Alien Reboot?

Bloody Disgusting is reporting (rumor/unconfirmed) that Ridley Scott is set to produce an Alien series reboot. His director of choice is apparently commercials director Carl Rinsch. Personally I am all for reboots. Why, you say? Because lets face it, crazy high concept Sci-Fi films like Alien would not be getting made unless they feel like they can bank on the draw the other films bring. When done right its like Christmas, when done wrong, some feel it tarnishes the legacy of the previous films. I don't agree. So I say bring it on, especially with Scott involved in the process this one has a better chance then most. Anyhow, it can't be any worse than AVP. Oh ya and take a look at one of Rinsch' commercials and you can see why Scott hand-picked him.

James Cameron's Avatar

No its not Shyamalan's 'The Last Airbender', but it's Science Fiction hero James Cameron's labour of love Avatar. I must have been living under a rock to have not heard more about this $200 million film. The movie's premise is being described as, "an emotional journey of redemption and revolution. It is the story of a wounded ex-marine, thrust unwillingly into an effort to settle and exploit an exotic planet rich in biodiversity, who eventually crosses over to lead the indigenous race in a battle for survival. The film's star is Sam Worthington who, ironically, was recently cast in the new Terminator: Salvation, the film series that Cameron is responsible for bringing to life.

Born out of an 80 page script that Cameron wrote back in the mid 90's, and it has been said that the films delayed release is due to the lack technology available to properly bring us into that world. Well, Avatar is set to be released this December using technology so advanced that Spielberg, Lucas and Peter Jackson have been involved in testing it. Cameron wanted to be able to create entirely CGI characters are photo realistic using motion capture. Wikipedia reports that: unlike previous performance capture systems, where the digital environment is added after the actors' motions have been captured, Cameron's new virtual camera allows him to directly observe on a monitor how the actors' virtual counterparts interact with the movie's digital world in real time and adjust and direct the scenes just as if shooting live action. This would also included the most advanced methods for capturing facial expressions ever used. If that wasn't enough the film will also be filmed in 3-D using proprietary equipment developed by Cameron.

Other interesting tidbits that only serve to ramp up this films skyrocketing expectations include an intricately conceived world that Stan Winston (who also worked on the Terminator films) will design and music by James Horner (Aliens, Titanic) that will include choral arrangements in which an entirely new alien language will be sung.

Reading this kind of news almost makes me forget how disappointing the new Terminator film was. Here's a video report on the film for more info.

ReelzChannel Movie News James Cameron Today's Features | Movie Trailers

Terminator: Salvation - review

I love the Terminator movies. They are SF, apocalyptic, have big robots, and Arnie, the question should be, "what is not to like?" Well unfortunately Terminator: Salvation makes that question an easy one: no heart. I looked forward to this film more than any other this summer and while it was at times awe inspiring, at others it was...Waterworld. Waterworld is of course one of the biggest budget flops of all time. It was beautiful to look at, but had no heart (and the acting made me want to tear my heart out). This new Terminator was every bit as frustrating as that film, because of the wasted potential.

The Terminator storyline (and I'm not going to go into its complex history here) is so rich, the only problem would be figuring what to focus on. Director McG apparently decided to cop out by focusing on nothing (well, except big machines). And poor Christian Bale, post-infantile outburst, is getting all the blame. Hey, at least he tried to do something with the word-vomit he was given (Mr. Costner!!!) This film relied far too heavily on the previous films to provide background to these beloved characters and none of them were fleshed out enough for me care if they lived or died, no matter how cool and intense the action was.

Speaking of the action: If there was one thing that McG proved he can do well its staging action, and there was a lot of it. If there was a story to match, I feel that these action sequences could have gone down as some of the most memorable ever. Other positives were the cinematography and the overall post-apocalyptic look of the film. It was for the most part breathtaking, which makes the films failures seem even more tragic.

The bottom line is that if your like me and can't resist a film like this no matter how many negative reviews you read, then go experience it's many explosions on the big screen (preferably wait for the budget theater). I give it a generous 60% out of 100%, just because its beautiful post-apocalyptic world, and some action sequences that try their hardest to make you forget there is no heart.

The Road - Teaser!!!

Finally!!! The first footage from the post-apocalyptic epic 'The Road'. All I can say is WOW.

Gattaca

This is truly a lost gem of the 90's. I had heard good things here and there, but never took the time to sit down and watch it straight through until I found the special edition DVD for $4 at ROSS of all places, while my wife shopped for an outfit. Gattaca is basically a futuristic noir piece about a world in which your future is decided by your genetic makeup from birth. They know what health problems you will have etc. all the way down to your life expectancy. Because of this, many of who are called God-children (those born naturally) are marginalized from birth because no one will hire them based on their genetic profile. Most parents choose to have their children made in a test tube using a blend of the finest genetics, to ensure for them a good life. Vincent was not one of those children. He was born naturally with a 99% chance of heart problems, which means that his dream of becoming an astronaut will never happen...as long as he is himself. Vincent goes on a inspired journey to prove everyone wrong and assumes the identity of a recently crippled member of high society. He works 10 times harder than anyone else in the space program and has to go through elaborately detailed processes each day in order to hide any trace of his true self. All this work becomes threatened when a higher up in the space program is murdered. How far will Vincent go to achieve his dreams?

Star Trek Review

I don't do long, bloated reviews on this site, where I talk about motivation and other pretentious stuff, so here is my quick thoughts on this highly anticipated film. Let me say first that while I am a huge science fiction geek, I've never learned to speak Klingon and you won't spot me at a Trekkie convention. If a Trek show comes on TV, I'll watch it, if there's nothing better on, but I don't foam at the mouth for the next installment, book or collectable associated with this franchise. Moving on...

Star Trek in general, while wrapped in an intricately conceived space world, has always had a great cast of characters. The original show and eventually the movies were about how these characters, from many different backgrounds and cultures, come together to protect, well, the universe. The new Star Trek has all the shiny wrapping that the shows had, with an added dosage of adrenaline that the shows lacked, but that doesn't really matter without the characters we all know and love. All classic franchises have to have great characters to keep us wanting more. From Stars Wars to Indiana Jones this always proves to be true. I'm happy to report that this new film brings the Enterprise crew to life, more than any Star Trek film ever has.

The casting is pitch perfect throughout, but it is the angry tensions and eventual bonding of Kirk and Spock that are the driving force. These updated versions are portrayed with enough internal conflict to make any Twilight fan go into convulsions. The bottom line is go see this film. I don't care what your reservation is, because I can't honestly think of how anyone could come away from it disappointed.

For fun here's an interview with JJ Abrams, Chris Pine & Zachary Quinto about the movie:

Star Trek

Here's a fun link to an article that will help you know who's who in the new Star Trek film. After looking at these pictures, the casting really seems spot on. Judging by preliminary reviews this could be the film that takes Star Trek out of geekland and into the mainstream.

Dead of Night

A "nightmare detective" played by Superman? Thats right empireonline.com reports that Superman star Brandon Routh has been cast to star in 'Dead of Night'. He will play Dylan Dog, a detective who deals mostly with things that go bump in the night. Seems like an odd casting to me, and this movie could be terrible, but I do wish the best for Routh whom I thought did a much better job bringing Supes to the screen than he's been given credit for. Here's a fresh pick of Routh in the role:

Deadpool

There's been talk about this for a while now, but it is now being officially reported that writers are currently working on a Deadpool film that will star Ryan Reynolds. I have not seen the poorly reviewed Wolverine film yet (I'm still going to see it), but I can't imagine anyone more perfect for the role of Deadpool than Reynolds. Especially after watching this interview:

Terminator: Salvation

Want free VIP tickets to an advanced screening (no waiting in line!) of Terminator: Salvation? Well if you are one of the lucky 3 people who read this blog send a text with the message SALVATION and your zip code to 43549. Oh and while your at it don't forget to pick up an 'apocalyptic ice' slurpee at 7-11 (ridiculous!!! you'd think I was on their marketing team).

Day One

About neighbors in an apartment building banning together to figure out how to live after an apocalyptic event, this new tv series is coming to NBC in 2010. Its from the producer of Heroes, and is based on the 1989 TV series of the same name (which I have not seen). Well...if its post-apocalyptic you know I'll give it a shot. Here's some behind the scenes footage from the website.

2012

I'm sure everyone has heard about the 2012 doomsday predictions, the end of the Mayan calendar etc. Well this is the movie. Coming out in November this year. Probably too soon for me to be excited about the film, but its too late for me not to be...and besides John Cusack will star so it can't be all that bad. This teaser certainly knows how to wet my appetite, and I like the sort of Hitchcockian music...creepy.

Arizona

These guys came very highly recommended on the 'i guess i'm floating' music blog and I must agree they are pretty great. Straight up rock that somehow is able to maintain a classic feel without coming across as outdated by any means. Midlake comes to mind when I hear these guys, which is another band I have a great deal of respect for. I found this live performance apparently in a salon and was really amazed as to how great they sounded. These guys are the real deal. Go buy Arizona's album 'Glowing Bird' after you watch.

MGMT

Ya so I'm a little late on this, just like everything else, but this duo has put out a pretty amazing album called 'Oracular Spectacular'. Its sort of a weird mix of Brit Pop and Electronic. Of course if I read that descriptor I probably wouldn't even give it a listen so just forget I wrote that and watch this video for 'Time to Pretend'.

Radiohead

WOW I don't know how I missed this! Radiohead performing 15 Step with the USC marching band at the Grammy's. AMAZING

Radiohead - 15 Step (Grammys 2009)