Faster (2010)

If only Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson reduced comic roles and focused more on action stints, then he'd really be the next king of action after Arnie. I liked him only in 2 movies The Rundown, as Beck the bail-jumper bounty hunter, and Walking Tall, as Chris Vaughn an ex-military guy who takes on a whole town. Why? Because the characters he played were well constructed and well focused on kicking ass. So enough with The Game Plan, Tooth Fairy and other comic-contradiction-type films, its time to bring the smack down baby!

The Skinny: Johnson is ex-con out from prison hunting down the man who killed his brother. 

The Helmer: George Tillman Jr - Notorious (2009), Men of Honor (2000), Soul Food (1997), Scenes for the Soul (1995), Paula (1992).

The Casts: Dwayne Johnson (Driver), Billy Bob Thornton (Cop), Micaela Johnson (Cocktail Waitress)

Release Date: 24th November 2010

The Prediction: We have a helmer with slightly significant directing chops, we have the Gayton Brothers on writing duty, and we have the Rock. This is a revenge-mode movie and I've never said no to revenge-fueled action, because revenge is a primal source of human aggression: its justified violence, and that really is good violence to watch. And looking at the trailer, this is a pretty decent ass-kicking revenge-based action flick. It helps that the co-star of this movie is a Mustang.

Wikipedia

Official Site

Trailer 

30 Days of Night: Dark Days (2010) Direct to Video

Vampire movies generally suck, especially emotional vampire movies where the leading vampire dude is pale, moans over lost love and gets entangled in a three-way with a human and a werewolf. Its like watching a vampire version of sex and the city, or desperate housewives. The only vampires i personally like are ones with Christopher Lee in it, The Lost Boys, and John Carpenter's Vampires. These vampire movies had A: Vicious, animal-frenzy vampires and B:Kick-ass vampire killers. Which is how it should be. So when a new vampire movie comes up that defies the current trend of sissy vampires, you take notice and appreciate. Cue 30 Days of Night and the direct to video sequel 30 Days of Night: Dark Days.  

The Skinny: This is continuation from the first installment, where the surviving wife of the sheriff who died whilst defending his small Alaskan town from decimation from a group of vicious vampires, grabs the opportunity to exact revenge on the head vampire which led to the death of her husband. The synopsis from imdb.com reads: 

"It has been a year since the isolated Alaskan town of Barrow's population was decimated by vampires during its annual month long sunset. Riddled with grief over the death of her husband Eben, bound by nightmares and void of all emotions beyond hate and sorrow, Stella Oleson has spent the past months traveling the world, trying to convince others that vampires exist. Met with skepticism and laughter, she is ready to throw in the towel when a group of lost souls offers an incredible opportunity: the chance to exact revenge upon Lilith, the vampire queen responsible for the assault on her sleepy Alaskan town. With nothing remaining to live for, and nothing left to fear, Stella joins their mission and ventures into the uncharted underbelly of Los Angeles where she pushes herself to the most extreme limits to stop the evil from striking again. Written by Fango".

The Helmer: Ben Ketai - 30 Days of Night: Dust to Dust (2008 TV), Megan (2008), Suck (2008)

The Casts: Kiele Sanches (Stella), Mia Kirshner (Lilith), Rhys Coiro (Paul), Ben Cotton (Dane) Stacy Roy (Jane), Troy Ruptash (Agent Norris)

Release Date: 5th October 2010

The Prediction: As a general rule, direct to video movies tend to be low-budgeted, sub-standard produced efforts which, to the best of intentions, gets to the business of just indulging in the whims of audience who are curious about what happened next which in effect dilute over time and sequels. But, there are exceptions, such as Wrong Turn: Dead End ,a sequel to the hugely popular Wrong Turn. It essentially depends on the writer and director and the money splurged on this. Ben Ketai seems to have a career in helming horror movies, and though the original 30 Days was not hugely successful, it was done with great care and craft. Looking at the trailer, production costs and value seems to be high and the pacing pretty exciting. Which added up, looks very promising. 

Trailer

Official Site

Monsters (2010)

I love monster movies; I like the feeling of overpowering dread of horribly ugly large living things slopping its way around causing mayhem and destruction, drawing you close into its gaping horror. It gives me a kick all the time. Which is why this movie looks very very promising. Moreso as it is helmed by a Brit. And everyone knows Brit directors rock. :)

The Skinny: NASA's exploratory expedition into space to seek out intelligent life succeeds as it crash lands in Mexico with an extra payload which in this is of course, monsters.Slashfilm.com has a great synopsis on this:

Six years ago NASA discovered the possibility of alien life within our solar system. A probe was launched to collect samples, but crashed upon re-entry over Central America. Soon after, new life forms began to appear and grow. In an effort to stem the destruction that resulted, half of Mexico was quarantined as an INFECTED ZONE. Today, the American and Mexican military still struggle to contain the massive creatures… Our story begins when a jaded US journalist (McNairy) begrudgingly agrees to find his bosses daughter, a shaken American tourist (Able) and escort her through the infected zone to the safety of the US border.

Read more: Movie Trailer: Gareth Edwards’ Monsters | /Film http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/07/24/movie-trailer-gareth-edwards-monsters/#ixzz0uxqZL7fq

The Helmer: Gareth Edwards- Heroes and Villains (2008 TV), Perfect Disaster (2006 TV), End Day (2005)

The Casts: Scoot McNairy and Whitney Able

The Prediction: Low budget movies are great platforms to promote new, indie players into the market and to provide audience with a seemingly first person horrific moments (think Blair Witch Project) up front. Given that CGIs are more accessible than ever before, and that smart usage of it (i.e. using it sparringly) will make it appear more real, all that is needed is a great story line and effective build up. io9.com has a great write up on this as well, together with some trailers.

The Burrowers (2008)

This is one of those movies where if you blink, you'd miss it because its small enough to just disappear beneath the weight of its more expensive cinematic brothers. But if you do miss, it'd be a loss as its a gem of a movie which deftly balances between the spirit of a western flick and that of good old fashioned creature horror film, the kind which makes your skin crawl and make you look behind your back every few minutes. 

The Skinny: Its the wild wild west in 1879 and a posse of cowboy hunters and a small military unit set out on a search and rescue mission to seek and rescue a family believed to have been kidnapped by a group of native Americans (thats right, injuns). What they encounter is something else altogether, something which lives under the earth and comes out for feeding at night ...things known as 'the Burrowers'.

The Helmer: JT Petty -  Blood Red Earth (2008), The Burrowers (2007 TV), S&Man (2006), Mimic: Sentinel (2003 V), Soft for Digging (2001)

The Casts: Clancy Brown (John Clay), Karl Geary (Fergus Coffey), William Marphother (William Parcher).

The Verdict: This is a great movie. Excellent cinematography, great script, good atmosphere. It succeeds in establishing a rounded western at the same time coincide with a solid horror flick. But what takes it above the norm for western-meets-horror genre, is that it is unapologetic. Don't expect the 'right' turning of events, or the characters to do the right thing. It is focused on one thing only, and that is to depict the story on a what-if basis: What if horrible underground life-sucking creatures were to terrorize the wild wild west?

Trailer 
Great Write-Up 

Battle: Los Angeles (2011)

War movies generally have not changed over the years. There are generally 2 levels of engagement for the audience: one, on the up-close and personal level, where you get to know the soldiers and first person sense of hell, that war brings about, and two, the actual battle itself and the shooting of guns and missiles. This is applicable to almost all war related movies, save of course for a few exceptional ones like Brian de Palma's 1989 anti-war flick Casualties of War. Apart from that, the message imparted is this: war is hell and there no one is actually the victor. The only difference is the enemy the hero army faces and how they are depicted which in this case are aliens.

The Skinny: Marine Platoon led by Marine staff sergeant battles with aliens on the streets of LA. 

The Helmer: Johnathan Liebesman - The Killing Room (2009), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006), Rings (2005 V), Darkness Falls (2003), Genesis and Catastrophe (2000).

Casts: Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodrigez, Michael Pena, Lucas Till, Joey King 

Release Date: 11th March 2011

Prediction: War movies are generally a hit-and-miss thing. Because its both drama and action rolled so closely together that one slip will lead it disastrously into either one of the sides. And for each war movie that comes out, the expections are high in terms of raw action. Of late, the look and feel have been strongly dominated by Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan's jerky, hand-held camera style of film making. Which we may expect from this movie as well in order to portray realism. Be that as it may, the premise though not exactly new (see: War of the Worlds, Independence Day, Mars Attack etc) is fresh in the wake of post-Iraq war movies where the action is always backed by the empty desert sands. I'm just curious to know how the aliens look like - the gooey messy type or the highly efficient shiny-suited bug-eyed type.

Cowboys and Aliens (2011)

Nowadays it seems that its tough going in Hollywood to come with completely new fresh ideas; either its a remake from a TV series back in the 80s, a sequel, an adaptation from a comic book or a game-to-film remake. Which is why new ideas backed by big budget tend to make big sense at the box office, such as Inception  which was a surprising hit to date. It also helped that it was penned and helmed by Nolan the Great. Which brings us to the new upcoming western sci-fi, Cowboys and Aliens slated for release next year, based on a 2007 online-only graphic novel by Alana Joli Abbot. From the outset, its a great combo - you have cowboys and Indians and you have aliens: two very opposite concepts melted together. You have had cowboys and dinosaurs with the 1969 The Valley of Gwangi  where cowboys battled dinosaurs, and you had the 2007 cowboys vs zombies with Undead or Alive concept so if cowboys were to mix up with aliens, its just a progression of where you place your cowboys because cowboys can be almost anywhere. The charm of cowboys (and indians) have always been the innate sense of freedom and rugged living. In a sense, cowboys (and indians) are timeless. Cowboys are cool.

The Skinny: Gunslinger with amnesia must set aside differences with local town sheriff, a drifter, Apache warriors and bandits to prepare for war with invading alien forces.

The Helmer: Jon Favreau - Iron Man 2 (2010), Iron Man (2008), In Case of Emergency (2007 TV), Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005), Elf (2003), Life on Parole (2003 TV), Undeclared (2002 TV), Made (2001), Smog (1999 TV), Bad Cop, Bad Cop (1998 TV).

The Casts: Harrison Ford (Col Dollarhyde), Daniel Craid (Zeke Johnson), Olivia Wilde (Ella), Noah Ringer (Emmet), Walton Goggins.

Release Date: 29th July 2011.

The Prediction: This looks like a pretty big picture with Jon "Iron Man" Favreau helming the reigns, with JJ Abrams scribe partner for Fringe - Alex Kurtzman and Roberta Orci writing the script, Harrison Ford as town tyrant, and Daniel Craig as the amnesiac gunslinger hero taking on the aliens. What I find curious is the overall treatment of this project - we have a fun premise with lots of potential to bleed into sequels, but we have some pretty heavy set individuals involved in it. When we think Ford and Craig, we think SERIOUS SHIT going down. Not some heehaw adverturesome-tomfoolery-ness. Because the very idea of aliens attacking the wild wild west? Its too fun to be serious.

But. 

The ingredient is pretty damn tasty. It has everything you need to excite your bojangles: shooters, aliens and Apache warriors vs aliens. Whatever it is I'm looking forward to this.

Avengers Movie Update

The biggest thing to hit mainstream cinema (with exception of Cameron's 'Avatar') is the seamless creation of the Marvel comic universe. First in the line up is the Hulk followed by Iron Man (inserted in its movie fold are Nick Fury and Black Widow) followed by Thor and right up after that Captain America. You roll them all up and what do you have? The Avengers. Chud.com  has the scoop on this, you can read it here. Suffice to say, it is a comic geek's wet dream in real-time 3D. What more can they ask for? Maybe Captain Kirk making out with Ripley of Alien fame? They wish! Anyway, this is the line up for the Avengers: 

Iron Man - Robert Downey Jr

 

Nick Fury - Samuel L Jackson

Black Widow - Scarlett Johannsen 

Thor - Chris Hemsworth 

Captain America - Chris Evans 

Bruce Banner - Mark Ruffalo

Hawkeye - Jeremy Renner 

Helmed by Joss Whedon of Buffy fame, and the underrated Firefly sci-fi series (which was filmed into the very excellent Serenity.

Pretty interesting casting isnt it? I personally like Ruffalo in place of Edward Norton as the green mean machine. But I am wondering if the X-Men franchise is included in this universe because it would make sense to have the whole shebang in on this alternate universe. I can just imagine the eyes of the studio owners lighting up and going "kerching"! 

It looks good though - great writer/director on board with an intelligently made choice of actors. This is the big one for 2012. 

Devil (2010)

I like M Night Syamalan despite the universal hatred poured on him when he failed to deliver I-see-dead-people-like shock endings in his movies subsequent to Sixth Sense. But who wants to be constantly shocked? People just want a good movie based on a good plot, delivered in good style. I liked The Village, the :Lady in the Water, The Happening. I found them to be original, intriguing and importantly, compelling; it made me stay till the end. It was not a rehash of some half remembered TV series, nor was it inspired from video games. It was a stand alone. Which is why I'm really looking forward to his latest written effort here. 

The Skinny: 5 office workers stuck in an elevator discovers that one of them is the devil. Horror ensues. 

The Helmer: The Brothers Dowdle

The Writer: M Night Shyamalan - The Last Airbender (2010), The Happening (2008), The Lady in the Water (2006), The Village (2004), Signs (2002), Unbreakable (2000), Stuart Little (1999), Sixth Sense (1999), Wide Awake (1998), Playing with Anger (1992)

The Casts: Chris Messina, Geoffrey Arend, Caroline Dhavernas, Matt Craven

The Prediction: This is the first of the installment of Shyamalan's Night Chronicles, a series of stories penned by the man himself. It is good.

Official Site and Trailer

Judge Dredd: Retry/Remake/Remodelled/Rejoice!

I'm a big Judge Dredd fan eversince the 70s when it was featured in the excellent weekly the British action comic 2000 AD (which later become 2000 AD and Tornado when it was bought over). Judge Dredd was the ultimate lawman of the 21st century, casting a very big shadow over criminals in Mega City One, the future version of New York City. He was a righteous dude who kicked ass big time, hovering along with his huge computerized bike, blasting away perps and delivering one-liners way before Arnie made it cool to kick and one-line. He epitomized the law in all its soul-less-ness. And it was coooool. So it was with great disappointment when the Judge Dredd film failed to do justice with its Sly Stallone version; it was okay, but it wasnt really Judge Dredd, was it? He took off his helmet, something which the real Judge Dredd has never ever done. (except maybe when he goes to the loo - even then its questionable whether he does that either). So yeah, the film version of his super cop was not accepted fully. 

Until possibly now: bleedingcool.com reports a remake of the series with Karl Urban donning the helmet and mounting the bike. This is definitely a good thing as 28 Days Later / The Beach writer Alex Garland will have writing creds for this. If they do it well, we can expect a whole new range of characters not just from the Judge Dredd universe, but also from the 2000 AD comic universe, as they're pretty cool, like the fighting robots known as the ABC Warriors, as these guys pre-date the Transformers by several light years. So yeah. Looking forward to this.

Latest Thor Pics!!

I'm not a big superhero-to-movies fan, but I am getting some kinda buzz with some new releases of Thor's pics on the net. So check out slashfilm.com pics and links here and also over here. The first pic sees Thor looking buff-and-messed-up having a strong grip on his hammer (that doesn't sound quite right, does it?), and the other pics shows the denizens of arsgaard with Anthony Hopkins looker dapper in his buff Odin-suit and Thor in his super-hero outfit. Its all good ... 

Previous review:here.

On the Wire

Some new movie updates you should be interested in ... 

The Boys (action/comedy/superhero)

An Adam McKay flick on the management of reckless and dangerous superheroes by an elite ops group who keeps them in line, and if need be kill them, based on the Ennis & Robertson comic book adventure. Into this mix comes Simon Pegg (he of the Shaun of the Dead), Hot Fuzz fame) as Wee Hughie, the latest recruit. Laughter ensues. Check out the whole write up here. This looks like a great, original idea kinda movie. How you lose when you have two running themes which practically heats up the box office: superheroes, and comedy. AND, you mix it up with military tacticle stuff. What can go wrong? If done properly, not much.

Transformers 3 (2011) (action/tech/robots)

Are you ready for the 3rd installment of the gleaming robot ass-kicking fight-fest? Ready or not, its coming. Aintitcool.com has it covered with some pretty decent pre-production photos here. The good news (for fanboys) is that its coming next year in 2011, the bad news is that uber-babe Megan Fox will NOT be on board. In her place will be Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, which, from the pictures shows certain HIGH hotness level. Will she be able to kick-ass in the hot-babe dept which our beloved Fox has been doing overtime for in the past 2 Transformers installment? We can only wait, hope, and see ... 

Mission Impossible 4 (2011) (action/spy/thriller)

In the spirit of never-ending sequels, we have another sequel in the MI franchise. Tom Cruise is set to reprise his role as Ethan Hunt, and more interesting is the return of Benji Dunn, played by Simon Pegg, the lab tech expert who backs up Hunt on his missions. Read it from the Hollywood Report . Despite the downturn of Tom Cruise appeal in the world of entertainment, my money will still be on him to deliver high quality kick-assory, which is A. Non-stop, and B. High grade. Thats good enough for me. Helming it will be Brad Bird, he of the Pixar range of action comedy cartoons The Incredibles, Ratatouille, The Iron Giant etc. Hmm. Interesting, to say the least ... Could it be that the underlying darkness of the previous MIs will be replaced with something more fantastical? More elaborate? And how will it gel with JJ Abrams written effort for this sequel? Aha ... 

The 100 Best Horror Films from Best Horror Movies. Com for 2010

The For horror-freaks out there - thought I'd share with you the top 100 horror movies of all time from best-horro-movies.com, which is pretty insightful is you ask me. Check it out here. For those too lazy to hyper jump to the link, this is the brief summary: 

100. The Live (1988) - John Carpenter

99. Hostel (2005) - Eli Roth

98. Scream (1996) Wes Craven

....

3. Dawn of the Dead (1978) George A Romero

2. Alien (1979) Ridley Scott

1. The Exorcist (1973) William Friedkin

So there you have it, the list of what scares us silly from 100 all the way up to 1. What I'm really curious is this - why hasn't anyone ever topped The Exorcist as the scariest movie of all time? I guess the writers and directors nowadays seek to scare people by adding more gore, and using CGI in almost everything. Real horror has its roots in terror, and terror stems from the generally accepted idea of unimaginable things waiting in the dark for us, waiting to spring out shrieking. Most often it is not visual, but something imagined and the trepidation that comes with it. The build-up, the tightening of the screws, the final payoff and the basic intention of the evil itself as something with its own intelligence.

Having said that, would you be able to watch The Exorcist ALONE, at NIGHT, in a DARK HOUSE? Give it a try, I DARE you ...

Ong Bak 3 (2010)

Ong Bak  effectively put Thailand on the global map of awesome kick-assness. Who can ever forget Tony Jaa smashing open a motorbike helmet off a poor guy's head with his elbow? Or giving a big white dude the double elbow smash on his noggins clocking it effectively? We felt the pain because there was no special effects used. This fighting continued with Tom Yam Goong where a central scene had the camera follow Jaa non-stop for more than 10 minutes without editing as he ran up a huge spiraling staircase kicking ass all the way up. 

The Skinny: Following directly from the end of Ong Bak 2, where our hero Tien (Jaa) is beaten to a pulp by Ghost Crow (dude who looks like a dudette dressed in a drag from the deepest bowels of hell) he is taken away in chains by the evil king whereupon he has his ass whupped big time thereby convincing us the viewers that he will never ever avenge his father ... but he's a plucky kinda guy after all so obviously he's not going to take it lying down. The dude is after all, destinied to kick ass ... 

The Helmer: Tony Jaa

The Casts: 

• Tony Jaa as Tien
• Nirut Sirichanya as Master Bua
• Sarunyoo Wongkrachang as Lord Rajasena
• Dan Chupong as Crow Ghost (uncredited)
• Primorata Dejudom as Pim
• Petchtai Wongkamlao as Mhen
• Supakorn Kitsuwon as Guard in Golden Armour (uncredited)

The Prediction: Ong Bak 2 was an impressive effort from Jaa himself as he wrote and directed a mini epic scale medieval actioneer. The ending of part 2 kinda crapped it for most, as there were rumours that the movie ended there due to budgetry constraint. As a result most thought it just ended there, with Jaa's hero dying at the hands of his enemies without avenging his father's death. But apparently that is not the case. Part 3 seals the deal with a closure, neatly wrapping up a pretty decent martial art trilogy. When you think about it, theres not many trilogy of kick-assness. Unless if you consider Chuck Norris' MIA series as a trilogy of sorts for ass kicking.

The Awesomeness of the Expandables: Countdown Begins ...

This is an update of new trailers for the Expandables, Sly Stallones action epic. AKA, kick-ass extravaganze AKA, bare-knuckle bonanza AKA massive dynamic awesomeness. Check it out at Apples link which displays the 4 trailers of the much awaited fight-fest.

Read the previous review here.

Release date: 13th August 2010

Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa aka The Malay Chronicles: Bloodlines (2010)

Films have the ability to recreate ideas and shift perception about almost everything; it can redefine the image of a nation, catapult actors into superstardom and change the history of movie making for any country. Provided the movie is groundbreaking and well executed. The South Korean movie industry had their pivotal turning point with espionage actioneer Shiri   , a North vs South, spy-vs-spy tale injected with romance in 1999. Similarly with Thailand and their stomach churning real-action bone-cracking fight-porn Ong Bak in 2003. So what is Malaysia's turning-point movie that can change history? Has there been one? Sadly, no. Until now that is. Possibly, with Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa, also known as the Malay Chronicles: Bloodline.


The Skinny: "Based loosely on the 16th century historical document entitled ‘The Malay Annals', ‘The Chronicles of Merong Mahawangsa' is an action-packed epic feature film, with mythical characters, magical moments and dazzling visual-effects sequences. Merong Mahawangsa was a descendant of Alexander the Great, a renowned naval captain and traveller who came to Asia several hundred years ago." Synopsis taken from The Film Catalogue.

The Helmer: Yusry A Halim - Cicak Man 2: Planet Hitam (2008), Cicak Man (2006)

The Casts: Stephen Rahman Hudges (Malaysia/UK), Jing Lu (UK), Gavin Stenhouse (UK), Hendrik Norman (Sweden), Craig Fong (Australia). Other local talents also includes, Dato Rahim Razali, Wan Hanafi Su, Ummi Nazeera, Khir Rahman, Nell Ng, Keith Chong, Jehan Miskin, Deborah hanry, Ravi Sunderlingam, Kuswadinata, Mano Maniam and Faiz Aizuddin Azmi.

The Prediction: This big budget (by Malaysian standards) movie is the brainchild of brothers KRU, the extraordinary Norman, Edry and director Yusry. Best known early in their career as rap singers for group KRU. Nowadays, they're mainly in the business of producing new talents and making movies. This movie looks pretty good going by the trailer, although the pale sheen of CGI somehow shines through the hectic scenes drops it several notches below a full-fledged epic. Having said that, it would be good if the whole movie expands on the promise of what we've seen in the few minutes shown.

Trailers and Write-Up

Other stuff

Hollywood Update

Super-dupers

I think the glut of super heroes on TV and in the cinemas is a symptom of something in the conscious media of the general public. Could it be we, the human race, are seeking out to a higher power to save us all because politicians the world over generally suck monkey nuts? Or could it be something else? Hollywood running dry of really new solid stories? An unholy alliance of print and digital media joining forces? Whatever it is, we have some new ones coming up. One of them is the new Green Lantern movie with Ryan Reynolds  donning the green full body leotard looking pretty menacing with the black eye mascara thing (in place of an actual face mask), as seen in slashfilm.com first official pictures of the movie. 

What Ben Affleck did next

Over on Harry Knowles aintitcool.com  , you get to see a trailer from Ben Affleck's new movie called "The Town" based on Chuck Hogan's book "Prince of Thieves", a story of a bank thief who is caught between two women. Ben's real major studio stint was last year's State of Play opposite Russel Crowe, which was a reasonably so-so effort. Thing is, he hasn't made any major cinematic impact of late. Maybe one day, he will shake off the ghastly Gigli tag and proceed with something real and solid. Something along the lines of Matt Damon's more industrious career. Maybe play Damon in the autobiography of the best friend's life?


Jail time 
Looks like its confirmed - Lindsay Lohan of Parent Trap, Freaky Friday and Herbie Fully Loaded will face jail time, according to her lawyer, or Hollywood Gossip. The main issue however, centres on her ankle bracelet which doubles as a Wedlock-like futuristic ankle clamp which monitors her intake of alcohol. Honestly, its like a future version of prison. Whatever it is, it aint good. On the other hand, she can kinda move about freely, until her date with the jailers.


King of Cool in Court
George Clooney appeared in an Italian court on the witness stand to testify in a case involving the use of his name for the launch of a new fashion line by three Italian guys. I mean, you can't blame those guys can you? His ubercool demeanor can launch practically anything - combat boots, ostrich eggs, helicopters, dental surgery, liposuction, you name it. Goes to show a lot of cool goes a long way.


Super heroes syndrome 
Looks like you can't throw a pebble in Hollywood and not have it hit on someone thats going to appear in a superhero movie. According to Talking Film, Kevin Bacon will join the cast of the new X - Men: First Class movie as a baddie. I guess his kids must have been bugging him to join the spandex squad. Either that or he needs the money and the popularity. Or, his agent must have locked down the deal too fast. But is it a good thing to be in superhero movies? I don't know. I've never really been partial to costume do-gooders. I prefer my heroes to be normal humans. But with incredible sense of heroism. Possibly with the ability to kick ass. But thats just me.

Tron: Legacy (2010)

When I was a very, very young man (back in ancient times known as Ye Olde Eighties) I had a bunch of movies I was really, really looking forward to: Conan the Barbarian, E.T, Poltergeist and of course First Blood. But the king of all these outstanding childhood memorablia, was Tron. A sci-fi movie which blew the minds of sci-fi fans - it portrayed a dangerous virtual world of fatal gladiatorial games and super fast light bikes and deadly freebies. The plot was simple: world famous games designer Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) gets sucked into the virtual world of computer games by evil AI chess game programme, where he is assisted by his programme Tron (Bruce Boxleitner) to survive. 

What they movie did was provide citizens of the 80s the idea of a digital realm which by today's understanding means the Internet. It had everything any self-respecting sci-fi movie must have: evil AI, loyalty, friendship, an alternative universe, kick-ass action and the wonders of special effects. It made Bruce Boxleitner an action hero (for roughly 4.37 seconds) and it reintroduced Jeff Bridges back to the screen in a whole new light - as the world's first virtual reality ass-kicker predating Keanu Reeve's Neo in the Matrix by 17 years. That was Tron. But sadly it was overlooked as the pivotal point in sci-fi film. Until now. 28 years later. 

The Skinny: In this sequel, the son of Flyn, Sam gets a coded message from his dad Kevin who had mysteriously disappeared for the best part of his 27 years. As it turns out, Kevin Flynn never left the Tron universe and now exists on an alternate place which in reality is an unused arcade game in an abandoned warehouse. This world is essentially a server, which had never ventured into the internet, but had been steadily populating, and growing over the years. Now it is up to son Sam to rescue dad Kevin, and escape the evil overlord who does not want them to leave. At any cost. 

The Helmer: Joseph Kosinski - first timer 

The Casts: Jeff Bridges (Kevin Flynn), Garrett Hedlund (Sam Flynn), Olivia Wilde (Quorra), Bruce Boxleitner (Alan Bradley), James Frain (Jarvis), Yaya Dacosta (Siren)

The Prediction: This is Disney's BIG one for 2010, on two levels: riding on the 3D tsunami wave, and entering into the fast-rising popularity in sci-fi movies, something which they haven't dabbled in for a long, long time. The last one being the 1979 Black Hole. Tron has its fanbase and so expectation is high. Disney promises special effects for this movie the likes of which has not been seen before. So its the combination of expectation meeting new technology meeting commercial interest in making back big money in a big way. So yeah, this looks good. Very very good. 

Official Trailer

Official Site

Splice (2009)

Remember the alien big deal movie "Species" back in 1995? It did three things: introduce the world to snazzy CGI to depict gooey alien shape-shifting, made Natasha Henstridge an uberbabe, and reignited interest in the alien genre during a glut of sappy romantic comedies. It kinda changed the game for the 90s. And then as suddenly as it appeared, it disappeared (discounting the horrible Species 2 and Species 3 which not only paled in comparison but sucked donkey nuts); so for a while the movie was overrun with horror in place of terror. And now we're in the Noughties. And what do we have to make up for lost time in terms of alien / weird flesh-thing? We have Splice...

The Skinny: Two young geneticist Clive (Brody) and Elsa (Polley) accidentally become instrumental in the creation of a new sentient being after splicing human and animal DNA together. What pops out on the other side of cooking pot is Dren (Delphine), a female human/alien-like creature which changes and develops rapidly in terms of age, size, strength and finally something else altogether. Clive wants her destroyed, but Elsa does not as a bond is forged between the two. In arriving at a middle ground they bring Dren to the countryside to allow her space. Big mistake, as Dren comes to her own out there in the wilderness and fulfills her full potential. Madness, mayhem and terror ensues ... 

The Helmer: Vincenzo Natali - Paris je'taime (2006 - segment), Getting Gilliam (2005), Nothing (2003), Cypher (2002), Made in Canada: Volume 1 - Best of CFC (2002 v), Earth: Final Conflict (1998 - 1999 3 episodes TV), Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal (1998 1 episode TV), Cube (1997), Elevated (1997), Space Cases (1996 1 episode TV). 

The Casts: Adrien Brody (Clive Nicoli), Sarah Polley (Elsa Kast), Delphine Chaneac (Dren), Brandon McGibbon (Gavin Nicoli), Abigail Chu (Child Dren)

The Verdict: An intense, highly intelligent and effective sci-fi horror thriller which works on two levels: cementing the view that there are some areas mere mortals should not tread, and scaring us in the process. This movie is executive produced by the now legendary monster-with-personality maker Guillermo Del Toro. And it makes sense, as Natali is on his own is already established as the helmer of the 1997 cult classic Cube which successfully messed with millions of minds with its pre-Saw single-room terror thriller.

Official Trailer

Official Site

DVDs for the Weekend

Weekends are the great R&R of the long highway of work and life. Its time for you to hang ten, lay back and just enjoy the experience of taking it easy. And what better way of taking it easy than to kick back and enjoy with your loved ones, or alone, a collection of very enjoyable DVDs out in the market? Let these movies transport you away from the weekly working stress of earning a living ... 

Back to the Future (1985)

Hailed as one of Zemecki's better films during his career, this little gem from the 80s is a delightful punch in the face with an uplifting combination of high adventure, romance, great music and exciting moments of hilarity. Follow the unlikely adventure of skate-boarding, electric-guitar playing 17 year old Marty Mcfly as he rushes back 30 years to the past, then 30 years back to the future with a souped up re-engineered Delorean time machine to rescue and ensure that his parents kiss and start dating. Otherwise he will cease to exist...

This was the highlight of the amazing and ever-likeable Michael J Fox who proved that when the going gets tough, you slip on your Nike sneakers and jump right in. Christopher Lloyd shines as the lovable but completely insane Doc who invents the time machine, twice - in the present, and in the past. Great double team pitted against the effectively annoying Biff the big high school bully... Watch out for Hewie Lewie and the News' "The Power of Love" track, executed at the precise of moment when Marty kisses his GF in front of the town hall; amazing.

Official Trailer  


Cinema Paradiso (1988)

Academy Award winning masterpiece from Italian master story teller Guiseppe Tornatore, tells the sweeping epic love story of one boys love for a girl, and for an old cinema hall. The summary taken from imdb.com reads:    


"A boy who grew up in a native Sicilian Village returns home as a famous director after receiving news about the death of an old friend. Told in a flashback, Salvatore reminiscences about his childhood and his relationship with Alfredo, a projectionist at Cinema Paradiso. Under the fatherly influence of Alfredo, Salvatore fell in love with film making, with the duo spending many hours discussing about films and Alfredo painstakingly teaching Salvatore the skills that became a stepping stone for the young boy into the world of film making. The film brings the audience through the changes in cinema and the dying trade of traditional film making, editing and screening. It also explores a young boy's dream of leaving his little town to foray into the world outside. Written by Clarisse P."

The score for this film by Ennio Morricone expresses beautifully the innocence, the hope and the luxurious anguish of lost love, making it a perfect accompaniment to an amazing cinematic experience.  

Official Trailer  

Love Theme from Cinema Paradiso 

The Other Guys (2010)

The Skinny: The lesser of the two pairs of competing cop partners get into trouble when they take on their legendary counterparts. Will Ferrel and Mark Wahlberg square off against Samuel L Jackson and Dwayne 'the Rock' Johnson with hilarious results. This is a coming of age story of two middle-aged men...

The Helmer: Adam McKay - Vida (2010), Saturday Night Live: Just Shorts (2009 TV), Eastbound and Down (2009 TV), Green Team (2008 V), Step Brothers (2008), The Landlord (2007), The Procedure (2007), Good Cop, Baby Cop (2007 V), Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby (2006), Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004).

The Casts: Mark Wahlberg (Det. Terry Hoitz), Will Ferrell (Detective Allen Gamble), Samuel L Jackson (Highsmith), Dwayne Johnson (Danson), Michael Keaton, Lindsay Sloane (Francine), Ray Stevenson (Wesley), Eva Mendez (Sheila Gamble), Steve Coogan (David Ershon)

The Prediction: McKay has directed Ferrell in several hit comedies over the years, and I can't see why he can't do it again with this buddy cop comedy, especially with straight man Wahberg. Its also good to see Jackson in a comedic role as well, something we haven't seen in a long while. As for the Rock, he just rocks in any movie he plays in. Anyway, from the trailer, this movie seems like the hot ticket for 2010. 

Release Date: 6th August 2010

Official Site 

The Other Guys Trailer 

Valhalla Rising (2010)

The Skinny:  Scotland 1000AD. Mute fighter, One Eye escapes captivity from his owner, Norse chieftain Barde who uses him as a fighting machine. On the run, he comes across a viking ship and joins the crew but is soon face to face with other trials ... only to find out what he really is.

The Helmer: Nicolas Winding Nefn - Bronson (2008), Miss Marple: Nemesis (2007 TV), I'm The Angel of Death: Pusher III (2005), With Blood on My Hands: Pusher II (2004), Fear X (2003), Bleeder (1999), Pusher (1996)

The Casts: Mads Mikelsen (One Eye), Jamie Sives (Gorm), Gary Lewis (Kare), Ewan Stewart (Eirik), Callum Mitchel (Viking Guard)

The Prediction: A 2009 limited released indie pic which looks very very promising, with strong kick-ass possibilities. Which is always a good thing in my books, any day of the week. A cast of complete unknowns except for Mads, who played the baddie in Casino Royale helmed by the guy who gave us the Pusher trilogy (see it here), this looks like a decent action flick with an amazing backdrop.


Release Date: 4th June 2010


Official Site

Valhalla Rising Trailer

Green Hornet (2011)

The Skinny: Crime-fighting Britt Reid is a reporter by day, and a ass-kicker by night aided by his oriental ass-kicking side kick Kato. What begins as revenge for the death of someone close to his dad (who owns the SENTINEL, a newspaper), turns into a career of fighting crime. Reid dons a mysterious face mask which covers his eyes and bridge of nose, to hide his true identity and gets down to business.

The Helmer: Michel Gondry - The Thorn in the heart (2009), Michel Gondy 2: More Videos Before and After DVD (2009), How to Blow Up a Helicopter (2009), The Flight of the Conchords (Ep 1 2009), Tokyo! (2008), Be Kind Rewind (2008), Les Science Des Reves (2007), The Willowz (2006), The Science of Sleep (2006), Block Party 2005), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004).

The Casts: Seth Rogen (Britt Reid / Green Hornet), Jay Chou (Kato), Cameron Diaz (Lenore Case), Edward Furlong (Tupper)

The Prediction: For those who are culturally challenged, this is a remake of a 60s TV series which starred the mythical Bruce Lee as Kato the ass-kicking chinese side kick of this gwailo who wears a mask to fight bad guys and shoot them once in a while. This is the updated version. Personally, I don't see the cultural relevance of remaking this movie. Why? Because it aint got no Bruce Lee in it, buddy.The components of this movie is strange: helmed by French weird movie meister Gondry, led by fattish goofball turned skinny goofball Rogen, supported by aging chick Diaz and less than known oriental star Chou, played out in a comedic tone I'm just curious how this will come out. I'm also wondering who approved it, put up money for it, spent time and effort making it and had hopes of making money out of it. Honestly, I think the cast could do with an overhaul. I'm just not convinced with Rogen in the lead... but hey, I'm only human I could be proven wrong. And the trailer does in a way kick ass ... I just hope they dont make it too comical, because we dont want to see another Starsky and Hutch comedic redo. Which just sucks.


Release Date: 14th January 2011


Official Site 

The Green Hornet Trailer

Thor (2011)

The Skinny: Thor is thrown out of Asgard for his recklessness and nose dives onto Earth as punishment, to live among the mortals. It is on Earth where he learns humility and the true meaning of hero-ness-ship. And he has to tangle with his evil brother Loki and the badass comes a-calling ...
 

The Helmer: Kenneth Branagh - Sleuth (2007), The Magic Flute (2006), As You Like It (2006), Listening (2003), Love's Labour's Lost (2000), Hamlet (1996), A Midwinter's Tale (1995), Frankenstein (1994), Much Ado About Nothing (1993), Peter's Friend (1992), Swan Song (1992), Dead Again (1991), Henry V (1989)

The Casts: Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Natalie Portman (Jane Foster), Kat Dennings (Darcy), Ray Stevenson ((Volstagg), Anthony Hopkins (Odin)

The Prediction: Remember the end of Iron Man 2? Where the SHIELD agent was called away to attend to something big? And we were treated to a glimpse of something half buried in huge hole in the open desert? Obviously its Thor's hammer being uncovered. Obviously Thor is the next biggie coming up. Thor as in the god of thunder who is a doctor during his working hours, and a skirt wearing do gooder with super powers during other times. So yeah, Thor is coming up, thereby enlarging the Marvel comic universe to comprise of Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, now Thor and soon after the Avengers ...Should be good, but hopefully it will not go Cridown the road of destruction, otherwise known as Ang Lee's Incredible Hulk, where they get too thespianic for their own good. What we'd like to see is pure kick-ass poetry where the Hammer does ALL the talking. Oh yeah ...


Release Date: 6th May 2011 USA

Dinner for Schmucks (2010)

The Skinny: Rising executive Paul Rudd is keen to impress his bosses and will do anything to do please them including picking an unknowing candidate to be the idiot guest for the monthly dinner for idiots, where the bosses enjoy an evening of merriment at the expense of the unknowing guest. Cue Stever Carell's Barry ... an innocent idot savant who forges an unlikely friendship with Rudd. Now, with all the cards on the table, will Rudd do the right thing? 

The Helmer: Jay Roach - Recount (2008 TV), Earth to America (2005 TV), Meet the Fockers (2004), Austin Powers in Gold Member (2002), Meet the Parents (2000), Mystery, Alaska (1999), Austin Powers, the Spy who Shagged Me (1999), Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997), Zoo Radio (1990).

The Casts: Steve Carell (Barry), Paul Rudd (Tim Wagner), Stephanie Szostak (Julie), Jermaine Clement (Kieran Vollard), Zack Galifianakis (Therman), Lucy Punch (Darla) Bruce Greenwood (Fender), Ron Livingston (Caldwell)

The Prediction: I like Steve Carell, and I'm beginning to like Paul Rudd too since his role in Role Models, where he finally established the kind of guy he was: someone who just doesnt care. And I have a fondness for Jay Roach as well, because he made me laugh till I peed my pants with the third and funniest installment of the Austin Powers series. So yes, I believe this movie is good, and should be watched by many. Go watch it!

Release Date: 30th July 2010 USA

Official Site and Trailer

The Dark Fields (2011)

The Skinny: Jilted writer takes on a new drug which enables him the full 100% of his brain power and other faculties, only to carry him to unimaginable height of power and perception.  But it comes with a price as a group of killers trail his every move. Based on a techno thriller by Alan Glynn.

The Helmer: Neil Burger - The Lucky Ones (2008), The Illusionist (2006), Interview with the Assassin (2002),

The Casts: Bradley Cooper (Eddie Spinola), Robert Deniro (Gennady), Anna Friel, Abbie Cornish, Johnny Whitworth

The Prediction: A new superhero movie, or something like that. Bradley Cooper is still smokin' after his A-Team stint, wihch sees him as the next possible action hero, with female appeal. Which is an intelligent opposite to old-timer Deniro who is fast fading under the onslaught of new players in the market.

Release date: 18th March 2011 USA

Internet Movie Database

The Book