The House Bunny (2008)

get the message: moral values it potrays, but making blondes ALWAYS looks dumb. Feat the talented, Miss McPhee from American Idol.

basicly, a hot chick flick, 5 would do.

Rumor round-up!

Well, I'm guessing y'all heard about the Spider-man reboot? Just a recap, the casting and director slots are now open considering that original director Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire backed out of production, taking EVERYONE ELSE with them.

Rumors are flying that the REAL reason why Raimi and Co. quit was because of, get this: Avatar. Apparently, Raimi was blown away after watching the furriesAvatar and wanted A LOT OF CGI for Spidey 4, which would've made the already overdue film overbudget, and that's why he and the studio parted ways.
 
Aside from that, the big question now is, who will be playing the new Peter Parker?
(who's supposed to be in his teenage years since they're gonna milk this franchise for even MORE than its worth)

See him brood. As if Twilight fans need to eff the world up more.

In this article from EW, other names include Zac Efron, Daniel Radcliffe, Shia LaBeouf and even Jaden Smith. Out of the whole bunch, Shia LaBeouf would be the only one I'd pay to see, or even waste two hours (-plus, depending on film's running time) on, and that's saying a lot.


[And besides, the "nununununu" always makes me laugh.]

Other news during the week / period:

• Blake Lively is now Love Interest, and Peter Sarsgaard in talks to play Dr Hector Hammond, a villain, in Green Lantern. We still don't know who's gonna play Sinestro (who eventually turns to the Dark Side, but only probably at the end of the movie), though Jackie Earle Haley is still in the running. Sherlock Holmes' Mark Strong is also being mentioned here and there, and though I'm rooting for RorschachHaley, between the two, Strong has the height. Whatever happened to Hugo Weaving? His name kinda dropped off the minute Haley's showed up.

• Transformers 3 to start filming soon, and THEY HAVE NO SCRIPT! Word also on the street is that the third movie will have less robots and more storyline, which I guess means that it'd be a bit like the first movie. I think I'm one of the rare people that enjoyed Transformers 2, and I'm a hesitant about Movie Trés, as whenever I enjoy the sequel, the threequel will suck so much ass that it annihilates the entire trilogy (see Spider-man, The Matrix, The Mummy, Terminator, etc.). Director Michael Bay and producer Steven Spielberg is also at odds about whether to film in 3-D (apparently Spielberg L-O-V-E-D Avatar), but I really don't care about that since first time is always 2-D for me.

Other than the above, nothing could really beat Spider-man 4's news, so that's about it from me. I hope to see Legion this weekend, so expect a review up sometime next week! :)

"Spider-man, no more..."

Technically.

Following news about scripting problems and halting production, yesterday Paramount announced that Thor's release date has been pushed into Spider-man 4's slot of May 11th, 2011, from its original of May 20th. Today, MTV reported that Spider-man 4 will be a REBOOT!

What a lousy way to (relatively) start off the New Year. Sorry for not updating, folks; been absolutely swamped.

Director Sam Raimi has backed out, citing his inability to meet the studio's release date deadline of 2011, and so has main star Tobey Maguire. The rest of the main cast is also expected to NOT return.

As the fourth film will supposedly have a storyline about Peter Parker during his early days of having 'great power', i.e. in high school, it looks like it will be a prequel.


[So, following DC now, are we?]

Currently, release date has been pushed to Summer 2012. Looks like Spidey won't be having a guest spot in The Avengers.

Granted, the third movie sucked, but that's no reason to restart the entire franchise. And if the cause of the scripting issues are true as reported (Raimi wants the Vulture, studio doesn't), the studio would've been worrying about nothing, as Raimi wanted John Malkovich to play the Vulture.

That's right. John. Fricken'. Malkovich.

Over the past few days, Malkovich kinda confirmed his involvement as the Vulture in the movie, but with this recent bit of news, I'm not so sure anymore.


But screw all that, who's gonna play J. Jonah Jameson now?!!

Spidey 4 production halted indefinitely!

Variety reports that production will not start as scheduled in February, and contrary to what Sony initially had denied, there are some problems with the script.

Seems that director Sam Raimi is adamant about having the Vulture as main baddie this time around. There is no word on whether the release date (slated May 6th, 2011) is moved, but it's gonna be a close one if there isn't any change.

2010 movie list!

Early Happy New Year, everyone! In time to kick off 2010, here's a list of next year's movies that I'm most looking forward to, by date, and their trailers! :D

1) Alice in Wonderland (March 5th)
It's a new take on the old story, as Alice returns to Wonderland in her teens. Tim Burton is directing, so get ready for Johnny Depp, some trippiness, and the awesomeness that is Danny Elfman's music.



2) Clash of the Titans (March 26th)
I've not kept up with news on this, but the recently-released trailer looks fricken', fricken' awesome. It stars Sam Worthington as Perseus, as well as many, many mythological beasts. Check it out below:



3) A Nightmare on Elm Street (April 30th)
The only reason this is on my list is because Jackie Earle Haley takes on the stripes and knife-claws, and because I'm curious as to whether Freddy Krueger was wronged, or is actually a child molester / murderer like in the original films. Trailer below:



4) Iron Man 2 (May 7th)
The first one was only good because Robert Downey Jr. was in it, and I'm only excited about IM2 because of that little scene after the credits in the first movie. War Machine looks fantastic, and I can't wait to see whether they set anything up for The Avengers that'll be out in 2012.



5) Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (May 28th)
Pushed back a year, I kinda lost interest till I saw the trailer, which looks seriously cool. I'm still not used to Jake Gyllenhaal with an English accent, but his 'jumping from one building top to another' sure brings back memories. All we need now are wall spikes.



6) The A-Team (June 11th)
This movie has been making the 200- movie list rounds since the beginning of time, and it was only this year they'd manage to get the director and cast. Starring Liam Neeson (as John "Hannibal" Smith), Bradley Cooper (Templeton "Faceman" Peck), Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (Mr. T B.A. Baracus) and Sharlton Copley ("Howling Mad" Murdock), no trailer has been released yet, so enjoy this picture below:

7) Toy Story 3 (June 18th)
The toys and their voices (pretty much, R.I.P Jim Varney) are back, and I got all nostalgic and teary just from watching the teaser. New and full trailer below!

 

8) The Sorceror's Apprentice (July 16th)
If you've seen Fantasia, you already know the story, except that it's now set in modern-day New York, and has Alfred Molina playing the bad guy. It also gives Nicolas Cage another excuse to use the same hairstyle he's been using the past 10 movies or so.

[Looks like I'm more excited than I thought.My apologies for putting the Toy Story 3 up again. Below is the correct trailer.]

9) The Expendables (August 13th)
Featuring many, many action stars, this movie about a group of mercenaries is also the umpteenth movie Jet Li and Jason Statham has starred together (I kid, it's only the third). The Expendables is written and directed by Sly Stallone, and so long it's not another Rambo or Rocky sequel, it looks VERY promising. And why did I only find out now that Statham's English and not Australian? Damn, I'm losing it.



10) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (November 19th, 2010)
The beginning of the end, though the seventh Potter movie is adapted from the seventh book, it's not the last, 'cuz they split the book into two. Blasted Hollywood execs. Anyway, Part 2 has a release date of July 11th, 2011, so at least we won't have to wait long to finish the series. As of now, no trailers have been released yet.


Well that's it for me. Ten movies to look out for this year, and if anything else interesting comes along (as in, trailers), I'll be adding to this list. See you on the other side, folks! :)

Avatar (2009)

The first thing I thought when the end credits rolled was, "Damn, I should've seen this in 3-D."

For clarity's sake, I'll include a basic outline of the plot, but for those of you who've seen Dances with Wolves, feel free to skip the below paragraph:

In return for spinal recorrection surgery, paraplegic ex-marine Jake Sully is hired to infiltrate local tribe Na'vi, gain their trust, and gather intel for the mining corporation's own ends, which is to drive off the Na'vi, as their home sits on deposits of a very, very expensive mineral. Jake does so long-distance, by controlling an 'avatar' which is created using human and Na'vi DNA. As he learns their ways and bonds with the tribe, he also tries to find a way to relocate the Na'vi, so that innocent lives won't be lost. The corporation gets tired of waiting and levels their home anyways. Jake sees the immense destruction he more or less caused, and joins forces with the Na'vi before the capitalist pigs humans can do any more damage to the land and their people.
 
The final battle, though intense and, for lack of a better word, awesome-looking, was slightly anti-climactic due to the fact that the final showdown was only between the manic Colonel Quaritch and Jake. I was expecting a lot more from the final battle, since earlier, Jake had prayed to Eywa (the Na'vi's deity) asking for Her help as the humans will be coming in with rocketships a-blazing. Though the animals eventually do fight back (interpreted as divine intervention) and win, I was expecting something much more grandiose, something that is definite proof of a greater power.

The visual effects were really worth the hype. Judge not from the trailer, for it looks like a video game. Pandora is the planet the movie revolves around, and is pretty much the star of the show. From floating-jellyfish tree seeds to hammerhead rhinos, the biology of the planet and its ecosystem is astounding. I'm running the risk of making the movie sound like a nature documentary, but that's what it really felt like. Pandora is another world that is alien to us, but at the same time, we can kinda relate to.

Once you're in the cinema and watching it on the big screen, you'd really be able to appreciate more of the environment and everything else. If you're a CGI buff, do go watch it in 3-D to properly immerse yourself in their world. Unfortunately for me, I watched it in 2-D because I was afraid I'd get nauseous, and after the movie, started kicking myself for not watching it in 3-D.

The actors do a stand-up job, especially Stephen Lang, whose Colonel is as bad-ass as he is ruthless. As I've mentioned earlier, the storyline isn't anything original, but it is riveting enough to hold your attention for two-plus hours, and it does make you connect with the characters and root for the Na'vi. It didn't leave a lasting impression, though, and I left the theatre feeling 'meh'.

7/10. Okay storyline backed by the loveliest backdrop in movie history. Most probably best watched in 3-D.

Spidey 4 production halted indefinitely?

IESB is reporting that the Spider-man 4 (or reportedly, Spider-M4n) script is incomplete, due to director Sam Raimi and Sony Pictures butting heads about who the major villain for this outing should be. As of last Thursday, production has been stopped.

Raimi wants the Vulture; Sony doesn't. The article also mentions that Sony doesn't seem to know what is it that they actually want, just not the Vulture. Apparently, Raimi had also wanted the Vulture in Spider-man 3; the Vulture and Sandman were supposed to be partners-in-crime, with the Vulture being the more aggressive of the two.

Looks like it's Spidey 3 all over again. To recap, Venom was only included in the villain mix due to Marvel head honcho Avi Arad's insistence, and we all know how that one turned out. Now, we all know that Raimi knows best, but really, TWO movies is enough foreshadowing.

Let the poor Lizard have his day out in the sun.

EDIT: MTV just reported that Sony has denied the rumors, and that the so-called 'hiatus' is just a break for the upcoming Christmas season. However, the source did agree that the script is still underway.

George of the Jungle (1997)

A nice and feel good movie.

A 8.

300 follow-up gets title!

Previously thought to be a sequel, GeekTyrant reports that the now-titled Xerxes is actually a prequel, set 10 years before the events of 300. Zack Snyder is still on to direct, while Frank Miller, who wrote 300, is just starting on the artwork.

Good way to include Gerard Butler in the movie. No word yet as to when the prequel will start production.

Storm Warriors (2009)

Storm Warriors is awesome and fail all in one. This is the first time I've felt that way about any movie.
It is also by far the loudest I've ever seen, and I've seen Transformers 2 and G.I. Joe.

SW is the sequel to 1998's Storm Riders. Based on the manhua by Ma Wing Shing, this time around, Wind and Cloud has to contend with Lord Godless, a powerful Japanese warlord that wants to take over China, and his son, Heart. To defeat him, both Cloud and Wind have to train and increase their martial arts skills; Wind taking the evil path, and Cloud taking the normal one. Wind becomes demonic, so it falls to Cloud to stop him before he does any more destruction.

From the trailer, you can pretty much guess that it's a CGI-and-fight fest. And with these kinds of movies, I'm not fussy. Storyline is important but not crucial, and character development and all that other crap can go take a hike; as the average moviegoer, what we want is, "FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!"

This movie is the exception. For me, at any rate.

The fail in the movie comes from its treatment of certain characters, namely that of Nicholas Tse's. Tse plays Heart, evil Japanese son-of-a-warlord, who also has a few bad-ass scenes of his own, and in his last scene, well, like the Imperial soldiers he shares it with, we don't know what happened to him and them, because the movie pulled a Cyclops on us.

That's right, folks, no death scene. Only this time around, we don't get a gravestone, nor do we get bodies / remains for closure. We are left hanging, wondering what the bloody hell happened to those people, and how is it that Charlene Choi (who is always too annoying for her own good) is the only person from that scene to remain unscathed.

[Because seriously, at least Gillian Chung is pretty.]

The ending also sucks. I know every movie should be seen anew, no spoilers, no Wikipedia (old habits), no reading other reviews. But I would like to know in advance whether the movie I'll be watching is the first part of a larger story-arc, because with that was what Storm Warriors felt like in the end.

Cloud dies saving Wind and Charlene Choi. The latter person being the part of the equation also adds to my pissed-offness, but that's not the point.

Yes, people, Aaron Kwok dies. He. Friggin'. Falls. Off a cliff. At the end of the movie.

I understand that for a main character, no body means that he's probably not dead and will turn up in the sequel (if they decide to make another one) with amnesia or some crap of that sort, but in this type of movie, dying should be reserved for the middle of a movie, not at the end. It's effective as shock value, but it's highly unsatisfying.

Now that I've gotten all the crap from the movie aside, it's time to highlight the good parts:

The CGI is fan-bloody-tastic, very comic-bookish, and very 300, except more color. Cue 60-plus seconds of badassery 10-15 minutes into the movie, with Heart, Earth and Sky, and a whole ton of Immortals masked soldiers take on the other martial arts schools in China, with the baddies on the winning side, of course, and every other fight scene, really. In some instances they just stand there and throw chi / energies / [insert correct term here] at each other.

Doesn't lessen the cool factor, though. Plus, montages of innocent people dying.

Minor lousy things include the theme song, which kinda blows. It's awesome that they got both our leads to sing it, compared to the previous one where it's just Aaron Kwok, but I preferred the theme for the first movie. Overall score is lovely, though, and really went well with the fight scenes.

Female presence is pointless as usual, but for some reason, the need to provide love interests for these movies keeps coming up, even though they're annoying and are just there to be killed off. Except for Charlene Choi, but I digress. And since we're on-topic, where's Shu Qi? I didn't even know her character was in this film till I got on the Wiki, to check whether there were any end-credits scene that I missed. Just as well, though. Cho Cho was even more pointlessly annoying this time around. I guessed she was going to die, but her death was so abrupt I didn't see it coming. Props to the filmmakers for that.

6/10. Would've been 8/10 if it weren't for the ending and the X-Men 3 treatment.

Would've seen this movie a second time, too.