This comes to us from heatvisionblog.com and Swank was excited as hell and passed it along. Sam Mendes will be directing the next installment of James Bond. The last of which made over $500 Million. I love the new Bond movies, and Daniel Craig is a straight bad ass. Those of you who aren’t familiar with Mendes, go watch American Beauty, Road To Perdition (Tom Hanks murders people), and Jarhead. Below you’ll find the quote from heatvision.

It’s Mendes. Sam Mendes.

The British helmer is in negotiations to direct the 23rd installment of the venerable James Bond franchise.

Production is being fast-tracked and could begin as early as June with an eye toward a 2011 release. Plans for the film are moving forward despite a possible sale of MGM. Sony co-produced and distributed the most recent installment of the 007 series with MGM.

Bond regulars Neal Purvis and Robert Wade are writing, along with “Frost/Nixon” scribe Peter Morgan. Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli are producing. Daniel Craig will reprise his role as 007.

The film will be Mendes’ first action-heavy project, although his 2005 effort “Jarhead” was set amid U.S. war in Kuwait. Mendes’ last directorial effort, the road-trip dramedy “Away We Go,” grossed $10 million domestically last summer.

Marc Forster directed the previous Bond film, 2008’s “Quantum of Solace,” which grossed $586 million worldwide.

In 2006 stripper-turned-screenwriter Diablo Cody wrote two films, Juno and Jennifer’s Body. One of these films is funny, original, and has received all sorts of praise, the other is barely another stone in the pond that is the “teenage horror” genre. Can you guess which is which?

Jennifer’s Body stars Megan Fox in the title role of Jennifer and Amanda Seyfried as her best friend, Needy. Jennifer and Needy have been best friends since they were little girls playing in the sandbox despite the fact that Jennifer is the typical gorgeous, loose head cheerleader, and Needy has grown up to be more reserved, but an unfaltering supporter of Jennifer in anything she does. One night the two attend a show at a local bar because Jennifer wants to bag the lead singer. In an unfortunate series of events, the bar goes up in flames and Jennifer and Needy barely escape with their lives. In shock and a little drunk Jennifer leaves with the band in their van. Needy races home upset by the fire and the loss of life as a result of it. Once there Jennifer shows up looking very zombie like. She eats some chicken, throws up some black spiney tar, then leaves. The next day at school, Jennifer is back to her old self. Of course, as the film progresses more and more murders of young teen boys happen at the hand of Jennifer and Needy frantically tries to figure out what’s going on with her best friend. After more deaths, more of Jennifer treating Needy like garbage, and a lesbian sub-plot is revealed Needy finally discovers that Jennifer has been possessed by a demon that can only survive by feeding on the flesh of teenagers. Of course Needy also figures out how to destroy the demon, so some fights ensue, Needy’s boyfriend gets in the mix, and one of the girls dies. I don’t want to ruin the ending for those of you that may want to check out Jennifer’s Body for themselves.

Overall, Jennifer’s Body is weak on all fronts – Diablo Cody’s second outing isn’t even half as strong as Juno. The script is nothing new in the teenage horror genre except that Cody brings in her own brand of annoying “trendy teen-speak” (perfect example: “Shutties” instead of “Shut up”). The film pretty much wanders from scene to scene featuring Megan Fox “looking sexy” and throws in some cheap horror thrills in between and a weak demon story. On top of that Megan Fox’s acting isn’t any better in this film than she has been in in any of her previous projects. You would think that she would be perfect at playing the bitchy hell-incarnate teen girl, but oddly enough while the rest of the cast seems age-appropriate, Fox comes across as a late-twenty something trying to fit in with high school kids. On a positive note, Amanda Seyfried does a decent job with the role she’s given as Jennifer’s push-over best friend. All in all, Jennifer’s Body is irritating to watch and barely generates enough interest to manage to sit through the 102 minute run time (though, making it seem like twice that). The fact that Juno was so well done makes it that much more disappointing.

Extras on the Unrated edition include both versions of the film – the theatrical cut and the extended unrated cut that adds 5 additional minutes. On the theatrical version of the film you’ll find a commentary with director Karyn Kusama and writer Diablo Cody. On the extended version, Kusama goes solo with the commentary and tries -half heartedly- to explain how the additional five minutes more accurately portrays Cody’s original script.

It’s safe to say that I don’t recommend Jennifer’s Body in the least. Though, I know many will go check it out to ogle at Megan Fox or just out of curiosity. I assure to Fox admirer’s out there, this film is not worth sitting through to just look at her. You’d spend your time better just looking up picture after picture of her on the internet. For those of you that don’t think this film could be that bad, I admit there is much worse out there, but it’s still not worth sitting through. Of course, you are more than welcome to check it out for yourself as Jennifer’s Body is out on DVD and Blu-ray now!

You can also check out Dr. Cyborg’s thoughts on Jennifer’s Body from when it was in theaters here!

Special Features Include:

DVD:

• Theatrical and extended cuts of the film
• Commentary with Director Karyn Kusama (and Writer Diablo Cody on the theatrical cut commentary).

Blu-ray:

• Includes same features as the DVD release, plus…
• Deleted scenes (“Dead Boys”, “Jennifer Check Is Gross”, “Needy Confronts Jennifer”, “Who’s Cindy Crawford?”, “Needy Faces The Band”, “Ass, Gas or Grass”)
• Video diaries
• “Jennifer’s Body: The Dead Pool” featurette
• “Megan Fox Is HOT” featurette
• “Megan Fox Peer Pressure PSA” featurette
• “Fox Movie Channel Presents ‘Life After Film School’ With Writer Diablo Cody” featurette
• Gag reel
• Digital copy of the extended cut of the film

It was a good Christmas break- so I know I’m a bit behind on the trailer front- but I’m catching up!

Let me start with Knight and Day I spotted two very wrong things with this trailer right when it started… Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz- now don’t get me wrong, I like Tommy boy quite a lot of his movies- ” target=”blank”>he can act when he wants to… but what I don’t see is him and Cameron Diaz having ANY sort of Chemistry what…so…ever. This is something very… very… very apparent from the trailer. Although, Tom Cruise did deliver a line that, despite myself, I laughed audibly at the first time I saw this- its in the Diner scene (which is mostly attributed to the writing)… as opposed to the “gag” they showed us of Diaz’s at the end of the trailer that actually made me angry from how… not… funny it was… I dunno.

As for predictions to story- they don’t give a lot away… so if I can glean anything from it- from the SECOND I saw tom cruise’s character I said “He’s a badguy” which *SPOILER* by the end of the trailer we can assess he’s some sort of rogue agent bent on overthrowing corrupt government… so he’s not the antagonist… just a ‘badguy’. How he is- is something the trailer cutters wisely left out of the trailer… which, I am thankful for- to many trailers give away too too too much of the story, making it feel not worth seeing, anyway- enough of that tangent- I can also say that from how charming Cruise’s character comes across that there will be something very sinister or seedy to come up near the climax of the film causing her to question her(and the audience) to question trusting him… if we’re lucky- he actually DOES turn out to be the antagonist- that’d be a good twist!

Cheap thrills- cheap laughs- expensive payrolls and FX, Knight and Day looks like its going to be perfect, for a cheap date.

Cop Out starring Bruce Willis, Tracy Morgan and Sean William Scott. Think that’s enough to form a judgement? most people would… and although this movie looks EXACTLY like Lethal Weapon 2, just… reverse the character types… no really… watch the Lethal Weapon 2 trailer… Oh, I also quite hate the title. But what can we do!?

Anyway- even though it looks quite rip-off-ish, it also looks like it could be worth some good laughs and a good movie for a guys night out… I’m a huge Bruce Willis fan, Tracy Morgan can always make me laugh and I mean, when is the last time they made a decent buddy cop film since K-9??

This here is the REDBAND TRAILER of Repo Men (I’m using the Movie-List link, so you don’t have to go through all that pesky saying your age business)

Okay, Okay, ALRIGHT! I know what you’re thinking… wasn’t there already a musical made with this exact same concept? Ya… No- there was! Repo: The Genetic Opera! and to be perfectly honest- I thought there wasn’t more anyone could do with the concept besides a cult-phenom rock opera reminiscent of Rocky Horror. But I was wrong… Somebody took the concept and gave us an action film starring Forest Whitaker and Jude Law (which, I may add is really coming into his own… loved him in Holmes) As for the the trailer- its gory, it has nudity and its down right full of everything that is going to happen in the film… apparently the film makers REALLY wanted us to know that this was NOT a musical… and can you blame them?

They’ve released the trailer for ANOTHER remake! This one starring Jackie Chan! (anyone who knows me knows he’s my ” target=”blank”>ultimate hero)

Here’s: The Karate Kid (This is the only poster I could find online… sorry)

I had a friend who was extremely concerned that everything was different than the original… that Karate is Japanese and nothing like Chinese Kung-Fu (which I’ll admit is something that was VERY bothersome to me)

He also was bothered by the thought that the trailer depicts Jackie Chan fighting 9-year old’s (something I saw as him defending a defenseless American boy who seemed to be getting the crap kicked out of him… Chan was just dodging/blocking blows- not dealing any…)

His next complaint was the infamous “Wax on, Wax off” now being “Jacket on, Jacket off” (which I’m now going to attribute to the fact that kung fu is different than Karate… plus they’ve got to try to make it their own and modern… nobody hand waxes floors nowadays! NOBODY!)

His final grievance being that it stars Will Smith’s son, Jaden Smith- (look… as far as child actors goes, this one learned a lot from his dad, and personally I don’t think its a bad thing)

Although those are all very valid concerns… here’s what I see (so far): This movie, although being ultimately titled poorly, seems to be capturing the spirit of the original film; a troubled, inner-city youth is taught discipline and an outcast/recluse is given a sense of purpose in the midst of senseless adversity. (there are a few shots of Chan where he seems deeply troubled by something in his past… there’s almost a rage in him) I even see it capturing the theme that it doesn’t matter what color my skin is, or where I come from- I can still accomplish anything I set my mind to (including finding a girl *wink*), Also, who cares if I don’t go to the best schools or have the best equipment!? All I need is a good teacher!

Okay I admit that, being a Chan fan I might be a bit biased – but objectively speaking the movie doesn’t look like a terrible attempt at making an action packed remake- it looks like an honest attempt at trying to make film that speaks to a young generation the way the original spoke to my generation… I honestly remember the original being epic and amazing the first time I saw it as a kid- and now when I watch it I laugh at myself for letting my blood get pumped for what could very well be the least climactic endings to a movie ever made…(this kid has literally tried MURDERING the main character and after getting kicked once in the face has this to say: “you’re alright Larusso“) ha ha- I LOVE it.

6-14 year old kids are going to love the hell out of this movie… that’s my prediction!

Avatar, James Cameron’s brand new movie designed to blow you away. Well I watched it, and I’ll tell you one thing. I was not blown away. Especially when the story can be so concisely  wrapped up as, “The Last Samurai on Mars.”

The first hour of the movie was regrettably the most awesome. Establishing the world that we are going to be viewing for the next hour and a half. But even then, I can’t say really just how rich the story was, sure the Aliens were original enough (if you don’t count Native Americans), but most the concepts in this movie have been seen before. (Anyone remember Fern Gully?)

That said, it wasn’t anything resembling a waste of my time. The movie was pretty good, I wish everyone thought about their movies as much as James Cameron did. Although I think he is horrible at writing dialog. Referring mostly to Colonel Miles Quaritch, but not stopping there. A great example would be when James Cameron pays homage to himself, having one of his marines say, “Get some!” Much like when Michael Bay paid homage to his own film, Bad Boys II, in the midst of Transformers II.

I’ve heard a lot of people talking about the soundtrack being similar to other soundtracks, but as a barely capable listener, I didn’t think the soundtrack stood out as good or bad. The person sitting next to me had to elbow me and say, “There’s music playing.” because I was none the wiser, I said, “Ah.” which they confused with appreciation for the visuals.

Which brings me to my next point, the visuals. Eh!…Breathtaking? I guess so, sometimes…Was it worth 300 million? Nope…Was it worth watching in 3-D?…Not really. Honestly I thought the Dark Knight felt more visually stimulating, not to mention Pan’s Labyrinth. Some of the creatures were really cool, but honestly some of them didn’t make sense to me. The marines were the biggest let down though. Personally for action and cool technology, I would have to give the award to district 9 over Avatar, and for $30 Million dollars.

The last thing I want to get off my chest, is the dangerous forest. I hate that they made it as “Dangerous” as they did, with all the creatures they showed in the first hour. Then as soon as they establish how dangerous it is, it’s no longer dangerous ever again. It bugged me a little when the same thing happened after the first season of Lost, but I think it really stood out as annoying in this movie.

Also I would like to bring light of the fact, that the six creatures of Pandora, awesome as they were, didn’t feel like the inhabitants of an entire world. They should have designed tons more creatures. They were so shamelessly stealing characteristics from Earth animals anyway, why not transmute a few more? A six legged anything else. And maybe some water.

To wrap the whole thing up into a pretty bag. This movie is better than most the movies that you see in the theatre, but far from perfect. The story isn’t spectacular, the science is nothing special, the characters barely function, and the dialog is dumb. Bring your kids, it’s James Cameron’s second best film! Definitely worth watching once. I’m giving it a whopping 7/10!

Funimation and Cybergraphix are starting a collaboration on an animated film, “Guardians of Luna”. Why should you be excited about this? Well, this movie is written by Michael Reaves, famous for Batman: The Animated Series, Gargoyles, and other bits of 90’s nostalgia, with character designer Cindy H. Yamauchi (Naruto: The Movie, Black Lagoon, Akira) adding her unique look to it.

The movie tells a dark story which revolves around an ancient race of shape-shifters with the ability to change into powerful creatures. Four unlikely heroes descended from this once-great race are charged with protecting an ancestral power source from a ruthless mogul. If you want more details, subscribe to the updates here.

Stay tuned for more next week!

(source: Funimation)

Jump to bottom of article for update!

IESB is reporting that due to yet another disagreement between the studio and Sam Raimi production on Spider-Man 4 has been put on hold indefinitely until they can work things out. Apparently, Raimi wants the Vulture as the villain in the fourth installment but the studio doesn’t. Here’s what IESB has heard from their “inside source”:

An inside source working on the project tells IESB that there are some major issues director Sam Raimi is dealing with that include an incomplete script. And why is the script incomplete? Looks like Raimi and the studio heads at Sony Pictures can’t agree upon a villain for the film.

Raimi is pushing hard for the Vulture to be the big baddie, something he also pushed for in the third film to star alongside the Sandman but didn’t get and we all know how that one turned out. Vulture was to do his evil deeds alongside the new Goblin and Sandman. A single concept art sketch can be seen in “The Art of Spider-Man 3” book. Vulture and Flint Marko would have been cellmates who escaped together, with Vulture pressuring the more passive Marko into committing crimes.

On the flip side, who does the studio want to be the villain? Our source says they seem to only be interested in featuring which ever character is selling books right now but basically they have no idea, just not the Vulture.

As far as sources go, I am apt to believe IESB, they are pretty credible. But I certainly hope that maybe this little spat has been blown out of proportion. Of course, production was probably going to take a break due to the holidays anyway, so maybe the studio and Raimi can come to an agreement shortly after and get things rolling again.

Frankly, I don’t think Sony is in any position to be debating the villain in a movie they would like to have a positive turn around on from their last one. For Spider-Man 3, Sony and Raimi butted heads over villains -with Sony wanting Venom and Raimi wanting the Vulture. Of course, we all know Sony won and they turned out less than pleasing for most fans out there. Why Sony is again doubting Raimi’s ability to pick a good villain to fit the story again is beyond me, but they best pull their heads out of their arses or Spider-Man 4 could be even worse that Spider-Man 3, then the fans will be really mad.

Update:

Super Hero Hype is now reporting that their source at Sony is saying that production of Spider-Man 4 is simply on hiatus for the holidays:

Our studio source tells us this is not true. They are simply on hiatus for the holidays and production will resume in the new year. This is a very common practice on films, and not really surprising.

Okay, this makes sense. Of course films will stop production over the holidays to allow cast and crew to be with their families and what-not. But, it still wouldn’t surprise me if their is still a little tension between Sony and Raimi -granted, probably not as tremultuous as believed.

Marcus Parcus over at The Monkey Mind thinks so. After digging through some back issues of Steve Perry’s Timespirits, he found a striking resemblance between the issues and James Cameron’s Avatar. Although there has been a lot of talk about Avatar being unoriginal, it feels like this is the most obvious example thus far.

Click here for more images.

Last night was the LA premiere of 20th Century Fox’s anticiptated film, Avatar. One of the people there was Bryan Singer, who is associated with the movie company via his work on X-Men and X2, and MySpace had a camera crew there to talk to him. You can check out his full interview over at MySpace, but around the 27-minute mark or so, Singer tells the crew:

“I’m ramping up to do a movie called ‘Jack the Giant Killer’ at Warner Bros, and I just yesterday signed a deal to do an ‘X-Men: First Class Origins’ picture, which is kind of cool. I’m very excited.”

He didn’t seem to be joking, nor did he hesitate in just blurting this news out.

This is awesome news considering the first two X-Men films were pretty solid and represented everyone’s favorite mutants on screen pretty well. It wasn’t until Singer left and Ratner stepped in that the franchise took a turn for the worst with The Last Stand. Which was, let’s face it, just pretty bad in my opinion.

It sounds like Singer has another project lined up at Warner Bros. first, but then perhaps after that we will start hearing some more news about X-Men: First Class in the coming year!

The IRON MAN 2 trailer was just released… get to watching!!!

I just watched… and… no words… none.  I’m not going to guess at story- i’m not going to critique… I’m just going to watch this movie… probably several times.