Poll - Who Do You Want Spidey to Face Off in "Spider-Man 4?"

Well this was a close one. For awhile I wasn't sure who was going to win, Carnage or Lizard. It turned out, with just hours away from the poll ending, Lizard snatched away the win by one vote. It's probably the only poll I've put up where I didn't know the outcome after two days.

Even though Carnage and Lizard where the stars of this poll, I was surprised at some of the other votes too. It's pretty obvious that no one wants Sandman back though.

Lizard - 10 Votes - 37%

Sandman - 0 Votes - 0%

Carnage - 9 Votes - 33%

Scorpion - 2 Votes - 7%

Hobgoblin - 1 Vote - 3%

Vulture - 0 Votes - 0%

Chameleon - 0 Votes - 0%

Rhino - 3 Votes - 11%

Other - 2 Votes - 7%

I'm really surprised at how many of you want Carnage. As badly as Venom was done, do we really want Sam Raimi to tackle another character he doesn't like? Lizard seems more in Raimi's taste and the build up to this villain has been there since the first movie. Carnage is cool in theory, but I think I'll skip these alien monsters in the series... At least for now.

25 3-Dimensional "Potter" Minutes

The gimmick continues. If I recall correctly the fifth Harry Potter film's final battle was in 3D on the Imax-- So I'm not sure why I didn't see this coming.

Twenty-five minutes of the next Harry Potter movie, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," will be in 3D only on the Imax. What scene will be in 3D? It's anyone's guess.

For those who enjoyed the 3D in the previous movie will no doubt enjoy it again. Myself? I thought the last Harry Potter movie was one of the best of the lot-- It was certainly my favorite film of the series, but I was never tempted to see it in Imax. The 3D gimmick is simply too much of a turnoff for me. I would rather directors and studios focus on utilizing the Imax camera like Nolan did with "The Dark Knight."

It's very effective and simply mind-blowing. I've never been in so much awe of camera angles, and the lighting of a shot, like I was when Batman flew around a building in Shanghai on the full Imax screen. Imagine how cool it would look see Harry Potter zoom around on his Nimbus 2000 in full Imax!

I say less 3D. More screen. Harry Potter returns July 17, 2009.

Is "Predator 3" In Schwarzenegger's Future?

Well it looks like the AvP franchise is dead. According to 20th Century Fox Producer John Davis, "we've logically done what we could've done with the two AvP movies. But I think there's something to go back to with Predator."


Oh? What's this? Davis continues:

"Well, the Governor [Arnold Schwarzenegger] has mentioned to me that when he ceases to be Governor, if he doesn't run for the Senate and all of that stuff, he’d like to do a movie or two again. And I don't know, maybe we could restart the Predator franchise."

That sounds like a lot of "ifs," but it's worth crossing your fingers for. The AvP movies were an enjoyable, albeit, unhealthy, dose of guilty pleasures for me. Though they were very poorly made, so I can understand the extreme hatred these movies get from fans and critics alike.

However, I always felt the Alien and Predator franchises had a lot of fuel left on their own. I think there's plenty of sequel room for both franchises. The problem is simply Fox. The studio seems to enjoy releasing only the crappiest of blockbuster material and has lost sight of any talent or art that can be implemented in to these films. If Schwarzenegger is up for another Predator movie, I hope Fox has realized that making a "good" movie does work to draw a crowd. ("The Dark Knight" anyone?)

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!