Trailer Problems for Jan. 29th Post

I feared this might happen. For those who are having trouble watching the trailer I posted try going to youtube.com and signing in to watch it. It has some funny discription on it saying you must confirm you're of 'mature' age to watch the clip. This is stupid in my opinion as it really isn't that disturbing. Anyway, try that, sorry for the problems. If it doesn't work, go to youtube.com and search for "Black Sheep" trailer.

Studios Decide to Stay Away From Super Bowl

Anyone planning on suffering through the Super Bowl just for movie previews? Well you won't have too, apparently many major studios have decided not to show upcoming, summer blockbuster previews with the game. Sony/Tristar Pictures has decided not to show any further "Spider-Man 3" previews and even "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" is remaining in the shadows. Other studios have decided to save their money and not take advantage of the Super Bowl, much to the NFL's dismay. (I don't feel sorry for them.) The best you'll get is "Ghost Rider". Guess I won't be flipping to that channel.

"Underdog" Photos...Yeah, They Went There...

Poster and pics for "Underdog" based on the classic cartoon. I... Yeah, whatever...





Hollywood's lost it...

Even If You Don't Ever Come To This Site...Watch This!

I'm not even going to announce this, just watch it and trust me and if you're not laughing your ass off, you're clearly the makers of this upcoming New Zealand "horror" film.



I hope they were going for a "Snakes on the Plane" inspiration here.
Ok, silliness aside, not much is known about this film. It's been released in New Zealand and Canada and apparently it will be coming out here this year. I have no idea how to look at this. I suspect the insanity in this film mirrors that of "Evil Dead", "Versus" and "Kung Fu Hussel". On the other hand I smell some cashing in on "Snakes on the Plane" here as well.
For those interested, I WILL, waste the internet space to post any news on this film coming to America. Until then, be patient and stay away from lambs.

"Casino Royale" Sequel is a Go!

Daniel Craig will indeed be returning as James Bond in the next film, but like "Casino Royale", don't expect this to be your standard Bond film. Writers Robert Wade and Neal Purvis have said that Bond still has some growing to do and we shouldn't expect to see the characters "Q" or "Monneypenny" just yet in this new reinvention of the series.

"With the way 'Casino Royale' ends, you know there’s still unfinished business for Bond." Wade tells "The Trade", "He may say, 'The name's Bond, James Bond,' but there's still a lot of stuff churning up inside him. So, if you're going to explore that, and we’ve got this great actor to do that with, what you don’t want to do is suddenly clamp it down with all these familiar elements that keep your focus off him. He's the great asset."

Purvis also noted that between the two characters, Q and Moneypenny, Moneypenny would be easier to add. Q was the man responsible for all of Bond's insane gadgets and technology. He continued, "Q presents more problems. People have all got gadgets now. Other films have lots of gadgets as well…The idea of Q coming back, for the moment, it's just not a high priority."

I think this is a good move to keep the movies very character oriented. "Casino Royale" has transformed the Bond franchise into a character story instead of an episodic adventure with similar storylines. Its best to keep the focus on Bond instead of the technology, gadgets and action.
Rumors are circulating that Vesper's boyfriend from the first film may be the villian in the next Bond movie and it is confirmed that Giancarlo Giannini will return as Rene Mathis. It looks like that these next Bond movies, unlike all the others, will be directly connected with each other giving us a strong sense of continuity and character development. This is what the Bond franchise needs to be and "Casino Royale" was the perfect send-off in this direction.

The next Bond movie will begin filming at the start of next year and is shooting for a November 2008 release date.

REVIEW - "Pan's Labyrinth" (2006)

It's always great to see director's come a long way and eventually prove themselves to be some of the best talent out there. Guillermo del Toro's case is almost an inspiration. He made horror movies that went unnoticed, but interest in him buzzed when "Mimic" (1997) came out. After that less than thrilling horror movie his next really big release was "Blade II" (2002). The movie is considered the best of those films, but that's not saying much. He really broke out with "Hellboy" (2004) though. It's a very well made, comic book derived film with fantastic visual appeal and admirable themes. However, as good as the movie was, it was still your standard summer action piece. So what's the next step for a director like this? Make a masterpiece of gigantic proportions, insane visual design, strong narrative and powerful characters you will both adore and despise? Yeah, yeah, pretty much.

"Pan's Labyrinth" opens us to the worlds of Ofelia, a little girl who teeters between the down-to-earth world of the Spanish Civil War and the fantastical arrival of fairies, a faun and a hungry, eyeless monster. She and her pregnent mother arrive in a rural area in Spain to live with her mother's ruthless new husband, Capt. Vidal. Vidal is currently mopping out what's left of the leftists after the War and feels a son should born with his father. While a war rages Ofelia finds Pan, a faun in a nearby labyrinth (go figure), that offers her the chance to leave her current surroundings of war, confusion and pain. Pan of course jumps for the chance and attempts to complete the tasks needed to cross worlds.

Most of the film centers on the war, Ofelia's mother's problems during pregnency and the trials many characters have chosen to face. Much of the fantasy element is limited to maybe a quarter of the whole film, but that's fine. The fantastical world is only shown to Ofelia; allowing any of the other characters to see such bizzare creatures and happenings would only cheapen it. Del Toro's gifted eye for set designs, creatures and dark, disturbing worlds really gives this movie an amazing feel and he knows how to balance reality and fantasy very well. The Spanish Civil War is nothing stylized. It's a serious, violent, grunt war with disturbing images. But when Ofelia witnesses the world Pan introduces to her, the movie looks very different. The look is probably also the reason for an R rating. Though the film has a child protagonist, it is not, by any stretch or viable means, a film for children. It is gut-wrenching and violent in both the real and ficticious worlds. Even though the violence and images are different in both worlds, it can really push a viewer to the edge because it's hard to keep switching back and forth. But that's part of the point. It takes talent to keep both world's different, but equally disturbing.

The films characters are break through any cliches they might be expected to have and are quite strong. Ofelia is the little protagonist you just want to root for and she's successful. Her innocence doesn't belong in the harsh reality and fits better in the world of fantasy. (A point that's very key to the story I might add.) And as much as I loved Ofelia, I may have hated Capt. Vidal even more. I'm not sure if I've ever hated a character so much in my twenty years of watching films. He's one of the most repulsive characters to grace the screen. Sergi Lopez, who plays Vidal, does a great job of making you hate him. You'll be praying for him to suffer through most of the film. Maribel Verdu plays Mercedes, a character I feel to be slightly underrated. She's a strong woman, but also a gentle one. Sometimes this mix in one character is hard to pull off, but the develpment was quite smooth and almost unexpected. Del Toro utilized her very well in the storyline.

Yes, it may have been a little predictable at some points and maybe it did hurt the emotional impact of certian scenes. But even so, the story could not and should not have been played out any differently. It doesn't hurt the beauty of the film and it takes integrity to move on with each scene knowing this is exactly the way the movie needs to be. "Pan's Labyrinth" is, by far, one of the best movies of 2006. It's a great story about a war that has been explored very little in film and also a beautiful, but dark, fantasy with a strong narrative of glorifying innocence and the pursuit for something better in our lives. "Hellboy 2" may not be any "Pan's Labyrinth", but I sure as hell look forward to del Toro's future projects. He's finally proved himself with a masterpiece. How impressive.

**** out of ****