"Watchmen" is Freed from Fox's Danger

Maybe you heard, maybe you didn't-- 20th Century Fox filed a lawsuit against Warner Brothers concerning the rights for "Watchmen." Long story short, Fox claimed they held the rights to the film and never relinquished them to Warner Brothers. There was some miscommunication involved between the studios thus leading to the fear that "Watchmen" may be A) Pushed back. Or B) Not released at all.

Warner Brothers' fault or not, Fox needed to understand that they would have done nothing with those rights for many years. (Even if they attempted to make the film I'm sure it would have been horrid in their hands. This isn't to predict we know how Warner Brothers' version will fare, but... C'mon people. It's Fox.)

Well enough Fox bashing... for now. The hack-infested studio has reached a deal with Warner Brothers and will present it to the court tomorrow. Here's an official statement from both studios:

Warner Bros. and Twentieth Century Fox have resolved their dispute regarding the rights to the upcoming motion picture Watchmen in a confidential settlement. Warner Bros acknowledges that Fox acted in good faith in bringing its claims, which were asserted prior to the start of principal photography. Fox acknowledges that Warner Bros. acted in good faith in defending against those claims Warner Bros. and Fox, like all Watchmen fans, look forward with great anticipation to this film's March 6 release in theatres.

I doubt it's all rainbows and sunshine as the statement insinuates, but who cares. Rest easy comic book nerds! "Watchmen" will be released as scheduled and we'll see if Zack Snyder pulled off a decent adaptation of the film. I'm certainly excited.

TRAILER - Fast & Furious

I'm... Waiting for the part that's "fast" and "furious." Are we sure this isn't "dumb" and "dumber?"

Watch at your own risk:


Beyond loyalty. Beyond borders. Beyond limits. Beyond Soulja Boy's terrible music... There is nothing to see. Even if you are a fan of the first film I can't see how you'd be excited about this. Another pass.

Keanu Reeves is Spike Spiegel

Is this the beginning of "Cowboy Beebop's" slaughter? Last July it was announced that 20th Century Fox had aquired the rights for "Cowboy Beebop" and that Erwin Stoff was producing.

He sounded pretty sincere in creating a film that was true to the original creators' vision. That sincerity is only elevated with the recent news that the series' creators and writers, Kenji Uchida, Shinichiro Watanabe and Keiko Nobumoto are involved with the films' production. But that doesn't erase the fact that Fox hasn't made a decent flick in the last few years. Do we really want them adapting a legendary anime such as "Cowboy Beebop?" They're adapting "Dragonball" and as dumb fun as it looks I can't see it being any more than just that: Dumb fun.

Will Fox rape "Beebop" in to an over-explosive, under-dramatic extravaganza of mediocrity like "X-Men: The Last Stand," "Fantastic Four," "Alien vs. Predator," "Babylon A.D." "The Day the Earth Stood Still" and "X-Files: I Want to Believe?" (See? I didn't even mean for that list to be so long-- I consider that the short list of Fox's bad flicks.)

Worries about "Beebop" aside, lets focus on Reeves as Spike for a moment. First I want to mention I do not hate Keanu Reeves like so many out there. I don't fully understand why he's hated. He's no Oscar winner, but I can think of far worse talents than he. The man has plenty of screen presence and a dramatic voice (albeit, comical out of context) that works for most of his roles.

That said I'm not sure if I can see him as Spike Spiegel. A part of me sees where Stoff is going with this, but Spike isn't always a low talking downer. He talks big sometimes. He's even a little cocky. Envisioning Reeves spitting out some of the lines Spike utters in the anime is just... painful.

With only announcements beginning to surface for the film, it's clear that it's too early to tell whether or not it will be worth the sweat off my brow. "Cowboy Beebop" is one of the greatest animated achievements I can think of. If Fox fails at this, it seems the closest we'll get to a great live action "Beebop" will be Joss Whedon's "Firefly" and "Serenity."

Full speed ahead Fox.

R.I.P. Ricardo Montalban

To many, Mr. Roarke, of the television series "Fantasy Island," has passed away. But for me and a grand many others, Captain Kirk's arch nemesis Khan has finally left us.

The underrated, yet always fabulous, Ricardo Montalban passed away in his home. He was 88. Our prayers go out to Montalban and his family.

Thanks for trying to blow up the Enterprise. You gave us one of cinema's best villains and most entertaining space showdowns.

Terminator Salvation News Bytes

Well a lot of T4 news sprang its way to the press recently. Some contradicting, others a relief and some that just leave you hanging.

- Recently E! reported that when director McG was asked about some surprises that would pop up in the new movie, he simply responded: “I can’t talk about it. I can’t talk about the governor of California.” Ha. Is anyone else practically convinced that "Au-nold" is in this movie (in some form) simply because of how much they smirk and joke about the question? Moving on...

- McG reported that Danny Elfman WOULD be using themes and synth established by Brad Fiedel in the first two Terminator films. This comes as a relief to me. I like Elfman, but I think keeping a tight leash on him for this film is a good idea. It needs to sound like "Terminator," not "Nightmare Before Christmas."

- The movie is also said to focus a lot on John Connor finding his role in a future that is rather different from the one his mother warned him of. And although the movie will feature John, predominantly, it will also center on Kyle Reese's character and the warrior he becomes.

- The big contradicting information is the timeline the film is set in. According to Screenrant, McG made it passable for fans of both the "Terminator 3" and "Sarah Connor Chronicles" to enjoy by only referring to T1 and T2. On the other hand the Latino Review states that the movie follows the continuity set forth by T3.

I guess that makes sense, seeing as more people have seen T3 than the television series. But I was hoping, since I prefer the "Sarah Connor Chronicles" continuity, that McG would leave the details between T2 and "Salvation" out so the audience could make up their own minds. But we'll have to see for ourselves I guess.

- Finally there's rumors of Sarah Connor doing a voice over introduction for the film. Although this is mostly speculation it would make since if Linda Hamilton (T1 and T2) did it over Lena Headey (Sarah Connor Chronicles). Although I wouldn't mind hearing Headey's voice if Hamilton turned the job down.

"Terminator Salvation" arrives in theaters May 22.

TRAILER - Franklyn

It's one of those movies that have you wondering: "Is this going to be a superior take on all the things coming out in this country?"

While "Franklyn" will premiere in the UK Feb. 20th, there is no release date for America...yet. My guess is Warner Brothers doesn't want it stealing "Watchman's" thunder and other studios are afraid to pick it up and be labeled a rip-off.

But really there aren't many comparisons between this trailer and "Watchman." There's a character in "Watchman" that looks similar, yes, but this movie looks more like "V for Vendetta" meets "Dark City." Even then I'm only comparing visuals.

The synopsis revolves around four characters in two worlds, the most notable being the vigilante Preest, hunting down his arch enemy in Meanwhile City. The other characters don't fit that mold: A homeless man looking for his son, a young woman searching for pure love and another woman finding peace in her suicidal art projects. Obviously, their paths will cross. Take a look.



Pretty cool trailer overall. I'm certainly interested. Here's to hoping some studio picks it up soon.

Is Harvey Dent Alive?

I've been correcting people for months now that Harvey Dent is, in fact, dead at the end of "The Dark Knight." The facts all point to this: The script says he's DEAD. Aaron Eckhart pointed out in a previous interview that the character was DEAD. Ah, but now the actor wants to play with the people's heads.

I'd give you quotes, but this video makes you wonder. Notice the laugh. Why so not serious? (There will be an annoying ad for the first 30 seconds or so-- Just sit tight.)

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

Now, seriously, Eckhart probably doesn't know squat. Nolan has not yet been signed on to direct another Bat film (yet), there is no story to the third Batman (yet) and he's probably just messing with our heads. (Not to mention Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp would not fit the Nolan Batman movies.)

While the idea of Dent in a coma isn't awful I simply think that the Harvey Dent story arc was concluded to the best degree possible in "The Dark Knight." Yeah. Yeah. Some fans whine and cry that his "Two-Face" form wasn't on screen enough. But this wasn't about Two-Face, it was about another layer of the character we've rarely seen. Even still his Two-Face persona was fleshed out to the degree we normally see it. I'd say he came full circle.

On the other hand, The Joker was left alive for a possible sequel, clearly. But with Ledger gone, it looks like Dent could be resurrected... I didn't say will, I said could.

I hope not though. As I said, Dent's story went full circle and keeping him alive in a third movie would cheapen the themes in "The Dark Knight." Keep Dent dead.