Ok so we already have about 7 girls in the running for a part in the new Spiderman reboot. BUT, this one is easily my favorite.

Personally, I think this is a great choice. Shes hot, she does the red head thing way better than Kirsten Dunst ever did, and shes funny. I think she would make a great High School MJ. Now if you click that link up above you will see that she has read with the kid playing Spiderman but that doesn’t mean a hell of a lot at this point in the game, but I’d feel a lot better about this movie knowing she was MJ, even if shes not going to be the main love interest in this movie.

I must admit I went into this film very skeptical and also not knowing much more outside the premise.  But after watching it, I was floored. Great concept. Great execution. And if you would have told me that I was going to watch both this and the new Wall Street in the same day and that the movie about the guy in the box offered the better critique of modern society, I would have been incredibly skeptical.

From the ads:

“Paul Conroy has a lighter, a cell phone, 90 minutes of oxygen, and very few options.”

Bam.  That’s all you need to know about this movie.  It’s a dude stuck in a box for 90 minutes.

But not just any dude.  Ryan Reynolds. The man who would be Green Lantern. Former star of Two Guys, A Girl, and a Pizza Place. Van Wilder. Hannibal King. Wade Wilson. There are many reasons to love him—especially his ability to make otherwise pedestrian RomComs like The Proposal and Definitely Maybe passable.

But do we really want to see him stuck in a box for 95 minutes?

Yes, you really do.

Reynolds has an everyman charm that makes this easily relatable and we, as an audience, are taken on his emotional journey.

This film reminds me of another recent flick, Phone Booth, about which I was similarly skeptical: can you really make a taut thriller about someone stuck in a phone booth?  Yeah, they did. It’s not the second coming or anything, but it was entertaining and good.

But in Phone Booth you at least had other people outside the booth for Colin Ferrell to interact with. Anybody else going to show up in this movie?

For the most part, no.  This is all Ryan Reynolds.  And in my opinion that’s great.  And the fact that he is so isolated and only able to interact with people on the phone brings about the movie’s subtext.

He uses the cell phone to do exactly what you think- he tries to call anyone he can. And in doing so is put through the wringer by the vagaries of our phone systems. Problems with 411 systems, corporate bureaucracy, government bureaucracy, not being able to get a hold of people when you need to, and, above all else, people telling him to calm down. This provides some needed tension-breaking and some of the humor as we know exactly why he should not be calm.  And in a couple of cases, he tells people where to stick it. And it’s intensely satisfying.

And then there’s the technical aspects of this movie.  Anyone who has ever tried to film in small spaces knows how hard it is.  Obviously, Ryan Reynolds wasn’t in a box while being filmed—but it sure looked like it.  The filmmaking served to help make us feel as claustrophobic as possible.

In terms of niche fears, people scared of heights shold not see Vertical Limit, people scared of snakes Anaconda or Snakes on a Plane, spiders Arachnophobia, etc—now I know I’ve just named a lot of mediocre to terrible movies, and that does this film disservice. But in that same way that those films will scare the bejeezus about their subject matter, this may be the most claustrophobic movie ever. Anyone scared of tight spaces may want to skip this.  Or not, if you’re into indulging your fears.

Which leads me to wonder why Fantastic Fest, in their premiere tonight, had people enter a contest to watch the movie while buried in a box underground.  That sounds crazy to me, but it’s truly fascinating and really indicative of the craziness that is Fantastic Fest.

And now, some spoilers—I can’t discuss this movie without spoiling some very major points, so read no further if you don’t want them.  You’ve been warned!

Returning to the theme of social commentary, nearing the end of the film, Paul Conroy speaks to the head of the HR department at the military contracting firm he drives trucks for. The HR exec, brilliantly played by veteran character actor Steven Tobolowsky (Glee, Heroes), normally typecast as a creep or a dick, is the epitome of creepy dickishness and  everything that is wrong with America today.  Hiding behind law, and regulation, he invents an excuse to strip Conroy of his benefits as an employee, including life insurance for his family.  This immediately brings to mind the horrors of Halliburton/KBR for their employee contract which disallows employees to sue them for things like, oh, being gang raped.

So, how’s it end, spoiler-boy?

Bad. He doesn’t get out. After a short hallucination that he gets rescued.  And being told over the phone the soldiers are there and they’re digging him out… only to find the wrong guy stuck in a box.  It’s several emotional bitch slaps right to the face, as near the end you’re right there with Paul, certain he’s just not going to get out, and making peace with his loved ones.  And then to have that last final, fatal, glimmer of hope.  It really sucks.

Final word:

I don’t want to overhype this movie.  It’s very, very good, but only as good as a guy stuck in a box movie can be. It delivers on its premise, but if you’re looking for the reinvention of horror and thrillers, you’d best keep waiting.  Claustrophobes beware.  But still, possibly the most truly frightening movie because this is all completely possible, which makes it even more bleak.

3 ¼ stars

Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s multi-award wining 12 issue comic book series All-Star Superman is joining DC’s animated movie catalog, and the trailer looks promising. Written by Dwayne McDuffie (Ben 10) and based on Quitely’s art, The short clip doesn’t show a few plot points and characters I hope to see ,including Dr. Leo Quintum, and the most amusing version of Bizarrro, Zibarro. I know you cant fit every aspect in an adaptation and DC’s animated movies have all been great, I just hope it doesn’t turn into another Lex VS Superman story and loose the creative fun that made the books so enjoyable.

Click here to watch the newly posted Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on their Facebook page

As far as trailers being miniature movies… this one is pushing the limits of exploration and presentation. The trailer itself is a generic cutting together of imagery set to epic music with the vocals driving the plost underneath- but what it tells me is that the film itself is pushing its universe to the maximum of special fx and… dare I say it… magic.

I’ve loved seeing the technology and the artistry advance with these movies… sure- you may or may not be in love with, or even a fan of the Harry Potter series as films, but one thing is for certain: the imagination behind bringing Rowling’s world to life has been well fed.

Not only have we grown up with the actors, and watched their careers and talents bloom(or not) we’ve seen a world of magic (and budget) evolve and grow-

If you watch every trailer for the HP series in succession, you can see the story progress in only a way that trailer editors can do… these guys… whoever they are… are sometimes better story tellers than the people making the film… and even if you don’t like these movies- you have to admit the trailers (when watched back to back to back) make it seem like ‘the boy who lived’ is greatest epic to ever have graced the silver screen…

This trailer is a MONSTER of a trailer… showing us new styles of film making- cleaner CGI than I’ve seen in a VERY long time-  bold new directions for the actors- bold new directions for the telling of the story- even a bold new direction in the art design (including costume, sets, etc)

They’ve sufficiently fooled me into thinking that we are going to see a whole new (incredibly large budgeted) twist on a VERY familiar world.  Something I was almost fooled into on the last film after its trailer…

Anyway- in the short of it: this trailer did its job, and it did its job well. (what can I say- I’m a sucker for theatrics… when well executed of course)

To coincide with the release of Disney’s “Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue,” the spirited fairy Tinker Bell was honored wit her very own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Tuesday.

The exact location is at 6834 Hollywood Boulevard in front of the Disney Soda Fountain & Studio Store just next door to the El Capitan Theatre.

Tinker Bell first appeared in the pages of J.M. Barrie’s beloved classic “Peter Pan,” but she became the fairy that most people know and love when Disney animated her as the green-garbed and very attractive companion to Peter Pan in the film of the same name. She then went on to appear in “The Wonderful World of Color” hosted by Walt Disney and continues to soar nightly above the Magic Kingdom’s Cinderella Castle  to signal the start to the fireworks extravaganza.

“Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue” follows Tinker Bell as she meets a human for the first time, and it isn’t Peter Pan.

From the press release:

Years before meeting Wendy and the Lost Boys, Tinker Bell met Lizzy, a little girl with a steadfast belief in the power of pixie dust and the magic land of fairies. During the fairies’ summer visit to the flowering meadows of England, two very different worlds unite for the first time and Tink develops a special bond with a curious child in need of a friend. As her fellow fairies launch a daring rescue, Tinker Bell takes a huge risk, putting her own safety and the future of all fairykind in jeopardy.

Voice talents include: Raven-Symoné (“That’s So Raven”), Pamela Adlon (“Californication”), Angela Bartys (“Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure”), Jeff Bennett (“Batman: The Brave and the Bold”), and Rob Paulsen (Yakko from “Animaniacs”).  For more information, visit  http://disney.go.com/fairies/.

I just read this article over at Cinema Blend and wasn’t sure if it was worthy of the Big Shiny, but I’m posting it anyway- Apparently, nerd and geek favorite: Sarah Silverman has decided to do a full frontal scene in the upcoming film Take this Waltz, she’s also quoted as saying that we as viewers won’t like it at all…

“I go totally naked… Full frontal. It’s going to be awful. It’s so not pretty.”

You can read the entire article here to gain some more insight into WHY she’s doing it…

Also- I thought I’d put this up here and let you, the readers, decide whether or not you even want to hear about this kind of news… and if you want to hear more in the future- Comment and vote!

It’s time once again for another installment of The Big Movie Mouth Off, starring Jeff Vice from X96’s Radio From Hell and Jimmy Martin from SLUG Magazine (and both are regular panelists on The Geek Show Podcast)

You can friend the show on Facebook here.

These are available exclusively on Comcast: Utah On Demand, and then after their exclusive run there, they will be appearing on Big Shiny Robot! and across the Internet. (iTunes/podcast versions coming soon by popular demand.)

Without further delay, let’s get to the reviews.

First, we’ll start with the Drew Barrymore/Justin Long romantic comedy “Going the Distance”:

Then Robert Rodriguez’ Grindhouse film “Machete”:

The heist film “Takers”:

George Clooney’s “The American”:

And finally, the Disney behind the scenes documentary “Waking Sleeping Beauty”:

We hope you enjoy the reviews. Tell your friends about them and keep coming back for more.

You can see old episodes here.

” target=”_blank”>This is another trailer that you may not have had the inclination to watch– (click the link, or the poster to watch the trailer…) WATCH IT!

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My first thought on this was: “Australia’s answer to No Country for Old Men”. As the trailer progressed… I was right! But I’m loving this Modern Western- the visuals painted in this trailer really have a punch- it feels like No Country, and The Magnificent Seven– There’s a sense of The Searchers in there as well… I don’t know about anybody else- but I can’t wait to see this!

Let me explain why…

I love a good Western- but my main complaint is that most westerns are very… cookie cutter/generic.  To me, the western has been dying out because the sensibilities and archetypes of that time period are all but lost, the choices we make in life aren’t as cut and dry as they once were… Society has evolved and so must the medium we use to teach its morals- its life lessons. Really, what is a Western other than a morality play?

In No Country for Old Men, the statement (I believe) to the world was that there are no longer bandits and sheriffs, that the bad guy- isn’t always bad- that the good guy isn’t always… well… good… and in essence, by making that statement and by setting it in a modern age- the Western was reinvented.  Now, the western shouldn’t be about what shoes we step in to- it shouldn’t be about what role we are playing in life (whether its Sherriff or Bandit)- today’s western should be about the goals we make and how we go about achieving them.

Because in today’s world, a man can have the most noble of intentions- but destroy countries in his wake. Again, its how we achieve our dreams and not the dreams themselves that define who we are. (another prime example of this execution would be Firefly- laugh all you want, but go back and look at it)

ANYWAY- I’m not sure how this turned into a review for No Country… or a rant on modern storytelling…  maybe what I was trying to say is that Red Hill looks like its made the way a modern western should be made… it looks like the world isn’t going to be cut and dry, even if the characters are… it looks as if it is going to be a modern morality play- without the morals.

This is at least my hope for it… Let’s see if I’m right!

When I first saw this piece of information come across I almost ignored it. I still wish I had. For those that have been following the rumors for the last 25 years there’s probably no reason to even acknowledge this as the movie is never going to happen. The odd part is that many of us are starting to hope it won’t.

Card has admitted in the past that he’s blocked some legitimate attempts at this film because it didn’t fit the tone, story, character, etc. that he wants. That’s his prerogative as the creator. Why filmmakers keep trying to work with him is beyond me.

Yesterday, the LA Times mentioned Gavin Hood (director, X-Men Origins: Wolverine) has done a rewrite on Card’s most recent script. Maybe he’s just working on the script but it’s a safe bet he wants to direct. If Hood can make fans groan at a Wolverine movie surely he’ll be able to make fans of the Ender series publicly retch.

Am I being too negative? If so, I’m not alone. Since I didn’t ignore the news I decided to subject another fan to it and ask a friend what he thought. Despite my reluctance spread the rumor here he encouraged me. Jon had this to say (and I doubt I could say it better so why try):

We’ve been over all the stories many times. You could give it an unbiased opinion, but why waste the time. Card shouldn’t make the movie. I would love to see it, don’t get me wrong, but I think the best way to do this movie is with computer animation in the style of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. But…. the animators will have to be extremely careful, especially with the character of Bean. When we first meet Bean, he’s a toddler and if they go into flashbacks at all, he’ll be a newborn infant. We don’t need an “Ally McBeal” style dancing baby on the big screen in 3D.

If Card’s going to be so picky, he needs to take the concept and lock it away til he’s out of ideas and destitute for money. Then the standards won’t be so high.

I don’t know if Final Fantasy is the best comparison, maybe Toy Story instead, but he got the right idea. Part of Card’s complaints on previous attempts were that the studios wanted to make Ender 16 and have a love interest. That comes from little kids being unable to act and costing a ton of money to handle child labor issues. Seems animation is a good compromise. It also allows for cool effects, but they can do it without making it an “effects” movie.

All that aside, since we know it’s never happening, I’ll just go read the book again. Or, better yet, the Marvel comics version.

Agree? Disagree? We’ve got a thread for that.

Editor’s Note: This is the second report from our new Big Shiny Robot! Los Angeles correspondent “FrankYaegerBot”.  He’ll be covering LA based events for the site as well as regular news and reviews. This is a followup report to his coverage yesterday of the premiere of “Malice in LaLaLand”.

Like any young male ranging from 15 to 50 years of age. When I first read this description, ”Critically acclaimed movie combines animation, live action, hot sex and rock ‘n roll score.” I must admit I was rather enthusiastic to see “Malice In LaLaLand” Chiefly because when I hear animation and adult entertainment in the same sentence, my mind tends to drift to memory of 1981’s animated feature “Heavy Metal”. Which included very adult themes and animated sex scenes. The combination of animation and live action also reminded me of 1983’s live action animated feature “Fire and Ice”. In which the creators layered animation over real people. A very unique feature, it too had adult themes and outside of 2006‘s “A Scanner Darkly”, is the only film of its kind.

Keeping in mind that a majority of the films budget most likely went to shooting on beautiful 35mm film and booking A-list talent like Sasha Grey, Andy San Dimas and Ron Jeremy. It is understandable why this film falls short of this reviewer’s high expectation.

That is not to say that the animation presented in this film dissatisfactory by any means. The quality of animation is completely fitting and comparatively praiseworthy. The opening animation sequence immediately sets the tone and immerses you into its established world. The director, Lew Xypher, uses his industrial music video background to create a slightly dark, weighted tone, which is prevalent throughout the film and greatly compliments the visuals they have created for “Malice’s” LaLaLand.

The soundtrack is distinctly rock and roll, which fits the films atmosphere to a T. It completely suits the adult scenes in terms of pace and rhythm. Though as the movie progresses, the music tends to become a little familiar if not repetitive.

The concept of an adult film adapting Lewis Carrols’s “Alice in Wonderland” and “Through The Looking Glass” is ambitious to say the least but it is pulled of here with illustrious success. An entirely unique vision of Lewis Carrol’s twisted world.  Combining, Rock and Roll, Comedy, Cartoon violence, influences from Fear and Loathing in Los Vegas and over the top adult scenes. It is truly like nothing I ever seen in the pantheon of adult film. This is one complete adult flick.

My one draw back is not a lack in quality of animation but in quantity. There are literally two animated sequences in the film. One of which is the opening sequence and a sequence towards the end. I personally would have liked to see more integration of the two mediums.

Though after having spoken with the director, I rest assured in knowing that this was only the beginning. It’s a small step towards the future of animated live action adult entertainment. Out of 5 stars I give this 4 and a half.

“Malice in LaLaLand” is definitely worth watching.