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Posted by Ben Huber on Nov 28, 2014 in Cinema 
Long rumored, and almost forgotten, the Independence Day sequel is stumbling back into life. 20th Century Fox has greenlit the sequel and wants to begin shooting in May 2015. Will Smith is not returning, but almost everyone expects Roland Emmerich to return to the director’s chair (although a deal hasn’t been put in place yet, Fox is pushing for Emmerich to return). Their plan is to hit July 2016, right around the original film’s 20th anniversary, which is nice… but I’m not sure it’ll help the film much. I wonder if this can work out, or if it’ll be a mess like many other revivals. Read more…
Tags: Independence Day, Roland Emmerich
Posted by Ben Huber on Nov 28, 2014 in Cinema 
His own words! In a recent interview with Empire Magazine, Cameron continued to hyped up his oncoming Avatar sequels (all three of them, which will be filmed simultaneously), but this time went above and beyond: “I can tell you one thing about them. They’re gonna be bitchin’. You will shit yourself with your mouth wide open.” Oh, well, alright. If you say so! He also spoke about higher frame rates for film, and confirmed he’d be filming in 48 frames per second (there was speculation that he’d film in 60 or 120). You can thank Peter Jackson for that, I assume. You can read the rest of the details here. Read more…
Tags: Avatar, James Cameron
Posted by Bob Muir on Nov 26, 2014 in Cinema 
Since the last two Jurassic Park movies were so bad, I think it’s fair to approach Jurassic World with some caution. The trailer looks surprisingly interesting, depicting Jurassic Park as it was intended to be. The problem in this one comes from a new dinosaur made to attract more people to the park, because something always goes wrong when man plays God. As far as I can judge for the trailer, it looks like this movie will at least be better than its abysmal predecessor. But it’s a shame how reliant we are on CGI these days, because some of those dinosaurs can’t hope to match up to the animatronics used in the original Jurassic Park. Read more…
Tags: Dinosaurs, Jurassic Park, Jurassic World
Posted by Bob Muir on Nov 26, 2014 in Cinema 
First of all, I don’t think Peter Pan needs an origin. I don’t need to know how he got to Neverland, and in fact, knowing too much may make things worse. That said, if you can separate the fact that this is some origin/prequel/whatever, this first trailer for Pan looks like a fun, interesting story. There are many liberties, such as Hugh Jackman playing Captain Blackbeard, and Hook neither being a captain or possessing a hook. But that just makes it easier to ignore that this is tied too closely to the original Peter Pan story and enjoy the adventure. Pan isn’t out until 2015, so by the time more information drips out, we’ll know whether that optimism was justified or not.
Read more…
Tags: Peter Pan, Warner Brothers
Posted by Ben Huber on Nov 24, 2014 in Cinema 
I don’t know if I should be doing this, but come on! It’s the first new Jurassic Park film in a while, and it kind of… looks good?! Jurassic World arrives next year on June 12th, but the trailer is premiering this week on Thanksgiving day. This is our first look at actual footage, featuring the most important element: dinosaurs! No feathers, yes. It looks like they’re not changing that. Perhaps we’ll see some feathered dinosaurs elsewhere in the movie? The park looks great, though, and Chris Pratt appears to be settling well into the lead role. He’s a bit like a goofier Harrison Ford, almost, isn’t he? Check out the teaser below. Read more…
Tags: Jurassic Park, Jurassic World
Posted by Ben Huber on Nov 23, 2014 in Anime, Cinema 
He means it! The upcoming documentary The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness will be particularly compelling due to Hayao Miyazaki’s recent retirement, as it goes in-depth about the making of The Wind Rises and The Tale of Princess Kaguya. It’s an amazing look at how Studio Ghibli, Miyazaki, and Isao Takahata make films. Especially since Miyazaki retired during the period the documentary covers, it’s fascinating to see the way that it affects the studio. The film is already out in Japan, but it’ll be showing in some theaters later this month, with a wide VOD release in late January. Trailer below! Read more…
Tags: documentary, Hayao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli
Posted by Ben Huber on Nov 23, 2014 in Cinema 
What’s Strange Magic, you might ask? That’s a very good question! I wouldn’t have been able to answer that question until just recently. Out of the blue, Lucasfilm revealed a CGI animated film, with story by George Lucas, that is coming on in January. It’s a comedy-adventure film with plenty of singing, about two different side (fairies and goblins) being separated until a love potion begins to bring both sides together. Don’t expect for the trailer to tell you that, though! Also, releasing a trailer so close to release with very little promotion doesn’t exactly bode well. Oh, and all that music, but no “Strange Magic” by ELO? Come on, it’d be perfect! Read more…
Tags: George Lucas, Lucasfilm
Posted by Ben Huber on Nov 21, 2014 in Anime, Cinema 
As you may have heard, a live-action Japanese adaption of Attack on Titan is coming summer of next year. They’ve been announcing the cast now, and to promote them Toho has released character posters for all of the main characters. In addition to your favorites like Eren, Mikasa, and Armin, there are also seven new characters and some new enemies, too. I’m hoping the special effects are good, as Japanese FX studios usually aren’t quite as impressive as what some Hollywood studios can put out. However, they’ve been improving rapidly and this could be a great movie to show off on. Check out the character posters below! Read more…
Tags: Attack on Titan
Posted by Bob Muir on Nov 20, 2014 in Cinema 
It’s hard to think of many aliens more iconic than the Xenomorph of Ridley Scott’s Alien. Scott realizes we still need new attempts though, so apparently he has teased a new alien to appear in the third act of Prometheus 2. Scott said that he’d avoid species from previous Alien films, and to “Stop the dragons.” The rumor of God or Satan being involved was also denied. I’m not that surprised, I always figured there were more aliens in that version of space. I’d be interested to hear how they may relate to other species though. Read more…
Tags: Alien, Prometheus, Ridley Scott
Posted by Bob Muir on Nov 20, 2014 in Cinema 
Disney has been raiding the Disney Vault for classic animated movies that can be remade into live-action features. After Alice in Wonderland and Maleficent, the next up is Cinderella. I’m of the opinion that these effects-driven movies are just cashing in on the original story and are completely unnecessary. But while the last two films just looked awful from the start, Cinderella actually looks alright. There isn’t visual overload and it just seems like a retelling of the classic fairy tale. It’s still completely unnecessary, but maybe this movie has a chance of being a good movie. Despite my distaste for director Kenneth Branagh, his Shakespearean sensibilities seem to be a good fit. And with Helena Bonham Carter cast as a non-crazy person, plus Cate Blanchett, they’ve got some good actors participating. Read more…
Tags: Disney, Fantasy
Posted by Bob Muir on Nov 19, 2014 in Animation, Cinema 
Look, we’re getting an animated Peanuts movie whether we want it or not. Thankfully, BlueSky Studios has got the look down pat, despite being CGI. And “voices” like Snoopy and Woodstock sound good. But what is up with that generic pop song? That’s not Peanuts. It’s likely just trailer music, but it seems odd. Anyway, the Christmas theme makes me want to see this soon, but it’s not coming out until 2015. While Peanuts is still a classic comic to me, I wonder if modern kids will view it the same way. Read more…
Tags: 20th Century Fox, Peanuts
Posted by Ben Huber on Nov 17, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Speaking of Captain America, it appears that we have our most likely candidates for directing Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 and 2. Joss Whedon is wrapping up Avengers: Age of Ultron, and we’ve known for a while that he’s getting a bit tired of the whole superhero thing. Avengers 2 is his last film he’s signed on for, anyway, so he could very well leave after this. Marvel reportedly wants the Russo brothers, the directors of Captain America: The Winter Soldier and the upcoming Captain America: Civil War. They definitely have the chops to take up Whedon’s flag, and their involvement in multi-hero films will be a big aid. We probably won’t know for sure until Avengers 2 comes out and Whedon confirms! Read more…
Tags: Avengers: Infinity War, the Russo Brothers
Posted by Ben Huber on Nov 16, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Here’s an updated version of the previous trailer for Avengers: Age of Ultron, with added scenes and a few new moments. It still has that haunting rendition of “I’ve Got No Strings” running the whole way through, though! I think James Spader really nailed the voice of Ultron, as he simultaneously sounds smooth and threatening. However, I love the above shot the most of all… because it looks like Ultron is attempting to do stand-up comedy and failing miserably. “What?! His name is Iron Man, and he’s ironing his shirt… oh, come on, you people are a tough crowd!” Trailer below! Read more…
Tags: Avengers: Age of Ultron
Posted by Ben Huber on Nov 16, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Captain America: Civil War is building up quite the impressive cast. Obviously, we have Mr. Tony Stark himself in it, along with Chadwick Boseman as the Black Panther. Now, the Russo brothers have also cast Daniel Brühl in the film. You probably know Brühl mainly from his role in Inglorious Basterds or in Ron Howard’s Rush. He’s playing an “unnamed villain.” Variety reports that Brühl is not the main villain in Civil War, but it possibly the main villain of Doctor Strange (maybe Baron Mordo?). Got to get that cross-pollination, eh, Marvel? Brühl is a great actor and I can’t wait to see who he ends up playing. Read more…
Tags: Captain America: Civil War, Marvel
Posted by Ben Huber on Nov 15, 2014 in Cinema, Hobbies and Collections 
The potential buyers for Dreamworks Animation continue to stream by! Back in September we heard that Softbank was interested in buying the animation company, but talks quickly died out. Now, toy giant Hasbro is currently in talks to pick them up. This is a potentially big deal because Hasbro would certainly love to put many of its toy brands into CGI animated blockbusters. And hey, the potential for a good Transformers film from the How To Train Your Dragon crew is pretty exciting to contemplate. I’m certain there’s also a desire to replicate the success of the LEGO Movie, which this could possibly do for Hasbro. We’ll keep an eye out to see if these talks go through! Till then, imagine what Hasbro toy you’d most like to see as an animated film! Read more…
Tags: Dreamworks, Hasbro
Posted by Ben Huber on Nov 14, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Warner Bros., despite all their struggles getting a Wonder Woman film made, seem to finally be on track. The biggest news we heard is that they were specifically looking for a female director to tackle the film, to embrace the origins and message of Wonder Woman. I thought that was a great idea, and it looks like Warner may have found their director: Michelle MacLaren. MacLaren is most famous for her work directing episodes of Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones. I think it’s a great choice and a perfect way for MacLaren to jump into feature film directing. Her TV work has been great, so I can’t wait to see how this turns out. Let’s hope those talks don’t fall through! Read more…
Tags: Michelle MacLaren, Wonder Woman
Posted by Ben Huber on Nov 14, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
With so much support behind him now, James Gunn has a lot to live up to with Guardians of the Galaxy 2. He recently gave an update on where he is on the film, saying that the story is laid out and finished, and next is to script it. He was pretty happy with his position now: “The cosmic side of the universe is its own thing. And because the movie was so successful, it was more successful than Iron Man was, that changed the way other people looked at it but I still look at it the same way.” He went on to say regarding the story, “we can’t just repeat ourselves.” He also noted that the 2nd film needed to explore “what their flaws are, what their strengths are. They’re a much more flawed group than The Avengers. They have major major issues.” Sounds fun! Read more below. Read more…
Tags: Guardians of the Galaxy
Posted by Bob Muir on Nov 13, 2014 in Cinema, Horror 
Universal is taking a page from the Marvel Cinematic Universe with the Universal Monster Universe, a reboot of their classic horror films all set in the same universe. Dracula Untold is sort of the unofficial start, with The Mummy reboot to be the actual start in 2016. But one and a half films does not a universe make. Are they making more? If you read the headline, then yes, Universal wants a new Wolf Man movie, perhaps to make people forget about The Wolfman from 2010. And they have already arranged for Prisoners writer Aaron Guzikowski to write it, so things are moving. Hopefully they can make future films better than Dracula Untold, though — the reason the MCU took off was because the movies were good or great, in addition to being part of a bigger story. Read more…
Tags: Universal, werewolf, Wolfman
Posted by Bob Muir on Nov 12, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
For a character with a name like “Doctor Doom” to work, you have to make sure he owns that name. You might as well make it his real name, Victor von Doom, and have him rule his own country. But in The Fantastic Four, the reboot directed by Chronicle‘s Josh Trank, Doom’s origin is much more “ultra-real” and “lo-fi,” according to his new actor Toby Kebbell. Now the man who becomes Doctor Doom is Victor Domashev, because no one is named “Doom” in real life. And Domashev is an anti-social programmer, who goes by “Doom” online. I’m not saying the original basis for the character isn’t a bit hokey, but this new origin is really hokey. It reminds me of using the same online handle as my D&D character in high school. Maybe the other parts of the film are better? I mean, you can’t go too “ultra-real” in a movie about “fantastic” people, right? Read more…
Tags: Dr. Doom, Fantastic Four
Posted by Bob Muir on Nov 11, 2014 in Cinema, Horror, Television 
Okay, so they’re not making Army of Darkness 2, but that doesn’t mean we’re not getting any follow-up. Starz has ordered ten half-hour episodes of Ash vs. Evil Dead, a sequel that gets the gang back together. Sam Raimi has reunited with producer Rob Tapert and Bruce Campbell; though Raimi is only directing the first episode, he co-wrote the series with Ivan Raimi (who will co-executive produce) and Tom Spezialy. It sounds like it’s set in the same continuity, not the new reboot continuity, and will see Campbell’s Ash once again fighting the Deadite menace to save mankind. I am always up for seeing Ash kill more things, so I’ll be looking forward to it! Read more…
Tags: bruce campbell, Evil Dead
Posted by Bob Muir on Nov 11, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
The Joker has traditionally worked alone, at least in the Batman movies. But in Batman: The Animated Series, he had a partner in Harley Quinn, who proved so popular that she was added to the comics. Since we’re hearing rumors about the Joker in David Ayer’s Suicide Squad, why not some rumors for Harley? Supposedly Margot Robbie is going to be cast as the villainess in the 2016 movie, having previously caught a lot of attention in The Wolf of Wall Street. She has previously been rumored to be signed on to Suicide Squad in some capacity, so this casting would fit. I just hope that they show Harley in her classic jester’s outfit, but it might be a bit too out there for what is likely to be gritty and realistic. Read more…
Tags: Suicide Squad, Warner Brothers
Posted by Ben Huber on Nov 10, 2014 in Cinema, Videogames 
Duncan Jones, who made the fantastic sci-fi film Moon, is making a Warcraft movie. You may have heard about this! At Blizzcon, Jones debuted some early imagery for fans, such as the first posters for the film, images of the actors, and costumes used in filming. They’re currently deep into post-production on the film, mostly doing CGI. In fact, the film doesn’t come out till March 11th, 2016, so it’s still quite a ways off. Still, it looks like Jones has a huge love for the world and wants to do it right. Check out the posters (featuring both the Horde and Alliance weapons) and the costumes below. Read more…
Tags: Blizzard, Duncan Jones, Warcraft
Posted by Ben Huber on Nov 10, 2014 in Cinema 
It’s finally time: after Heath Ledger’s amazing performance several years ago in The Dark Knight, Warner Bros. is preparing to cast the Joker for their movie universe. However, the first place he’ll show up is a little surprising: it appears WB is casting Joker for the upcoming Suicide Squad film directed by David Ayer. And the person eyed for the Joker role? Jared Leto. The Oscar-winner hasn’t been doing much since Dallas Buyers Club, as he wants to find a suitable follow-up. Being the Joker in WB’s movie universe might just be the way to go! We’ll have to see how this all turns out, but could this be the right choice? Read more…
Tags: Batman, Suicide Squad, The Joker, Warner Brothers
Posted by Ben Huber on Nov 8, 2014 in Animation, Cinema 
Yes, even Pixar can’t stay away from the lure of sequels. Disney announced in their most recent investors call that a new Toy Story film would be coming on June 16th, 2017. Toy Story 4, it’s official title so far, will be written by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack. In a surprise to many, John Lasseter himself will be directing the picture, making this his first time directing since Cars 2 in 2011. There had been plenty of rumors floating around about a fourth film, so it’s really not that surprising, but I still can’t help but wonder how this’ll turn out. Toy Story 3 ended on a perfect note — I’m not sure what else you can add to the story! Read more…
Tags: Pixar, Toy Story
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