Unfortunately I am of the latter ilk. For one, I am the kind of guy who likes my Terminators to carry strong tones of Austrian/governor accent. Terminators who speak in monotone voices who have very clear missions that can only begin once their first objective is achieved: obtain clothes, boots, and a motorcycle. I come from the school of “The Electronic Murderer” (even though I’m not Polish). Picture courtesy of Answers.com.

I am not so much interested in this. “Oh, but it’s got Christian Bale,” you might respond. Watch Harsh Times and then give me that argument. Was Eddie furlong not available? I can’t imagine that the Night of the Demons remake was a higher priority for him. What happened to Nick Stahl? I wasn’t thrilled to have a new John Connor forced upon me then either, but he did an adequate job.

I’m not saying that Bale can’t cut the mustard. Bale’s not the issue. The issue is that they have gotten away from what made The Terminator a classic, and that was…well, Arnold (not to mention Michael Biehn), James Cameron, and the decade of the 80s. I’m not one to totally live in the past. I realize times have changed, but films like Planet Terror prove that the dark, gritty look of the original are still possible to achieve.

Terminator: Salvation is looking more like a Transformers or Matrix knock off (if not a stylized Robot Jox remake) to me based on some of the robot designs. But I guess that’s what you get when you give the co-creator of Fastlane the reigns of one of the most beloved science fiction/action franchises of all time. I’m a little skeptical to say the least.

But to be fair, I can’t judge it too harshly without having seen it. My expectations are set pretty low, so perhaps I’ll be overwhelmingly surprised. Some of my best movie-viewing experiences have come from low expectations.

See some recently leaked video footage at io9.com. I rest my case.

So when I heard (via Moviehole) that the long-rumored Goonies 2 is already in the early stages of production, I was ecstatic.  Finally, I get to rejoin my childhood heroes in an adventure for the ages!  And with many of the original actors returning for the sequel (Sean Astin and Corey Feldman especially), Goonies 2 will actually feel like a sequel.

But wait.  This has happened before.  A 1980’s classic has been revitalized with a 20-years-in-the-making sequel.  Both projects even involved Steven Spielberg.  Earlier this year, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull arrived on the scene and violated childhood memories worldwide.  Considered by many to be a travesty, the fourth installment in the Indiana Jones franchise abandoned much of the seriousness and intense story of the original trilogy in favor of flashier special effects.

I desperately want to love Goonies 2, but recent experiences have left me wary.  My initial excitement has given way to trepidation.  While this is certainly exciting news, I will withold judgement until the movie arrives.

Technorati Tags: The Goonies, The Goonies 2, Sean Astin, Corey Feldman, Steven Spielberg

‘Boondock Saints 2? Plot details + Production Diary!’ Wow, this looked vaguely like something I had read a few years ago that never seemed to pan out. Well with Troy Duffy having to deal with some legal issues that just wrapped up, I guess everything is getting the green light… maybe… Damn I hate rumors.

From the golden post at GeeksofDoom written by “The Movie God”:

Midway through watching the latest Hannah Montana episode, I decided to end the insanity and check out what was being dugg. This next headline of course captured my attention and made the surrounding world fade away instantly (crub! I think there was a pet or two I was supposed to feed)

‘Boondock Saints 2? Plot details + Production Diary!’ Wow, this looked vaguely like something I had read a few years ago that never seemed to pan out. Well with Troy Duffy having to deal with some legal issues that just wrapped up, I guess everything is getting the green light… maybe… Damn I hate rumors.

“The boys (Norman Reedus, Sean Patrick Flanery) and their father Il Duce (Billy Connolly) have been living in seclusion, deep in Ireland on a sheep farm, away from everything, when Il Duce’s brother comes to tell them that a priest was murdered in Boston and it was set up to look like it was done by the Saints.

The boys rush back to deal with it, while they’re supposedly ailing father stays on the farm. There’s a new character who’s kind of the Rocco character named Romeo; funny, but much more bad ass. As soon as the brothers land, they start picking off anyone who may be tied to this framing. Willem Dafoe is not in the sequel, a new FBI detective comes into play — a female with a strong southern accent. She wants to catch the Saints and is working with some of the detectives in the first movie (like Bob Marley) who, as we know, decided the Saints were good and began helping them, but they don’t think she knows this, so they need to go with that. Eventually their father comes back into play and tells them what’s going on, which sets in motion a full-on flashback of the story of Il Duce from day one.

Oh, hell freakin’ yes. <-his words, I have to write… Oh hell FUHreaking YES!

On a separate note, something you kids might not know that we find within this interview: The Dark Knight is brought up (like you’re surprised) — it turns out that Heath Ledger was one of the actors that came at Troy Duffy about being one of the brothers. Apparently this was right around when he was brand new and Duffy needed the brothers to look more alike and it was too difficult to find someone who looked like Ledger, so he wasn’t able to use him. Interesting.

To listen to the whole interview with more details on the lawsuit, fan questions, and all sorts more stuff, check it out below.” Continue to follow this link so you can get to the links to click

I’m torn, should I be excited? The Dark Knight certainly was a phenomenal sequel, but such a great piece of work is rare- especially in todays industry. Has too much time gone by where the magic from the original film is lost? Was Boondock Saints Troy’s one hit wonder? If this does pan out, will I go see it? Should I be excited? I am now going to pop the original in my DVD player and probably go feed some cats.

Technorati Tags: saints, boondock, FUHreaking YES, entertainment

Perhaps it was appropriate that the prelude to the blockbuster season was fittingly a trip to NYC to attend the 2008 NYC Comic-Con and sit before those who creat

Let me start off by saying I’m a huge cynic when it comes to movies that are hyped up. Once people begin to rave about a film, I automatically search for the flaws. It’s my nature that stems from being let down so many times from a long awaited film that flopped and flipped before my eyes and caused me to count each second of my life that was wasted.

Perhaps it was appropriate that the prelude to the blockbuster season was fittingly a trip to NYC to attend the 2008 NYC Comic-Con and sit before those who created the geek genus: Dick Ayers, Nick Cardy, Irwin Hasen, Carmine Infantino, Joe Kubert, Stan Lee, Jerry Robinson, John Romita, Sr, Joe Simon, Joe Sinnott and Mort Walker to name a few (you can view my footage here ).

ed the geek genus: Dick Ayers, Nick Cardy, Irwin Hasen, Carmine Infantino, Joe Kubert, Stan Lee, Jerry Robinson, John Romita, Sr, Joe Simon, Joe Sinnott and Mort Walker to name a few (you can view my footage here ).

Last weekend Iron Man left me excited, high energy and above all impressed. It was Marvels glove that was tossed in the ring with heavy hitter Batman Begins. They quickly erased the faux pas that was Hulk and replaced it with The Incredible Hulk. While The Incredible Hulk was a decent movie, it was still a light weight contender in comparison to Iron Man and Batman Begins.

Batman Begins changed near insulting comic book hero film adaptation and raised the bar. It was nice to know that the industry did take note and changed the class for good.

While I was all ready to assemble a butt kicking suit last weekend and take a stand against the bad guys, this weekend it’s quite a polar effect. It’s been three hours since I left The Dark Knight and I feel heavy hearted. Jerry Robinson, the claimed creator of the Joker, was consulted for the The Dark Knight so that the villian can get back to his original sociopath beginnings. They did it hauntingly well.

Once The Dark Knight began, every word that I’ve heard about this film, every promo, every heart wrenching reminder of Heath Ledgers passing, they all flew out of my head. It begins in a real world filled with real people with real agendas and real tragedy, or so that was my impression. It wasn’t painted pretty or glammed up for the viewer. It was a comic book legend being spilled into our familiar surroundings.

I had a been a fan of Batman through my entire existence and watched the evolution of the character through various platforms. Some had excited me and some disappointed me. I’m thankful the evolution didn’t end with Batman and Robin.

Christian Bale has been an actor who has grown on me over the years. I had questioned his talents (over hyped) when he first arrived on the scene; and many years later- he has yet to give a disappointing performance. He is the bat man. He is Bruce Wayne- he brought life back into a character that had become stale on screen.

Maggie Gyllenhaal also brought realism in her role as Rachel Dawes. Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent was perfect casting. Gary Oldman rocks it again (omg I could go on and on about everyone) Heath Ledger regardless of his tragic ending gave a chilling, gritty and unforgettable portrayal of The Joker.

The story lines that intertwined were well written, well acted and blended together flawlessly.

It’s difficult to write a review without talking about *what* made a movie so great.

I guess I’ll have to end this the way I brought my film viewing experience to an end. I sat there respectfully through the credits to see all the wonderful names of each person who had a hand in making this movie as tears welled up in my eyes (for obvious reasons) and left in silence.

Thank you Christpher Nolan, once more.

1 more thing, there are no video games in the works (other than for mobile phones) THANK YOU!

Technorati Tags: batman, christian bale, christopher nolan, heath ledger, joker, dark knight, movies, entertainment

Two years I’ve waited anxiously for this day to come, ever since I saw the picture of Heath putting on the make-up. He looked gritty, psychotic, awesome!

By no means am I a film nerd, so my review of the film will more than likely be a little dumbed down and lacking intense details. It’ll be raw, excited and perhaps slightly ADHD.

Upon Heath’s passing I questioned how it would feel to see the haunting images on screen, especially with the controversal body bag scene they were rumoring that would be taken out. I didn’t know the man, but the tragedy hit me pretty hard (which is rare because I don’t really get emotional upon the passsing of someone I’ve never met). I am a film buff and felt he brought a new talent to a increasingly comedic and insulting industry. I  was actually looking forward to what he’d bring to world of film and it was sad to know that his talent could no longer be tapped and shared with the world.

Come tomorrow morning at this time I will be part of the opening weekend statistics, feeling excited, perhaps sorrowful, but definitely satiated because the first film caused me to gain respect once more for comic book world to transition onto the big screen. Many times I’ve felt they didn’t do the heroes justice, that the film makers made a mockery of the art. Batman Begins did it right and thankfully Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk followed in those steps and age regressed my passion for getting thrilled for a block buster hit once more.

Yes, this year I have become a hypocrite for seeing mainstream films in a theater, but I’m good with that.

“Trapped in an alternate world populated by suicide victims, a band of souls tries to find an escape route in Goran Dukic’s quirky fantasy. Although he took his own life, Zia (Patrick Fugit) isn’t ready for such a grim hereafter, particularly when he learns that his ex-girlfriend also killed herself. On a quest to find her, he befriends a jaded hitchhiker and a Russian rocker, and together, they set out in search of a more appealing afterlife.”

Sounds interesting doesn’t it? Let me save you the trouble of going through the emotions I did by sharing how I felt when it was over with.

• I’m barely scraping by in life while this film made a profit? NO FAIR! If I would have known that film making was THIS easy and required almost no talent, then I would have sought a career in that field.
• This reminds me of a bad dream that you can’t recall. You try to spew out the bits and pieces that you remember, but none of it makes any sort of sense and it’s not as interesting as it sounded in your head… hmmm that’s probably how Goran Dukic felt once he saw the final work.
• The writing was lazy as was the acting. The story line was hazy and I kept pinching myself hoping I’d wake up. Why didn’t I turn it off? I figured with all the buzz it had to get better. It didn’t.

Technorati Tags: Wristcutters: A Love Story

Juno. Wow. I feel like a nerd in geek’s clothing.

Lately I’ve been such a hard reviewer. Nothing has really satiated me on the film front. I had to watch Elizabethtown for the bazillionth time to rid myself of the Hollywood stench that has caused me to prefer mind numbing reality shows and sketching my name in table top dust that consists of my shedded skin cells as opposed to exposing myself to the crap that has been churned out for me to view over the past few months.

Ellen Page who first captured my attention in Hard Candy a few months ago steals the stage in this depiction of a teenager who finds herself in a very difficult yet and yet increasingling realistic situation.

Juno, a spunky and what they consider to be an offbeat female (seriously who isn’t?). Finds herself in a predicament that hits oh so close to home.

Written by Diablo Cody and directed by Jason Reitman, I found myself shockingly entranced by this wonderful little film that gets you inside the mind of a not so troubled teen who activated the sex and figures out what to do with the consequences.

Although Ellen Page can be viewed as an excellent performer, I haven’t really seen her anything yet that wasn’t in your face and raw. She does a wonderful job as portraying a teenager be it hitting upon internet predators or teen pregnancy. Regardless, she seems to get the job done.

Recommendation: Juno is about a young girl who finds her story beginning with a chair and it ends with me feeling good about my choice to view it.

On DVD

Georgia Rule
This is what happens when you’re mentally spent and forget to regulate your Netflix queue, you wind up punished for a good two hours. Jane Fonda, Lindsay Lohan, Felicity Huffman, Demont Mulroney and Cary Elwes lead the way in this Garry Marshall directed and written by Mark Andrus film.

An unfeeling cast acts out the story of what was supposed to be very soul tugging topics. Rachel, a troubled and sexually promiscuous teenager is sent to her grandmother’s home in Idaho for a summer, making it clear through acting out that there’s more going on under the surface than what she’s letting anyone believe. Spilling out her angst to the town doctor during a picnic and trying to make it come off as a lie, you wind up finding yourself in a tennis match of deceits of the deceit, truth wrapped up in lies and lies appearing as truths. Does this have you confused? If you watch the movie, you find yourself seeing Lindsay spew out detached lines causing you not to care one way or the other what these characters have gone through and what the future holds for them. Perhaps it’s just me.

Recommendation: Skip watching the film and spend that time clicking send/receive over and over again on your Outlook. You’ll find it’s more entertaining.

SkyHigh
Netflix Synopsis: A serial killer and his henchwoman — looking to create a supernatural cataclysm for evil ends — literally rip the heart out of Mina (Yumiko Shaku), who’s engaged to Kanzaki (Shosuke Tanihara) … the detective investigating the bizarre string of homicides. But the gumshoe gets more than he bargained for when he hunts down Mina’s murderers and finds his dead fiancée trapped in a ghostly state of limbo in director Ryuhei Kitamura’s stylish flick.

While some of the choreographed fights were unimpressive, I was impressed by the execution of this film. At times visually stunning and at times clumsy writing (I was sent a dubbed version- which irked me, so I can’t critique the storyline too much for that sake alone). I felt this was worth 132 minutes on a Saturday night. Romance, afterlife, strong females kicking butt mentally and physically, men who’d die or kill for love, murder, fantasy, mystery, sci-fi- it has it all, including awesome costume and set design.

Recommendation: Perhaps it was a little slow paced and I found the story could have used a little more oomph, you’ve nothing to lose by viewing it just make sure it’s not a dubbed version. 

Posting Tonight:
Juno
I am Legend
The Heartbreak Kid

Or as I like to call it, 30 things the film makers don’t know about cold, blood, terrain or film making.

In Barrow, Alaska, the northernmost town in the U.S, the winter sun sets and does not rise for 30 days and nights. From the darkness comes an evil force that strikes terror on the town, and all hope is pinned on a husband-and-wife cop team. (Yahoo)

Way up North in Barrow Alaska a clan of vampires come to terrorize a town. As a vampire I might think, “Awesome, 24 hours of dark… I don’t get cold… so why can’t I be completely lazy after I trek to the middle of no where and feast on people for thirty days? We’ll kill the majority of them in the first day, refuse to turn anyone- although we will… and they’ll know our language immediately… and the blood won’t ever dry or dissipate because blood does that… Being as I’m a vampire, then absolutely nothing in nature or reality can apply as I’m fictitious. Oooh look- there’s a white out and no snow accumulation after and WOW- that kill we did ages ago is still stained on the snow!”

That was pretty much what I got out of the film. It was a gore fest that at no point was I able to look past the plot holes, the characters who are in freaking Barrow Alaska and yet there’s no steam escaping from their lips when they speak and their skin remains such as if they were in a… studio. Sunset came in the late evening and sunrise came in the early morn. For anyone who lived or lives in Alaska, even at the Southern most part of the main land mass knows that- “Nah, that doesn’t happen.” 9 am sunrises and 3 pm sunsets are more realistic- in the Southern areas for that time of year. But put that aside I guess.

Josh Harnett as their savior? That should have told me from the start that the movie wasn’t plausible even if vampires existed and were a true threat. He even made a fictitious piece even more unbelievable.

Slade, the director, jumps you from day one to a week or two later and strangely it feels as if the film took place in a 24 hour period of time. I’m sorry, but if I were trapped in an attic or store for whatever period of time he was trying to convey, there’d be signs. Not to mention that if a large number of vampires feasted on everyone from the start- they probably would have left shortly after and saw that the idea was flawed and to stick with large cities easier accessible climates.

I didn’t read the graphic novel that this film was based off of, but after seeing this tripe, I think it’s a novel I can safely go my entire life without reading and feeling better for that.

I was hoping for a good scare, not more fear from our Hollywood film makers- I’ve been scared to death of the next piece of (insert foul word here) they’d churn out since Crash.

I say it in my best Mike Myer’s SNL Scottish accent, “It was crap.” It took a little over an hour of making out w/my beau at the time in order to calm down enough to drive home. THREE years I was looking forward to that film. From start to end, I was there- and I felt betrayed, let down, wondering WHY he had entered an already spotty arena. Videos are three minutes long, a film runs at least an hour and a half. Apples and Oranges Rob- apples and oranges.

Fast forward to a year ago. I had a conversation with someone that went somewhat along the lines of:
Random Person, I Forget Who: “Hey, I know you liked Halloween. Did you know they’re doing a remake?”
Me: “Hmm- I’m soured on remakes. Who’s doing it?”
Random Person, I Forget Who: “Rob Zombie.”
Me: “OMG NO! I went to…”
Random Person, I Forget Who: (interrupting) “I know… House of 1,000 Corpses…”
Me: “Yeah… (heavy dramatic sigh and wondering where I could purchase protesting signs) we’ll see.”

Fast forward to the present day.
Boredom prompted me to view Halloween. Rob’s take on Halloween. I sat here skeptical. I sat here HOPING he’d redeem himself in film as I had avoided him completely. Recently I had given Quentin Tarantino a chance to bounce back and wound up rolling my eyes even more. Will Rob find the same fate in my graces?

The story began with Michael Myers as a child. A ten year old boy who had a typical American upbringing. By American I don’t mean suburbia. I mean the harsh reality of a dysfunctional family that we’ve all either experienced or witnessed. It wasn’t your Wonder bread kind of household, rather it was a few rungs away from being a crack house. I’ve known worse, I’ve known better- but as for traumatizing, perhaps to a degree. With Rob Zombie’s life hardships, he could have painted the picture a little more grim. I’m glad he didn’t as it gave the impression that anyone can be set off by life’s unpleasantness and take a nose dive into the darkest sectors of life.

Daeg Faerch plays the young Michael. That child’s present is so haunting and capturing of the character that for a moment I didn’t want the movie to move past his character. Daeg Faerch- a face and name to watch out for. Kind of like a male Dakota Fanning- but less demonic and nightmare educing.

Once the movie swung full force into the remake of the original, my interest had waned and I was wanting to call it “The End”. It was as if Rob took his original take and decided to just throw in the updated version of the classic. Kind of like watching a good black and white being colorized- but with less appealing cast mates.

Malcolm McDowell did an okay job as Loomis, but not enough in which you escaped into the new face and saw the character continue on. I don’t recall a point in which I wasn’t thinking, “This is Malcolm McDowell trying to play Dr. Loomis.”

Throw all that aside and you’ve got relatively fresh faces acting out the rest of the modernized story.

This new take added a decent 30 minutes to the original screenplay, but watch the first half hour or so and then pop in the classic.

As for Rob, he’s coming around, but I’m still not going to go out of my way to view any new creations.

I give it a C+ over all, two out loud screams and a slight jump.

Wow. I just finished watching this film and I’m literally in tears. If ever there was a film that I could relate to- this is it.

Synopsis “When a computer engineer otaku (the Japanese term for “geek”) who has never had a girlfriend in his life saves a pretty young woman on a commuter train from a lecherous molester, he seeks out his pals on a popular Internet BBS website for some dating advice, using his psuedonym Train_Man (Densha Otoku).

Deeply interested in Train_Man’s first love, his BBS friends eagerly supply him with tips. Encourages by their support, Train_Man undergoes a total make over for his first ever date with “Hermess.” Little does he know that he is about to ignite an Internet phenomenon.

Based on true events that took place on a popular bulletin board website in Japan called “2ch”, Tran Main : Densha Otoko is a unique romantic comedy which will appeal to anyone who has experienced the thrill and rush of love- and to the pure, innocent geek in all of us.”

The geek seems to have a different mentality than most. Absorbed in interpersonal relationships, hobbies, work, hiding behind a keyboard; remaining slightly reclused from society as it’s a platform in which we find little connection with (and by we, I guess I’m meaning me). It’s a little awkward when you do meet that soul that causes your heart to beat a little faster and you’ve NO idea what to do with that sensation. You feel he’ll perceive you as a dork. That your likes are goofy, that your behaviors are a little quirky and it’s just a matter of time that he’ll prefer the company of an outgoing social butterfly who isn’t a total and complete… geek.

No matter how comfortable you are amongst your peers, or other people you’ve no romantic interest in, when your heart is involved it becomes a painful experience of faux pas after faux pas.

This film reminded me strongly of a relationship I had merely a couple of years ago. No matter how long the relationship went on, I remained painfully locked inside of myself unable to brave moving forward or expressing how I felt, until he just gave up and I couldn’t blame him- although he still remained a friend. Which always causes me to sigh really heavily. For those I didn’t feel quite a connection with, I guess I’ve never had a problem with communication and moving along a relationship from beginning to the end- and of course those are lack luster… and I can’t explain why I’ve placed myself in those relationships… It’s a complete other story for another time (or not).

The main character in this was absolutely adorable, cute even before his transformation which made it a very easy to watch film

This movie is about the bravery of a man, no matter how painfully awkward or out of his element he felt, with the help of his online support system and at times hiding behind the computer, he was able to step outside of his norm and risked getting his heart broken.

What I thought was the ending almost felt insulting- but then it continued to perfection… and continued a little after that and and and… (sigh) it made for an absolutely watchable movie in an ocean of insults on film.

I’m in love with this story and I don’t want to give it back come four days when it’s due. It keeps me all warm and cozy at night =^_^=

Ghic Chic

Usually I’m hesitant when a comic jumps from the pages and into a box office due to being bitten one too many times, however I was stoked when it was announced at Comic-Con earlier this summer that Teen Titans will be making an appearance at a theater near you.

After many years of seeing if a film was in the works, I was delighted when I came across an interview with Mark Verheiden about plans for the screen play.

Taking a lesson from Batman Begins, Teen Titans will follow a solemn, serious story line mixed with humor that’s certain to satisfy fans and initiate new ones into the 40 year old fanbase.

Nightwing so far is the only confirmed character.

Read the Interview

Ghic

Technorati Tags: teen titans, comics, movies, nightwing

I still enjoy this movie and have had the book sitting on my shelf for 20 years or so now but have not gotten around to reading it yet. I hear it’s wonderful though.

I had found Robotech.

This was my first experience with Manga, now commonly known as Anime. I was a floored 5th grader. This was a complicated story with love triangles, main characters getting killed in the line of duty, daring do and lots and lots of very neat, very large anthropomorphic machines.

So