man has a passion for acting, but turns out to be terrible at it. So he decides to teach acting, landing a job at a high school. When the school decides to cut the drama program he figures the best way to save the program is to write a musical and stage it. The musical he writes is Hamlet 2, a sequel to the Bard’s tale about the Prince of Denmark. You know, the one where everyone dies at the end. Along the way Jesus, the ACLU, Elisabeth Shue, and a gay men’s choir somehow get involved. Got it?

So the premise is either genius or completely retarded. Based on the trailer, and the fact that the movie was the hit of Sundance, I’m thinking it might be the former. But check it out and decide for yourself.

Hamlet 2 opens nationwide August 29th.

Tell me if you’ve heard this before: There’s a movie coming out that’s an comic book adaptation, shot and directed in a highly-stylized way that makes it look like a comic book. It’s a hard-boiled detective story that takes place in a crumbling city. And it’s brought to us by Frank Miller. Sound familiar? No, it’s not Sin City. This time it’s The Spirit.

The film is an adaptation of the comic dating all the way back to the 40s. Originally created by Will Eisner, it’s Frank Miller’s vision that will appear on the screen. The movie will follow The Spirit, a former detective who rose from the dead to fight crime, as he battles his arch-enemy, The Octopus (played by Samuel L. Jackson, who we all know is a BMF).

The movie doesn’t hit theaters until January 19th, 2009, but the teaser trailer is out now:

A couple of weeks ago we got to see two pictures of Snake Eyes from the upcoming big screen edition of G.I. Joe.  Now we get to see a pic of Scarlett, the crossbow-wielding, red-headed hottie.  She’ll be played by the foxilicious Rachel Nichols, and if this pic is any indication, she’ll be the movie’s main attraction.  As always click for the full pic.

via Film School Rejects

I’m in Boston. I’ve been up since 4AM. Sooooo tired. So, without too much fanfare, here’s a leaked trailer (with Polish subtitles!) for this summer’s theatrical feature Star Wars: The Clone Wars. It gives us a chance, albeit fuzzy, to see what this fancy schmancy 3D animation will look like. And it doesn’t look bad. My interest level? Meh.

[VIDEO REMOVED AT WARNER BROTHERS' REQUEST]

Star Wars: The Clone Wars is due out August 15th. So what’s your take? Will you be in your storm trooper costume on August 1st, waiting in line? Or is it just another shameless attempt from George Lucas to separate you from your hard-earned money?

The fine folks over at SlashFilm uncovered a slew of new photos from Iron Man today.

There’s some good stuff here. Lots of Iron Man, Iron Monger, and the two of them duking it out. Can’t wait for May 2nd to get here.

For good measure, here’s a new clip from the movie that shows Tony Stark trying to fly for the first time:

Imagine the world’s worst martial arts instructor.  No, seriously, imagine it. Got it?  Now, watch this trailer, and tell me this guy isn’t worse than what you had in mind (NSFW language):

The Foot Fist Way hits theaters May 30th

WARNING:  THAR BE SPOILERS AHEAD

New pics of Heath Ledger as The Joker in The Dark Knight have surfaced.  I’ve posted them after the jump, but they seem like they could be gigantic spoilers, so click at your own peril.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ah, summer. Beaches, Baseball, and Blockbusters. With the summer movie season fast approaching…

 Loading ...