If you didn’t see Harry Potter already, you didn’t see this… this is for you six.

Now- I had NO idea this trailer was being release with Harry Potter, because, all the focus was on the release of the new Batman trailer (which was just so, so, so very disappointing). This trailer on the other hand, is far from that…

As it started, I was filled with a feeling of familiarity… like I recognized what was on screen, but couldn’t quite put my finger on it… then… BAM! Mr. Stark hisself pops onto screen with that oh so awesome gravelly/tongue in cheek British accent and I was locked.  It started by showing me all the charms and scenario work that we all loved in the first film, and I didn’t think I could get more excited… then, the montage that happened after Holmes tries to defend his lady outfit to a gun toting Watson, and my jaw hit the floor… I didn’t forsee how much more epic this franchise could become without being convoluted… but, war torn Prussia (just a guess, not familiar with the book) works for me. I mean, its reminiscent of putting Indiana Jones, downtown Berlin and meeting Hitler- the next logical step.

There, I said it- if Ritchie makes one more, I feel these could become a younger generation’s Dr. Jones. (even though, they are based on books from a pre-Indy society… don’t mince words)

Personally- this trailer was one of the best parts of the Harry Potter at Midnight experience (it is entirely unsettling how many people own a complete set of wizard’s robes). I hope the movie lives up to it, and I don’t see why it wouldn’t.

My big complaint is that I didn’t see any Rachel McAdams… a truly heartbreaking occurrence, because I know she is in the film… at least for a little bit.

Did anyone else not know that the director of Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and Goodfellas, is directing a children’s adventure film?

Well, neither did I (and if you did, good for you, be real proud of that achievement).  Anyway, yes… Scorsese… THE Martin Scorsese is about to release, what looks to be, a beauty of a children’s movie. If this information was all I had, I would be sitting front row in anticipation, but wait until you see the trailer:

-kP-olcpM

Starring Hit Girl, Borat… and Ghandi! Oh, and don’t forget Watson!  Again, Scorsese has assembled a misfit, yet brilliantly placed team of actors and a story that, at least from the trailer, seems like its going to be something fresh (even though at the very end for a split second it tells me that this is based on a book), but that doesn’t matter, it still looks fresh and new and original.

I never once thought to myself whilst watching Gangs of New York, that his style and approach would lend itself to a period children’s adventure. But, looking back on it, it makes perfect sense… that film was full of colorful costumes, characters, sets and language… and watching THIS trailer, I can see a lot of those elements (minus the language) coming together into an adventure for all ages… I WANT TO UNLOCK THE SECRET!

The imagination behind the design is something far beyond what we’ve seen from Scorsese’s team in the past… but all of his past films have hints as to what could be done if we were to let them loose on something like this film… stoked.

That being said, I have small reservations with how much the trailer touts the 3D. Insomuch that it even calls the story itself a 3D adventure… but if you look at the shot selection- there is a lot of reaching towards camera and “whooooa its almost touching your nose!” moments. So- I can only surmise that it was directed specifically with 3D in mind.  If there is any director that is going to make 3D a viable art form, it may as well be Scorsese.

Lucky Chapter 13 at last. Well, maybe not so lucky for District Attorney Grant Gardner! OK, OK, we all know the man who in this reality is really Captain America will survive, so instead I want to point out something that I noticed about this whole sequence. You’ve got your exciting car chase, right? Turns and swerves everywhere, the bad guys are firing on Grant, but still able to focus on the road. Grant returns fire, but the way he does it is just kind of screams badass. All he does is use the door frame as an armrest, and just casually fires back. It’s like he knows he’s got the upper hand, cliffhanger or not, cause he is (ersatz) Captain America, dammit! Anyway, on that note, let’s watch Chapter 13: Skyscraper Plunge!

I took a different tack with the supplement this week. I had a super-small image of a Captain America poster I’ve never seen anywhere else, but with the size of it, the quality was laughable at best. So this week, I did a vector recreation of said poster. It’s missing some fine details, but I am generally satisfied with how it turned out, and I hope you are too. Until next week, bust up some Ratzis with war bonds and stamps!

Turns out that the Akira project was not “shelved” as several reputable sources had reported over the past week.

The Hollywood Reporter said today that the project is still moving forward, has a script, and will be directed by Spanish Unknown director Jaume Collet-Serra.

“The anime property has been in development with a succession of writers and directors since WB grabbed the rights in 2008, but now the Spanish Unknown director has the helm for the live-action film version.”

All this makes me wonder how exactly the rumors started flying about that the project had been shelved, but I suppose that’s just Hollywood as usual.

The Reporter also stated: “Harry Potter adapter Steve Kloves has written the most recent draft of the screenplay, which is designed to turn Katsuhiro Otomo‘s classic graphic novel into a tentpole with a mid-level budget along the lines of WB’s Clash of the Titans.” This seems like an interesting development to me. I have really enjoyed most of the Harry Potter movies, and I feel like the right people could turn this project into something most fans would love.

Then again, I still can’t help but wonder why they have gone through so many potential writers, directors and rumored actors. I’m still skeptical, but I’m willing to give this project hope if people start pouring in some serious effort. Also, I think most fans would agree that a live action version of the motorcycle chase scene – if done well – could be absolutely incredible.

Can I make a recommendation to those working on this for Appian Way? The source material is good – damn good in fact – so don’t stray too far from it and you could make Akira into an excellent live action adaptation. Call in some of the creative team from the 1988 Japanese animated release, and while you’re at it make a friendly call to Katsuhiro Otomo.

Oh, and if it’s true that the project is still going to happen, was all that news about the motorcycle re-design false? Stay tuned to Big Shiny Robot and we’ll be sure to give you all the updates!

I know everyone is more concerned about the other big release tomorrow, but Winnie the Pooh is also coming out and it deserves a lot of attention in its own right.

Before we talk about Winnie the Pooh, though, I want to talk about the short film before it. Nessie is an adorable 2D animated film about how the Loch Ness Monster gets to Loch Ness. It’s set to a Scotsman reciting a poem about the legend and was just beautiful to look at. I need more short cartoons attached to feature length fare. And since Winnie the Pooh was a very taut 69 minutes, this helped fill out the time so if I’d have paid for it, I wouldn’t have any chance of feeling cheated.

The film is a return to form for the Winnie the Pooh universe, in that it’s actually set inside the confines of a book narrated by none other than John Cleese. The characters once again interact with the letters and paragraphs and illustrations and the tone of it captures everything I loved about Winnie the Pooh as both a kid and a fan of animation.

The story is very, very straight forward. Eeyore (played here quite capably by Bud Luckey, from “Boundin'” fame) has lost his tail and there’s a contest to find him a new one. The prize? A pot of honey that Pooh just needs because he can’t even remember the last time he’s eaten. Owl (played hilariously by Craig Ferguson) steals every scene he’s in, at one point attaching a chalkboard to Eeyore’s backside as a replacement for his tail and then illustrating an entire story on it, still attached to Eeyore. The animation delves into the chalk and provides a great sequence in the old mold of “Heffalumps and Woozels” or “Pink Elephants on Parade.” It worked stupendously.

More than anything, this film is fun and funny for people of all ages. I saw it with my 8 and 9 year old and we three were all laughing hysterically throughout. They came up with a perfect mix of humour and charm that appealed to everyone in rapid fire succession.

Again, the animation was gorgeous, the film was funny and beautifully rendered, the voices were top notch, and it was just a great, easy way to spend an hour and a half in the theatre.

If you get Harry Potter fatigue and want to see an adorable movie that isn’t a waste of your money and will bring plenty of childhood memories flooding back, you can’t do much better than this.

Well done, Disney. Well done.

John Carpenter’s The Thing is probably on my top 15 list. I love it. It’s the perfect monster movie. One of those: “because we didn’t have everything, we had to be inventive, and tricky, and clever to scare the audience” type movies… one, that just works.

I am also a fence-sitter when it comes to remakes. Some movies… should NEVER be remade. Yet, there are a handful of movies I wish to death would be remade: The Thing fell into the first category. It’s just too good to be touched, yet someone somewhere decided to do so anyway. Here’s the impending result:

There are a LOT of things in this trailer that lead me to believe that it is more of a prequel than a re-make… then again there are TOO MANY things that scream that it cannot be anything but a remake.

I will say this though- The pieces of the film that are definitely remade, seem to stay true to the original style and feel of the film. They seem to have captured that sense confinement that the original had- but with a modern edge… I don’t like that they are in the middle of mountains, I mean… that is nowhere near as scary as a shack in the middle of hundreds of miles of flat, ominous, snow. But I’m sure a producer only thinks: it’s not visually stimulating enough… For me, it’s more about the tone than the look though.

One exciting that presented itself to me was that it is produced by those who did the Dawn of the Dead remake… a remake that I feel, surpassed the original. Albeit- I found the original to be boring, trite, and poor execution of an amazing concept. (you know the concept- Zombies- the guy invented them for all intents and purposes and still to this day fails to present them in a way that speaks to me like 28 Days Later did) But that’s a rant for a different time and place.

I am actually a little excited to see this movie- because I have always wanted to see the story of the Norwegians… the group that discovered the alien in the first place and ended up letting the creature escape in a dog.  BUT! If this movie doesn’t end with a mysterious dog being rescued by a couple of the Norwegians who can’t speak English blowing up- and Kurt Russell… I’m over it. I think I could handle a prequel. Not a remake.

What do you think about the trailer? Are you excited for the prospect of another classic remake? Are you livid that Hollywood is out of ideas and too afraid to venture out and experiment with fresh new storytellers? Why is the sky blue? Where do babies come from?

Holy crap.

Pixar released the first trailer for John Carter of Mars (They can drop the “of Mars” all they want, I’m not going to) and I really couldn’t be more excited for this movie. Edgar Rice Burroughs’ novels are some of the most incredible, fun, and adventerous books I’ve ever read and knowing that Pixar is the mind behind bringing it to the big screen is blowing my mind on a regular basis.

Go here to watch the trailer in Glorious Quicktime.

They’re definitely going the route of the classic story and everything looks different than I imagined, but somehow better. The glimpse of the denizens of Barsoom ran shivers down. There were two moments that got me more than that though: John Carters leap into the Barsoomian desert, and the voice of Tars Tarkas (Willem DeFoe). They teased so much, though… I am DYING to see what their Tars Tarkas looks like and they just gave me his voice.

My only concern is that does it seem as though they’re playing down (at least for the trailer) the color of Dejah Thoris? Anybody?

At the end of the day I’m so happy about everything about this (even though the guy playing John Carter did play Gambit, the stupidest mutant of all time, in the stupidest Wolverine movie of all time). They’ve nailed the look and the feel and it feels like the movie will embody the breathless action the book instills you with.

This trailer just rocketed this movie up to my number 2 spot for most excited, right behind Captain America, meaning it’ll move up to number 1 soon.

Wow.

Well done, Pixar. Well done.

UPDATE: I’m not an idiot. I know the logos on the trailer say Disney. But when it was announced, this was touted as being Pixar’s first live action film. It’s directed by Andrew Stanton. I don’t know why the Pixar logo isn’t on there, but they’re doing the effects and the film. So… stop giving me shit about it not being Pixar. This is a Pixar movie through and through.

On June 9, 1970 a trio of children were born at the height of a solar eclipse simultaneously in the Meadowvale General Hospital. One decade later a teenage couple are viciously murdered in the town’s cemetery and the only evidence left by the killer is the handle from a child’s jump rope.

Before we dive into this rarely seen gem from 1981 I’d like to mention that this DVD arrived for me to review on June 9, which just happens to be my birthday. So, along with Johnny Depp, Michael J. Fox, Less Paul and Natalie Portman I share my birthday with a trio of fictional children that lack emotions and are prone to do very naughty things.  Great, that’s just great.

Bloody Birthday was written and directed by Ed Hunt whose previous films were a mix of softcore porn (Corrupted and Diary of a Sinner), sci-fi (Plague, Starship Invasions and Point of No Return), a speculative documentary (Flying Saucers Are Real!) and the “Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar” episode from the television series Greatest Heroes of the Bible. Bloody Birthday features a little bit of all of Hunt’s previous work and adds the killer kids element. It’s not a particularly scary film but it does have a certain amount of charm as checks off the traditional list of slasher clichés. Some might say the charm comes by way of MTV’s Julie Brown and her striptease but I actually prefer Lori Lethin’s (The Prey, Return to Horror High) performance as naïve protagonist Joyce Russel. The film also features K.C. Martel who would later appear in E.T. and the television series Growing Pains.

Bonus features include a brief, but entertaining, interview with Lethin, a rather long and dry audio interview with Hunt that offers an overview of his entire career and a 15-minute featurette called “A Brief History of Slasher Films” that offers a quick run through the bloody timeline of the horror sub-genre (the same program is also available on Severin’s DVD release of John Lamond’s Nightmares).

If you’re looking for an amusing slice of retro horror Bloody Birthday will do nicely.

It’s been a while since we have heard anything on the Spider-Man front. For a while there we were being inundated with all sorts of cellphone camera footage and images of Spidey jumpin, running, flipping and swinging around.

Now, The Amazing Spider-Man directed by Marc Webb and starring Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Martin Sheen, Denis Leary, Chris Zylka, Irrfan Khan, C. Thomas Howell doesn’t hit theaters until July 3 of next year, but with Comic-Con right around the corner the studio is definitely making this film’s presence known and already seem to be ramping up some excitement for the film.

The latest issue of Entertainment Weekly features ol’ web-head himself on the cover, donning the suit without the mask.

Another photo released this week is a nice high-res version of Spider-Man sporting the mask.

So now we have some really good shots of the suit – at least from the waist up – showing the textures used, the design their going with, and if your familiar with the comics, where the costume designer got his/her inspiration from.

For me, I see a bit of everything mixed together. For some reason when I look at the suit I still see a bit of “classic” Spider-Man, a bit of Ultimate Spider-Man, and a fair dose of Spider-Man 2099. When chatting about the new suit with Kill-tacular-tron he said, “the costume is a little too [Spider-Man] 2099 for my taste, but it’s not awful.” I know there are some Spider-Man fans are really displeased with this redesign, but I quite like it. I really thing a lot of care was taken in bringing us a new version of his suit that is something fresh for this new start to the franshise without completely going off the tracks with something that didn’t even resemble the classic Spider-Man long johns we’ve all come to know and love over the years.

As for Garfield, I don’t think too many people will dispute he definitely fits the look of Peter Parker. In fact, if I may be so bold to say, he looks more like a Peter Parker to me than Toby Maguire ever did – no we just have to see the treatment of the character on screen to see if the look matches the demeanor and personality; if it does, then I really think they’ve hit a homerun in casting everyone’s favorite nerd-turned-superhero.

In addition to these new images released, there is also a description of the teaser trailer floating around which is supposedly set to be released next week. According to reports the trailer was seen by a Comic-Con employee, and this description was posted to the interwebs. Obviously, if you want to go into the trailer wanting to be surprised, then you may want to skip this.

Trailer opens with Peter Parker [Andrew Garfield] being beaten by bullies, one of which is played by Chris Zylka.

Shots of Dr.Connors [Rhys Ifans] being injected by a greenish fluid in a lab.

Shot of Parker being bitten by a spider,in his own house in what appears to be an attic lab.

Shots of Gwen Stacy’s face, Uncle Ben’s face and Aunt May’s face.

Shot of an alley with Ben [Martin Sheen] and Parker, then one of a dying Ben who utters ‘With Greatest power must come greatest responsibility, never forget that.’

Shot of Parker putting on the costume, camera angle from his back. He turns and is now atop The Empire State Building.

Goes black for a few seconds, we hear some monstrous sounds and cut to Connors’ lab where his foot transforms into a scaly one. Goes black and we hear roars.

Then we see a giant web with the title The Amazing Spider-Man. Coming Next Summer in 3d and Imax.

If the description of this trailer proves to be true, then it sounds like we may be getting another origin story – which isn’t terribly surprising, but I kind of hope they blow through it pretty quickly since we have already gotten the origin story in the first Spider-Man film (yes, I know this is a “reboot”, my point is most people are familiar with the origin of Spider-Man, let’s cover it in a fair, but quick mannor and get on with his story!). There are a few nitpicky things that I’m questioning reading this, like him being bitten by the radioactive spider in his own attic, and Kill-tacular-tron thought the slight changes in Uncle Ben’s “With Great Power . . .” statement were a bit “cheesy”, but we both agree these are just nitpicky things. I’m fine with some changes to Spider-Man’s story if they fit the movie treatment well, and I think we will have a better idea of what to expect once the trailer finally hits.

I’m incredibly optimistic about this reboot of the Spider-Man franshise. I like the director, I like the cast, and from the images I’ve seen I like the look they are going with. I’m excited to get a “feel” for this movie once the teaser is released next week and I’m really anticipating the July 4 Holiday weekend next year when we get to see our new Spider-Man in action on the big screen and all take to the webs with our final judgements! No pressure, Marc Webb . . .

UPDATE 07/14/11 12:30PM:

Entertainment Weekly has released the photos from inside this issue featured in their Spider-Man piece! Check out the gallery below and share your thoughts in the comments!

Sources: EW, Geek Tyrant, Movie Web

We were all wondering what The Governator would do now that he’s no longer the Governator and his life has basically fallen apart because of the disclosure of an affair with the help that fathered a child out of wedlock.  Well, we’ve got the answer. It will be called Last Stand and be about a small-town cop who has to face down big-time criminals.

Really, I didn’t care.  It would probably be another Expendables-esque action camp-fest and. . . .zzzzzzz. . .  see, just talking about it made me fall asleep.

And then I heard it was going to be directed by Kim Jee-Woon, the Korean director who brought us last year’s amazing The Good The Bad and The Weird. THAT might be interesting, as Kim knew how to blend action and comedy and genre all into one to make a fun and exciting film.  And yes, Arnold is infinitely watchable, even when the material is suspect.  So here’s the plot:

Schwarzenegger will be small town sherrif formerly of the LAPD, from which he was suspended in disgrace after his partner was killed. He has a guilty conscience, blah, blah, blah, and is stuck fighting the lack of crime in his little town.  UNTIL. . . big time criminal breaks out of FBI custody and is making a bee-line for the border, and he has to get through Ahnold’s small town. Could have some promise.

So I’ll look forward to more on this.  What about the rest of you robots?

Look– the press release from Lionsgate giving even more details!

LIONSGATE TO MAKE LAST STAND

Arnold Schwarzenegger To Star In High Octane Chase Story

 

Santa Monica, CA, July 12, 2011– LIONSGATE^® (NYSE: LGF), a leading global entertainment company, today announced that Arnold Schwarzenegger will be making his return to film in THE LAST STAND, which the company is developing as a starring vehicle for the former California Governor.  The announcement was made by the President of Lionsgate’s Motion Picture Group Joe Drake, and President of Production Michael Paseornek.

 

Korean action-suspense master Kim Jee-Woon (A TALE OF TWO SISTERS, THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD) will direct the film, which is to be based on a spec script by Andrew Knauer that was subsequently rewritten by Jeffrey Nachmanoff.  Lionsgate has domestic and international distribution rights, with the film having pre-sold well in several overseas territories already.  Lorenzo di Bonaventura will be producing the film through di Bonaventura Pictures.

 

Schwarzenegger will be starring as Sheriff Owens, a man who has resigned himself to a life of fighting what little crime takes place in sleepy border town Sommerton Junction after leaving his LAPD post following a bungled operation that left him wracked with failure and defeat after his partner was crippled.   After a spectacular escape from an FBI prisoner convoy, the most notorious, wanted drug kingpin in the hemisphere is hurtling toward the border at 200 mph in a specially outfitted car with a hostage and a fierce army of gang members.  He is headed, it turns out, straight for Summerton Junction, where the whole of U.S. law enforcement will have their last opportunity to make a stand and intercept him before he slips across the border forever.  At first reluctant to become involved, and then counted out because of the perceived ineptitude of his small town force, Owens ultimately accepts responsibility for one of the most daring face offs in cinema history.

 

“Arnold Schwarzenegger will bring incredible magnetism to this complex but classic role,” explained Drake of the perfect fit between the material and the star.  “When he came on the screen in THE EXPENDABLES, it always electrified the audience.  In this film, the Sheriff Owens character grapples with some really tough stuff, but ultimately triumphs, and we knew he’d truly elevate this high octane ride.”

 

The deal was negotiated for Lionsgate by Motion Picture Group Senior Exec VP Rob McEntegart.

 

Schwarzenegger is represented by CAA, who negotiated the deal on his behalf along with attorneys Jake Bloom and Patrick Knapp of Bloom Hergott et al., LLP. Jee-Woon is also represented by CAA.

 

About Lionsgate

Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF) is a leading global entertainment company with a strong and diversified presence in motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, home entertainment, family entertainment, digital distribution and new channel platforms. The Company has built a strong television presence in production of prime time cable and broadcast network series, distribution and syndication of programming and an array of channel assets. Lionsgate currently has 15 shows on more than 10 networks spanning its prime time production, distribution and syndication businesses, including such critically-acclaimed hits as “Mad Men”, “Weeds” and “Nurse Jackie” along with the popular comedy “Blue Mountain State” and the syndication successes “Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne”, its spin-off “Meet The Browns,” “The Wendy Williams Show” and “Are We There Yet?”.

 

Its feature film business has generated more than half a billion dollars at the North American box office in the past year, fueled by such hits as THE EXPENDABLES, THE LINCOLN LAWYER, TYLER PERRY’S MADEA’S BIG HAPPY FAMILY, SAW 3D, THE LAST EXORCISM, KICK ASS and PRECIOUS. The Company’s home entertainment business has grown to more than 8% market share and is an industry leader in box office-to-DVD and box office-to-VOD revenue conversion rates. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 13,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as the foundation for the growth of the Company’s core businesses. The Lionsgate brand remains synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world.

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