xXx: The Return of Xander Cage.. Who Cares?

As if the first two "xXx" flicks weren't bad enough, (but a godsend to porn sites everywhere) the second sequel to the xXx franchise will see the return of Vin Diesel and the first movie's director Rob Cohen. "xXx: State of the Union" was released with Ice Cube in the lead role and no one gave a rat's ass. With Diesel returning to one of the films that made his name familiar, perhaps more people will care? I know I won't, but will you?

Rob Cohen is set to return and help work on the script soon. For all you hardcore Diesel fans-- Rejoice! For those of use who wish that money would be put toward other projects than "Fast and Furious" and xXx to the third power, weep. Weep hard. Then move on.

TRAILER - The Day The Earth Stood Still (7-Minute Trailer)

Leave it to 20th Century Fox to f*** up a classic. "The Day The Earth Stood Still," the marvelous, 1951, science fiction masterpiece, by Robert Wise, is being updated as an alien invasion flick.

From the looks of this trailer the movie will be another environmental billboard about how the evil-conservative corporations are destroying the earth! Nothing gets past Fox does it? It seems that Klaatu, the protagonist of the original, will actually be part of some sort of alien plot against the Earth, rather than a peaceful messenger.

Why destroy the meaning of the classic? Hell, why does this need to be remade? I've ranted about this before, and God help me if I stop ranting. "The Day The Earth Stood Still" is a smart drama piece akin to "Twilight Zone" episodes. It's aim was to keep you guessing and make you think about the true threat. This movie looks like it's filled with enough explosions and CGI to negate all of that.

Here's an extended trailer that shows just how much the character Klaatu, played by Keanu Reeves, has been butchered.



If the link goes down and you really have a desire to see it... let me know. I'll find another link.

"Green Lantern" Scripting is Almost Done

Just the other day I was wondering if a Green Lantern movie would ever get made. The character is incredibly interesting and the visuals to bring such a physically enthralling hero to life would be incredible.

Well go figure. Writer Marc Guggenheim ("Eli Stone," "CSI: Miami," "Law & Order") has been working with co-writer Michael Green ("Heroes," "Smallville") and writer/director Greg Berlanti ("Eli Stone") for months on a script for the Green Lantern. Guggenheim reveals the following:

"I've been working my ass off on Green Lantern," he said, then laughed. "I'm ready for a weekend off. I really can't say too much about it. I've sworn a blood oath of secrecy. I will tell you it features Hal Jordan and is an incredibly faithful rendition of the character. It honors everything everyone loves about the hero. We approach it from a fan's perspective. Every step of the way, we ask ourselves what we want to see and what the fans will want to see. I think we have a script that will actually satisfy on those levels. Right now I'm just doing a rewrite for the studio with Greg [Berlanti] and Michael [Green]. We'll turn that in next week. We just keep moving forward. It's really good stuff!"

Hopefully the script is good enough for Warner Brothers to green light (no pun intended) immediately. We need more DC heroes roaming the screens. I'll take Green Lantern, Flash and Wonder Woman over Hulk, Ghost Rider and Elektra any day.

New "Iron Man 2" Plans

Director John Favreau recently spoke about his plans concerning the decidedly rushed "Iron Man 2."

Favreau said he wants to see the "Iron Man" franchise to it's end, putting a third movie on the table as well. His plans include the following:

The villain known as the Mandarin is in talks to be the baddy for the next movie-- Although the director is still unsure as to how he will fit the character's mystical origins with the realistic, techno-savvy world displayed in the first film. It might be that the character will be saved for a third movie.

The directed also stated he was going to, "follow the first film's themes of integrating social and political themes into the adventure and fantasy, and he hinted at a current global situation providing some inspiration."

He also plans to integrate communication and /or acknowledgment with other heroes in the Marvel universe. Films such as "Captain America,""Thor," and "The Avengers" will arrive soon and Favreau intends to acknowledge them in some way. While he's not currently sure how he will do it for the next movie, he does plan to hint that there are other heroes in the Marvel universe much like the end of both "Iron Man" and "The Incredible Hulk" did.

Finally, the director also wants to follow in the steps of "The Dark Knight" and film "Iron Man 2" with IMAX technology and even 3D technology.

As far as a third film goes, Favreau is having designs for War Machine sketched. The famous storyline known as "Demon in a Bottle," where Stark deals with alcohol abuse and Rhodey dawns the War Machine suit, is being considered for a third movie rather than the upcoming sequel.

Shwoo. Well... Has everyone digested all of that? I'm liking what I'm hearing so far. It's cool that Favreau has a long term plan for the third movie as well and doesn't want to pack in the whole "Demon in a Bottle" storyline with the second movie already. He seems to be very invested in the franchise and wants to do the best he can for it.

My only problem is the mention of 3D. The IMAX technology is incredible, as proved by "The Dark Knight," but I've found the entire 3D craze to be very lame. Hopefully Favreau will be too enthralled with IMAX to care for this 3D crap.

"Iron Man 2" arrives in theaters April 30, 2010.

"The Dark Knight" Returns to Theaters January 2009!

Perhaps "The Dark Knight" will beat "Titanic's" record? "The Dark Knight" will return to theaters and IMAX as a reminder to Oscar voters this coming January.

This makes all too much sense to IMAX theaters anyway because it's currently the only major motion picture that uses the IMAX camera technology to utilize the entire screen. I see more re-releases of "The Dark Knight" coming along in the future.

In the meantime I'm pulling for "The Dark Knight" to receive more than just a nomination for Ledger. Should I say the category everyone is thinking? No. Maybe not yet. But I sure would like to see a movie like that get some higher nominations-- If you know what I mean.

"The Dark Knight" returns January 2009.

TRAILER - The Soloist

Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx? An Oscar bait movie? Classical music? Yes to all. The trailer may seem like a misfire at wanting to be an Academy Award nominated film, but it's convincing enough to get me interested.

Robert Downey Jr. plays a journalist who finds a homeless soloist who's, of course, incredible, but his perception of reality is distorted. It has possibilities, but I feel like the trailer could be tricking us. On the other hand Downey Jr. has been picking some great roles as of late: "Zodiac," "Iron Man," "Tropic Thunder." I'm more than willing to give this movie a shot.

In the meantime I'll try to forget that this is directed by Joe Wright, a man who seems to only enjoy kissing the asses of Oscar voters with over-wrought, period chick-flicks like "Pride and Prejudice," and "Atonement." I'm waiting for the report where he signs a pact with the devil for his Oscar.



"The Soloist" arrives in theaters November 21st.

Aronofsky's "The Wrestler" This December!

Fox Searchlight has picked up the right's to Darren Aronofsky's highly anticipated, "The Wrestler." The director's follow-up to his masterpiece, "The Fountain," has been getting rave reviews from critics and viewers alike. Just in time for Oscar season, "The Wrestler" will be released December 19th.

Look soon for a trailer and poster. See you December 19th!

"Piranha 3-D" Delayed

I know. I know. You guys were so excited for the "Piranha" 3D remake next year. It's a tragedy, I know, but look on the bright side! This is an opportunity to make the script better, adjust pre-production for better story boarding... Oh wait. Wait. I'm on "Piranha" now, not Harry Potter.

While the film was due July, 2009, it has been reported that pre-production has not gone smoothly. The technology for the 3D visuals have held up the project and principle photography won't begin until Spring of 2009:

"There just wasn't enough time for pre-production to get it done in time," says one insider. "It's all about pre-production and trying to make it the best it can be."


I guess it's not going to be the "summer blockbuster" Alex Aja wanted it to be after all. Go figure?

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood...Blunder?

I wasn't sure if I should post on this or not, but it seems the more information I research on it the more it appears to be true. Apparently, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" was pushed back for a greater purpose than just to be a summer movie cash-in.

Early screenings of the film have been very negative, claiming very little time is spent on the actual Half-Blood Prince concept. Too much romance is involved in the film and some other poor script choices were made as well.

Nothing has been confirmed, but because the same post-production unit and production crew are scheduled for two more "Harry Potter" movies, they don't have anything else to move on to outside Harry Potter-- At least not immediately. The ten extra months Warner Brothers have allotted for the film will give the crew time to re-edit some scenes and re-shoot other scenes.

While this seems like a bummer, and re-shoots/re-edits don't normally work to save a film, I applaud Warner Brothers for its integrity to create a quality film rather than slop any crappy flick in to multiplexes as fast as they can. (Ala, 20th Century Fox.) Therefore I'm at greater ease with the decision to push back the sixth film and hope the writers, the director and the post-production unit can establish a stronger entry in to the series.