Poster - "Valkyrie"

Here be the poster for the upcoming Brian Singer film, "Valkyrie." Now I haven't reported much on this film over the year because, frankly, I don't know what the hell it is. Oh, I know it's about a plot conceived by high ranking German soldiers to assassinate Adolf Hitler-- What I don't know is what kind of movie it's suppose to be.

Originally it was set for early fall, then was pushed back to early 2009 due to re-shoots. (Most people consider re-shoots a bad thing. I've been against such a mindset, but... I've been wrong before.) Then it gets moved back to late fall for the Oscar season.

So is it a "give-me-an-Oscar" movie? Or just a fun fall flick? The PG-13 rating and half-serious, half-action posed poster only confuses me further. I thought we'd have a better idea of what this movie is going to be by now, but I guess not. For those who what to find out, see it December 26th. Merry Christmas.

Click to enlarge:



"I have a baaad feeling about this." - Han Solo

"Unbreakable 2" Still on the Table?

"Unbreakable" is without a doubt my favorite film of M. Night Shyamalan's. I will refuse to jump on the bandwagon and call "The Sixth Sense" his best work-- "Unbreakable" was the victim of people wanting "The Sixth Sense 2" and instead they got a different movie. However, the film has gained a huge following over the years and is considered by most film nerds, more or less, as an underrated gem. Its psychological look in to the comic book world of superheroes, and supervillains, is an excellent introduction to those who do not value the complexity of Wolverine, Batman, Spider-Man and so on. It's an underrated masterpiece, and one that completely mops the floor with M. Night's last three films.

Now that I'm done defending/praising/promoting the original "Unbreakable," on to the new stuff! It seems that M. Night has never fully abandoned the idea of a sequel to the film. Originally "Unbreakable" was to be the first of a trilogy. But moderate box office success and blatantly misunderstood reviews kept that from happening. However, in a world where superhero movies are the ultimate keys to box office receipts could an "Unbreakable 2" be possible?

“I tell you I get asked about it all the time, so it’s not [an idea] I ever forget,” said Shyamalan. “I genuinely just asked this question the other day — should I make ‘Unbreakable 2’? I made the mistake of getting caught up in the hype of the immediate reaction of the movie, which, experience has shown me, is not accurate to any of my movies. And If I had been more confident and said ‘I believe in that movie, I love that movie, and I should just go start writing the second one,' that would’ve been the right move. I’ve still been thinking about it a lot and wonder if it’s too late.”

Part of me wants to stand up and scream, "It's not too late!" The other part of me looks at "The Village" and "The Happening" and doesn't want M. Night to taint "Unbreakable" with a very breakable movie. Samuel L. Jackson has already stated he'd be up for a sequel and I'm sure Bruce Willis could be persuaded to return as David Dunn. Should it happen? I'm torn on this. Extremely torn. As of right now though, I wouldn't complain if M. Night began work on it.

"I Am Legend" Prequel Lifting Off

We saw the warning signs. It looks like the "I Am Legend" prequel is finally gaining speed and a follow up is guaranteed.

Director Francis Lawrence returns with Will Smith in a story that will take place between "I Am Legend's" flashbacks and its present events.

I've stated many times before that I view "I Am Legend" as a mediocre movie. Admittedly, I never thought about the days right after the previous film's flashbacks as its own story. For some reason the idea of watching Robert Neville dodge the growing zombie population and watch a city's worth of people die is very appealing. It could add a whole new psychological level to the story-- Or it could be a misfire like the first one. I'll have my eye on this one.

Depp: Burton's Alice & Capt. Sparrow Returns

Exciting news for any fans of "Alice in Wonderland," and Burton's bizarre brain for that matter. Johnny Depp will be playing the Mad Hatter in the upcoming adaptation of "Alice." On top of that it was noted that the film will be extremely stylized and none of the characters will deviate far from their original designs. Filming begins this November with a 2010 release date.

Walt Disney Studios Chairman Richard W. Cook also announced that Johnny Depp would be stepping back on board the Black Pearl for "Pirates of the Caribbean 4." The film is said to be released in 2011.

Along with that, Depp has also signed on to play the character Tonto in "The Lone Ranger." For those who are unfamiliar with it, the movie is based on a radio/television show about a masked rider saving the old west. Think Zorro, but less Spanish.

Looks like Depp has a lot on his plate for the next for years. I'm looking forward to all of these upcoming roles. Jack Sparrow is always a treat, no matter what the quality of the film is, and Depp as the Mad Hatter just makes way too much sense. Bring it on.

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.