Bad Boys 3! Awwww Hell No? Awww Hell Yes!

While I will be the first to admit that the two "Bad Boys" films, directed by Michael Bay and starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, are pretty bad films, I will also be the first to admit that I enjoyed both of them. Sloppy, over-stylized and overlong, I have to admit that I enjoyed the explosions, bullets, non-stop profanity and decidedly non-pc nature of each film. These are the guiltiest of pleasures for me.

Well, I am now paying for my crap movie-loving sins. Columbia has announced that a third "Bad Boys" film is in development. Of course, this all depends on the cost of the film and how much Bay, Smith and Lawrence would demand of the gross, which might add up to be just too much to go and make a third chapter.

I'm just waiting for Bay to make a quote like "We want to make sure we have a solid script in place before we commit to the project." Come to think of it, I want that quote with Bay's face right above it on a t-shirt.

Extract

I caught a screening tonight of the new Mike Judge comedy, "Extract", and it proved to be a modestly enjoyable way to close out the summer movie season. The film works largely in part to a great cast that includes Jason Bateman, JK Simmons, Kristin Wiig, Mila Kunis and Ben Affleck, who proves that with the right material he can actually act.

The film centers around a business owner (Bateman) who is looking to sell his successful extract company when an accident in his plant sets in motion a series of events that not only may threaten a pending sale, but also his marriage as well.

Judge, the man who gave us "Beavis and Butthead", "King of the Hill" and the cult classic "Office Space", gives us another workplace-related comedy here. And while it does quite have the story or characters that "Office Space" did, it does have enough steady laughs to keep audiences entertained. The key to "Extract"s success is its cast. The comic interplay between Bateman, Simmons, Affleck and David Koechner (Anchorman, Talledega Nights) as Bateman's irritating neighbor is quite good.

The real surprise of the film is that most of the best comedic moments are offered up by...Affleck. If you've seen "Office Space", then you're familiar with the character played by Diedrich Bader. He played Ron Livingston's next door neighbor who didn't exactly give the best advice. Well, Affleck is playing the Bader role here. Hell, his character looks like he could be a distant cousin of Bader's. The role isn't exactly the biggest stretch for the Cambridge native, but it is one he handles very well.

"Extract" is small scale and slight, and I'm not even sure it is something you need to pay ten bucks to see in the theater. It's perfectly suited for home video, where it will no doubt find its audience at the end of the year. 91 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.

Weekend Box Office: Michael Myers beaten up by Death and, erm, Mike Myers

As expected, the 3-D horror flick "The Final Destination" won the battle of horror sequels this weekend at the national box office, easily beating out Rob Zombie's "Halloween II" by a comfortable margin. Overall, the theaters remained surprisingly busy given the time of the year.

Apparently, the best way to revive a franchise is to film it in 3-D. The "Final Destination" series, which has done pretty well for Warner/New Line over the past decade, pulled in an estimated $28.3 million in ticket sales. Opening with close to $11 million on Friday, the film dropped only slightly on Saturday (sequels, especially horror sequels, tend to drop a fair bit after opening day) to around $10 million. The opening is the best of the series so far, which all but guarantees that this "Destination" will not be the "Final" one.

"Halloween II", Rob Zombie's grisly follow up to his 2007 remake (but not a remake of the 1981 sequel to the John Carpenter original) gross an estimated $17.4 million in sales. The film, which seems to be equally hated by auidences (tons of fun comments on the internets to read, folks!) and critics (check out my friend's review here), started with $7 million on Friday and dropped roughly 20% each day from there. Rob Zombie stated that this will be his last "Halloween" film. Fingers crossed (EDIT: apparently, wishing doesn't make it so. There will be a "Halloween III". And hey! It's going to be...wait for it...in 3-D!!!!!)

The weekend's other wide opener, Focus Features' comedy "Taking Woodstock", which flatlined with an estimated $3.74 million to open in ninth place from 1,300 screens (bummer, man). Summit Features was taken to task over its mis-marketing on the well-received but ignored teen film "Bandslam" a couple of weeks ago. Well, Focus Features should also be chided for the way it handled "Woodstock", not because of the reception the film recieved from critics (split right down the middle, it appears) but because of the timing. Two weeks ago, there were tons of stories floating around about the 40th Anniversary of the Woodstock Music Festival. But once the anniversay passed, the interest understandably faded as did any real interest in a movie about preparing the festival. I'll be curious to hear what the reasoning might be for opening the movie on this weekend as opposed to the weekend of the 15th.

"Halloween II"s mediocre grosses aside, overall it was a good weekend for the Weinstein Company. Second spot belonged to last weekend's winner and another film released by the house that Harvey & Bob Weinstein built and one that has a small role by another Michael Myers (that being Mike "Shrek" Myers), "Inglourious Basterds". Dropping by an understandable 47% to an estimated $20 million, Quentin Tarantino's World War II epic saw its gross rise to roughly $74 million after ten days. If the film continues to hold up, "Basterds" will pass "Pulp Fiction" to become QT's biggest hit to date. However, if one is to adjust for inflation, "IB" has a long way to go.

Fourth went to "District 9", which is holding quite well during the dog days of August. Dropping by roughly 40%, the South African sci-fi drama pulled in roughly $11 million for a $91 million gross and a guaranteed $100 box office by Labor Day. Fifth spot went to "G.I. Joe", which pulled in another $8 million to bring its gross to nearly $132 million thus far. Spots six and seven went to two films showing some pretty strong legs of their own: "Julie & Julia" with $7.4 million ($71.5 mil thus far) and sleeper hit "The Time Traveler's Wife" with $7 million ($49 mil to date).

Next weekend, the summer movie season closes out with Mike Judge's new work comedy "Extract", the Sandra Bullock comedy "All About Steve" (filmed over two years ago) and something with Gerard Butler called "Gamer", which looks exactly like the type of action film you would put out on a holiday weekend where no one goes to the movie, perhaps not even me.

Weekend Box Office Preview: oh, the horror!

Labor Day weekend usually signifies that the summer is over. Kids go back to school, football season gets underway and Hollywood trots out a handful of turkeys designed to make a fast buck en route to the video store. And while the holiday weekend is still a week away, Hollywood has pretty much closed up the summer shack this week. A duo of horror, a period-piece comedy and leftovers are what fill the local multiplexes this weekend.

First off is the one-two horror punch of "The Final Destination" and Rob Zombie's "Halloween II". As you would expect, neither were screened in advance for the press. In all honesty, do they need to be? The target audiences for both films are teens and young adults looking for an hour and a half of mindless fun on a Friday night. Well, I'm not sure they'll have fun, but if the ads are any indication, what they sit down to see will certainly be mindless.

The decision to release two horror films on the same weekend is a bit puzzling, but I think that "The Final Destination" will outgross Zombie's sequel this weekend. For starters, "Destination" has a following. Zombie's 2007 take on the John Carpenter classic also has a following, but from what I have read online, it's a cinematic lynch mob following Rob and his horror movies around. Still, some people will turn out for the second and reportedly final "Halloween" (from Zombie, anyway). "Destination" is also in 3-D, which is like Miracle-Gro: add it to your product and watch it take off. Look for "The Final Destination" to gross around $22 mil and "Halloween II" to nab $18 mil, about 30% lower than the 2007 entry's opening-weekend gross.

After two years, Ang Lee is back with a new film and this time, the subject matter is a bit lighter than usual for the director: a comedy centered around the Woodstock music festival four decades ago. The ads for "Taking Woodstock" have been all over the place lately, but one can't help but sense that its hype and release is a bit after the fact since the 40th anniversary occured two weeks ago. Outside of the director's fans and those with fond memories of the festival, I have a feeling that not too many people will be lining up to see this film, which is currently scoring a rather weak (for Lee, anyway) 51% on Rotten Tomatoes. Launching in 1300 theaters, watch for "Woodstock" to "take" roughly $5 million this weekend.

Last week's champ, Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds", has held up fairly well during the week, adding about $16 mil to its big $38 mil gross from last weekend. Action films these days, with few exceptions, always drop between 50-60% in their second go around, so I wouldn't be surprised if "Basterds" nabs $18.5 mil this weekend to bring its 10-day gross up to $73 million.

Fourth and fifth will go to two August sleeper hits: the sci-fi drama "District 9", which should nab about $10 mil and "Julie & Julia" which will cook up around $7 mil. This will bring "District"s gross to nearly $89 million and "Julie"s to around $70 million.

I want all of dat in dere! Here comes "The Return of Xander Cage"!

According to an article at The Hollywood Reporter.com, plans are underway to produce a third "XXX" film, subtitled "The Return of Xander Cage". Vin Diesel will return to the role he originated in Rob Cohen's 2002 espionage hit, which was followed up in 2005 with "XXX: State of the Union". The latter starred Ice Cube and was directed by Lee Tamahori, director of the worst James Bond film made to date (at least "A View To A Kill" had the kick-ass theme song), "Die Another Day". Ericson Core (Invincible) will be directing "The Return of Xander Cage" and John Brancato and Michael Ferris (Terminator: Salvation) will attempt to write a story around the action scenes.

I tried to watch the original "XXX" a couple of times, but each time I buckled under the awful story, bad acting and even worse directing. As for the sequel, I actually caught about ten minutes of it on the FX Network the other night and found it to be quite hilarious. The only problem is that I'm not entirely sure it was meant to be taken that way. I have no doubt that the recent "Fast and Furious" helped get this new project off the ground. Whether a third "XXX" meets with the same box office success is anyone's guess.

Senator Edward Kennedy 1932-2009

A bit off the beaten path of what is covered on this blog, but I did want to take a moment to pay my respects to Massachusetts Senator Edward M. Kennedy, who lost his nearly year-and-a-half battle with brain cancer early this morning in Hyannisport. The last of the Kennedy brothers and one of the longest-serving Senators in American history, "Teddy" Kennedy's legacy, a few well-publicized bumps in the road aside, is of a magnitude a few small paragraphs can't properly convey. Not only did Senator Kennedy fight for the everyday citizens of Massachusetts, he also fought long and hard for Americans everywhere, making him not only a true Patriot, but also someone we could -and should- look up to.

I met Senator Kennedy back in the fall of 1983. Oddly enough, it was at a movie theater, the Airport Cinema in Hyannis. It was for a screening of the Sean Connery 007 outing "Never Say Never Again". He was there with a few of his family members and sat in the row behind me. I recognized the voice immediately. I said hello, shook his hand and we had a quick exchange about James Bond films. He mentioned with a grin that "his brother loved the books", referring of course to former President John Kennedy.

It goes without saying that he will be missed. My thoughts and prayers are with Senator Kennedy's family.

One to avoid on home video: Sunshine Cleaning

Question: what is even more torturous to sit through than a loud, idiotic demolition reel posing as a movie ("Terminator: Salvation", anyone?)? How about an independent film that wears every conceivable cliche on its sleeve? You know the type of film: it has tons of independent musicians playing the type of songs you'd hear on an adult-contemporary station, each character is endearingly quirky (one is usually gay/lesbian or exhibiting closeted feelings), it's story is incredibly predictable and it usually stars a big Hollywood star or two that are starring in the low-budget indie to try and give their career a bit of "street cred".

Now, you take the above and you could easily apply them to Sam Mendes' irritatingly cute road movie "Away We Go". But since that gem hasn't hit home video yet (consider yourself lucky-and warned), this will have to apply to last spring's endurance test, "Sunshine Cleaning". Directed by Christine Jeffs and starring Amy Adams, Emily Blunt and Alan Arkin, "Cleaning" tells the tale of two screw-up sisters who decide to go into business as crime scene cleaners (they go in after the cops are done with their investigation). Of course, both have serious issues with relationships. Adams is sleeping with a cop (Steve Zahn) who is married, and Blunt becomes attached to the daughter (Mary Lynn Rajskub) of a deceased woman whose house Blunt and Adams are assigned to clean.

In addition to their relationship issues, the two have other personal obstacles both in their own lives and with each other to conquer in order to make their business take off. Now, the story idea certainly could have provided some nice dark humor and well-developed characters. But Jeffs and screenwriter Megan Holley go for the obvious right from the word go. Once each character is established, you know exactly what is going to happen to them. And while the performances by Adams, Blunt and Arkin (as their father) are commendable (man, I wish I could know a pair of sisters that look like Amy Adams and Emily Blunt), they can only do so much with this dippy, Lifetime Network-worthy material.

A selling point for the film last spring was that it was from the producers of "Little Miss Sunshine", a comedy that too featured disfunctional family members having to overcome personal odds to succeed. There are two differences though: Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris did a fine job directing "Miss Sunshine" and Michael Arndt wrote a wonderful, character-rich screenplay. If even one of those three people were around the set of this film, maybe then we wouldn't be stuck with this indie eyesore.

Sequel to "Hancock" acquirers writers

According to an article at The Hollywood Reporter's website, Adam Fierro and Glen Mazzara have been hired to work on the follow up to the 2008 box-office giant. The pair, whose work includes such television shows as "24" and "The Shield", will be working closely with Will Smith and director Peter Berg. There is no set date for a production start, but if the script is being worked on, we may see the return of the reformed alcoholic superhero sometime in 2011.

While the idea of a sequel still fills me with as much excitement as filling my gas tank, the credits that Fierro and Mazzara bring with them does give me a little more hope. If they can make the sequel be more like the first half-hour of the original, they may have something worthwhile on their hands.

Indians and Hispanics don't live in Scranton: an Emmy Consideration video from "Family Guy"

As part of its Emmy Consideration, the creators of "Family Guy" have come up with a hilarious video that talks about "The Office". Giggity!

Theatrical Teaser for Christopher Nolan's "Inception"

The teaser trailer for the new film from Christopher Nolan, "Inception" is now online. A science-fiction tale set, according to the filmmaker, within the architecture of the mind, only runs a minute and feels a bit "Matrix"-esque. That aside, the preview is intriguing. And given Nolan's track record thus far as a director, I'm sure it will be anything but.

The film opens July 16, 2010 and stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Marion Cotillard, Cillian Murphy and Michael Caine.

Bioshock Movie gets a new director

According to an article at Variety.com, the movie adaptation of the videogame "Bioshock" might be back on track after it was delayed earlier in the year due to budgetary concerns. Originally, "Pirates of the Caribbean" helmer Gore Verbinski was attached to the project until Universal Pictures put the project on hold. Now, it appears that Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (28 Weeks Later) has signed up to call the shots (Verbinski will remain on board as a producer).

I haven't had a chance to play the "Bioshock" game all the way through, but what I did get to see and play was very impressive. And while it wasn't perfect, "28 Weeks Later" was a pretty solid follow up to one of my favorite horror films of this decade, Danny Boyle's "28 Days Later". Here's hoping that Fresnadillo will be able to bring the same combination of atmosphere and scares to "Bioshock" that he did "28 Weeks Later".

Bryan Singer strikes again...

First Bryan Singer wants to do a "Battlestar Galactica" movie, ignoring the fact that Ronald D. Moore's superb television reboot of the 1978 TV original just wrapped up its four-year run on the Sci-Fi Channel this past April. Now, Singer wants to do a movie about the legend of King Arthur. That would be fine...if he didn't clearly intend the remake to be one of John Boorman's 1981 fantasy classic "Excalibur".

According to an article at Variety.com, Singer and Warner Brothers have been talking about giving Boorman's over-the-top but terrifically entertaining take on the Arthur legend a reboot, with Singer producing and possibly directing the film as well.

I would really like to know what Singer thinks he could bring to the table in regards to a fresh take on "Excalibur". Would he make it more realistic? A grittier, more violent take on King Arthur, Merlin and the Knights of the Round Table? I guess he could, but then again he would be remaking Antoine Fuqua's 2004 turkey "King Arthur" instead of "Excalibur".

Look Bryan, you do have talent. "The Usual Suspects" is a nice little mind-job of a crime tale, the first two "X-Men" movies were quite good and "Superman Returns" was...well...you were probably occupied with developing your hit Fox series "House" at the time so I can overlook that. But "Valkyrie" was about as suspensful, but far less entertianing, as "Springtime For Hitler". Remakes of BSG and Excalibur only point to one thing: you've run out of creative juice. Please, drop both of these projects and focus on something else.

Another "X-Men" film, perhaps?

"District 9" Review on theHDRoom.com

Fellow HDRoom.com writer and site owner Dan Bradley has written up a nice review of the recent science-fiction drama "District 9" . Dan pretty much hits it right on the head with his well-written and observed piece. I recommend you check it out.

Weekend Box Office: Those Rich 'Basterds"

Quentin Tarantino landed his biggest opening to date this weekend with his World War II tale "Inglourious Basterds", which hauled in a massive (for August) $37.6 million. As reported yesterday, the film pulled in a terrific $14.4 million gross on Friday, but it was uncertain as to how the 2 1/2 hour, R-rated epic would play the rest of the weekend. The film did drop on Saturday, but the descent was minimal (8%), which indicates that the positive reviews and favorable word-of-mouth is paying off. If the film holds up over the next couple of weeks, Tarantino might be looking at his first $100 million hit since "Pulp Fiction" was released 15 years ago (overseas, the film did roughly $28 million).

Second place went to last week's champ, the critically-acclaimed sci-fi drama "District 9", which was off roughly 49% to gross an estimated $18.9 million. In 10 days, the film has taken in $73 million and has a really good shot at hitting $100 mil before all is said and done. Not bad for a $30 million South African film with no big stars. I would say that Universal might now reconsider letting Neill Blomkamp and Peter Jackson make "Halo", but it looks like James Cameron is making that film in the form of "Avatar" .

Third place went to the PG-13 explosions and effects demo "G.I. Joe" with an estimated $12.5 mil, bringing its total to $120 million. I haven't seen the film yet, so I can't really say whether it's any good or not. But it was "directed" by Stephen Sommers, who made the terrible trio of "The Mummy", "The Mummy Returns" and "Van Helsing", so I'm pretty sure that I would want to rip my eyeballs out and stomp on them if I sat down to watch "Joe". But hey, apparently one man's trash is another's $175 million epic. Sigh.

Slots four and five went to two alternates to the current glut of multiplex guts, gore and explosions: "The Time Travelers Wife" ($10 mil est.) and "Julie and Julia" ($9.5 est). Since I was informed that Rachel McAdams does not appear in her birthday suit, I find no reason to sit through "Time Traveler". "Julie and Julia", however, I did see and was surprised, shocked actually, that the film was entertaining. It was written and directed by Nora Ephron, a filmmaker that over the years has given us such torture tests as "Bewitched", "Hanging Up", "Mixed Nuts", "Lucky Numbers" and "Michael" among others. It's not her writing or directing that made "Julie" worth seeing though. It's the performances by Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci and Amy Adams that make it worth the price of admission (or better yet, a DVD rental this fall).

The Labor Day dregs begin to get trotted out next weekend with "Halloween II" and "The Final Destination". One possible sign of quality may lie in the other release next week: the comedy "Taking Woodstock", directed by Ang Lee.

"Inglourious Basterds" Review

My review for "Inglourious Basterds" is now online at The HDRoom.com.

'Basterds' commands Friday box office

As expected, Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds" (review appearing shortly) opened at number one at the North American box office on Friday. The 2 1/2-hour R-rated epic starring Brad Pitt grabbed an estimated $14.4 million on Friday from 3,165 screens. This had to come as very welcome news for the cash-strapped Weinstein Company, who last collaboration with Tarantino was the $70 million double-feature dud "Grindhouse", which had a $12 opening weekend. Where "Basterds" goes from Friday is anyone's guess. The high opening day gross could be the result of the director's fans coming out in force to support the film, so the overall gross for the weekend might wind up in the low to mid $30 million range.

Last week's box office champ, the thoroughly enjoyable sci-fi flick "District 9", took a sizeable hit on Friday. Off nearly 60% for a $6 million Friday gross, the drop is no doubt the result of both the opening of "Basterds" and the other sci-fi event happening last night: the "Avatar" preview. The grosses should stabilize for the remainder of the weekend and result with a $20 million weekend and a 10-day gross of nearly $75 million.

Mid-to-late August is usually a dumping ground for movies the studios could care less about. The aforementioned films certainly are exceptions to that, but the other three films that opened on Friday, the Alexis Bledel comedy "Post Grad", Robert Rodriguez's cheapie kiddie flick "Shorts" and a 3-D documentary named "X Games 3-D: the Movie", certainly can be filled under the "take the money and run" section. "Shorts" will play the best out of the three, but with a possible $7 million take for the weekend, that really isn't saying much.

The remainder of the top five should be a repeat of last week. Watch for "G.I. Joe" to come in third with approximately $12 million ($120 million gross), "The Time Traveler's Wife" to nab fourth with roughly $11 mil ($38 mil to date) and the enjoyable "Julie & Julia" to nab another $9.5 mil to bring its gross to a solid $60 mil to date.

Next weekend brings the one-two horror punch of "Halloween II" and "The Final Destination" along with Ang Lee's "Taking Woodstock". I would seriously like to know who the genius was at Focus Features that decided to release a film about the 1968 Woodstock Festival two weeks after the 40th Anniversary date occured.

The "Avatar" Preview

Friday night, I attended one of the many nationwide IMAX presentations of the preview reel for James Cameron's much-anticipated sci-fi opus, "Avatar". A friend of mine, who also attended Friday night's preview, informed me that the sold-out 12:01 am Friday screening of "Inglourious Basterds" he attended had a couple of previews in front of it. One was for the new Christopher Nolan film "Inception", which showed little but was met enthusiastically. "Avatar"s teaser was next, which showed much but was met with dead silence. The Friday presentation, playing to a barely half-full theater, did receive applause. But instead of the rabid fanboy cheers Fox might have been hoping for, the appreciation was both sparse and reserved.

I wasn’t one of those people, but that doesn’t mean that I hated what I saw. I was very impressed by the visual splendor put forth in the two-minute teaser trailer. The same can be said about the footage shown on Friday. The 3-D effect was impressively done and the CG effects were close to being pretty damn flawless (I’m sure there is still plenty of work to do prior to release date). I'm not sure if the effects were as envelope-pushing as they were in Cameron’s other films such as "Titanic", "The Terminator" or "The Abyss", but they certainly are first rate. I'm pretty sure that come Oscar time, "Avatar" has a strong chance at nabbing this year's Best Visual Effects Oscar. The brief snippets of performances from Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana and in particular Stephen Lang showed small snippets of promise as well.

So why did I leave with a rather nonchalant attitude? Well, I didn't think the actual presentation wasn’t handled very well. Scenes started, ran for a couple of minutes and then abruptly went to black. This stop-and-start approach reminded me of a DVD "Deleted Scenes" supplement, one you watch, shrug your shoulders and move on. The other issue I had was that aside from a really brief story synopsis from director James Cameron in his introduction, we never get an grasp on what “Avatar” is actually about. After seeing the footage, I told my friend how I thought the story would play out. I came up with an other-worldly version of “Dances With Wolves”. I love that movie dearly, but I hope I am dead wrong.

Here is what I would do were I Cameron or 20th Century Fox in regards to the preview presentation. Instead of stopping and starting footage, edit the selected scenes together to present a better-flowing, and more involving, experience. Better yet, do what Christopher Nolan and Warner Brothers did back in December of 2007 with their extended preview for "The Dark Knight": show one scene, preferably a big action scene, in its entirety and finish off with a trailer or montage of other scenes from the film (the "Avatar" presentation did have snippets of scenes from the teaser at the end). I find it hard to believe that Cameron doesn’t have at least one or two major scenes in the first half of “Avatar”. When I first saw the "Dark Knight" preview, I wanted to see it again -at least two or three times more- immediately. The preview footage for “Avatar”? I had a chance to watch it a second time immediately afterwards, but I opted not to.

Obviously, you can’t judge a two hour-plus film on sixteen minutes of selected footage, but you should be able to determine whether you are excited or not to see the final product. As for myself, I was 100% indifferent. Of course, I will see the film the first chance I get. But if the nonchalant reaction I experienced last night isn’t an isolated case, then I agree with many of the online journalists and industry analysts that 20th Century Fox has their hands full when it comes to selling the film. Sure, the publicity machine will be working overtime over the next few months. The key to the marketing campaign’s success will be how it is done. Fans of Cameron and science fiction will show up, but what about the average ticket buyer? If Fox can't find a way to sell "Avatar" to Joe and Jill moviegoer, it is not going to be a very merry Christmas at Fox.

Shutter Island shuffles off to 2010

File this one under 'D'oh!'. Paramount Pictures has taken the new Martin Scorsese/Leonardo DiCaprio thriller "Shutter Island" and moved it from its October 2nd release date all the way back to February 19, 2010. Apparently, two of the biggest reasons for the move are 1) DiCaprio won't be available to promote the film internationally and 2) Paramount, who just came off of a banner summer with hits "Star Trek" ($256 million), "G.I. Joe" ($105 mil so far) and "Transformers 2, Audience 0" ($397 mil to date), apparently doesn't have enough money to properly market (read: buy awards) "Island".

If Paramount has Oscar on its mind with "Shutter Island", one question that comes to mind is why doesn't the studio put the film in New York and Los Angeles for a one-week run to qualify for the Academy Awards? I am under the assumption that the film is nearly completed. Would it cost much to strike up two or three prints and a couple of newspaper ads?

While it is a bit of a disappointment that the film isn't coming out for another half year (the trailer promised B-movie fun along the lines of Scorsese's 1991 remake of "Cape Fear"), the upside will be that there may actually be something decent playing in cinemas in February.

Avatar Trailer online

The teaser trailer for James Cameron's sci-fi epic "Avatar" has made it online, and it is a beauty (especially if you watch it in either 720p or 1080p). Not much in regards to dialogue, but plenty of computer-generated eye candy to hold you over until the film comes out.

The film opens on December 18th, 2009.

To access the trailer, click here

And I thought Bryan Singer's Battlestar Galactica movie was a crap idea

Walt Disney Pictures and the formerly-talented Robert Zemeckis are planning on a remake of the 1968 Beatles animated classic "Yellow Submarine". According to Variety.com, the studio has been quietly brokering a complicated rights deal that would give Zemeckis access to 16 original Beatles songs for a movie he will direct in the performance-capture 3-D digital production format he employed for his upcoming Jim Carrey-starring remake of “A Christmas Carol.” The hope is to have "Yellow Submarine" ready to premiere around the 2012 Summer Olympics, which begins July 27 in London.

The question that comes to mind here is why the hell remake this? If they are using motion capture, who will play the Beatles? Knowing Disney, they'll recruit one of their Stepford Tween Bands like the Jonas Brothers (casting hint: get Yoko Ono to play the looney furball Jeremy Hillary Boob) and have them do covers of the soundtrack (my skin is crawling as I type this). I have a better idea for Disney and Hackmaster Flash Zemeckis: why not take the original, clean up the negative, remaster it for Digital 3-D and release that to theaters worldwide? I guarantee you that it would cost a fraction of what Zemeckis and the Mouse House will spend on this remake. And given Zemeckis' track record post-Cast Away, a reissue of the original will certainly be a better film to watch.

Sigh. I wish this was "All in the mind, y'know." But it's just another case of Hollywood being creatively bankrupt.

Article

The latest sequel no one is asking for

2008's "Hancock" started out okay and was decent for about 35 minutes. But soon after that, the film unraveled at a lightning pace to wind up being a wreck of epic proportions. Despite the fact that the film was loathed by both critics and a majority of the moviegoing public, a sequel appears to be in the works. Maybe.

According to an article on scifiwire.com, director Peter Berg is quoted as saying:

"They (Sony Pictures) would like to fast-track it, but Will's busy, I'm pretty busy (most likely with his remake of 'Dune')," Berg continued. "We're excited to do one, but we want the script to be right and the movie to be right."

I can't see why getting the script and movie right the second time would be so important when they didn't bother with either the first time and the film still wound up making $600 million worldwide at the box office. Maybe Smith and Berg are feeling the ol' Catholic Guilt for the first one.

Perhaps not.

Article

This hour's remake announcement is...

It just wouldn't be a week in Hollywood without another film remake being announced. According to the Hollywood Reporter.com, the 1981 Peter Hyams sci-fi drama "Outland" is being prepped by Warner Brothers to be remade. Itself basically a remake of the Gary Cooper Western classic "High Noon", "Outland" told the story of a no-nonsense marshal (Sean Connery) trying to clean up a mining outpost on the Jupiter moon of Io that is plagued with drugs and corruption.

The new version, to be directed by Michael Davis, writer/director of (shudder) the Clive Owen bomb "Shoot 'Em Up", will take place on a city orbiting around the moon. The other basics appear to remain the same.

Many may remember "Outland" as a staple on HBO back in the early 1980s, which is where most of us saw it for the first time (myself included). It was an entertaining, if unspectacular, sci-fi film saved largely by the performances by Connery, Peter Boyle and Frances Sternhagen. There was plenty of room for improvement in the writing and directing departments, so a remake might not be such a bad idea. Then again...the guy did write and direct "Shoot 'Em Up". I guess we'll see soon enough.

Here comes 'Avatar'

After a 12-year absence from mainstream cinema, James 'Titanic' Cameron is coming back this December with the 3-D IMAX sci-fi epic 'Avatar'. Unless you read the fanboy sites like Ain't It Cool News or the vastly superior Dark Horizons (no feedback section, and Garth knows how to check spelling), you might be asking what the heck 'Avatar' is. To be honest, I really have no idea. I've actively avoided most if all of the story details that have managed to make it out from the produciton thus far.

That, however, is about to change. As the summer movie season crawls to a close and the studios begin to look to the next big movie season (Christmas), the hype for Cameron's new blockbuster will slowly but steadily become more prominent. Things kick off this week with the online launch of the theatrical trailer, a trailer for the videogame (wa and hoo) and an approximately 20-minute preview that is being shown on Friday night between 6 and 7pm that will be in IMAX and 3-D. Roughly 150 of the 201 screenings of the footage are booked to capacity, but you still may be able to nab a ticket by visiting the official site. If you live in the Boston area, there are several opportunities to see the footage.

I'll be attending the screenings Friday night and will post my thoughts later on that night. While I am more than certain that Cameron will deliver the goods in the visuals and action departments, I really hope that his decade-long sabbatical has given him a chance to hone his character and dialogue-writing skills. I've enjoyed Cameron's movies quite a bit, but I would never claim that his writing skills are his strong point.

Those Glorious 'Basterds'

I saw the new Quentin Tarantino film, 'Inglourious Basterds', last week in Boston and am currently working on a review for the HDRoom.com to be published on Friday.

In short, the film is a bloody good time at the movies. A Spaghetti Western set in German-occupied France, 'Basterds' isn't particularly deep or the best thing that Tarantino has written, but it's full of colorful characters and smart dialogue, brought to life by a great ensemble cast (in particular Christoph Waltz as the sadistic Colonel Landa) and Tarantino's assured direction.

The Weinstein Company is pretty much betting the house on both this film and next week's release of Rob Zombie's "Halloween II" to save their asses from oblivion. As you may or may not have read, the financial situation of the house that Harvey Scissorhands and his bro Bob built is flat-out broke, so much so that the company reportedly couldn't afford to have advanced free screenings of either film prior to their release. A major fall from Tinseltown grace for two men who ruled independent cinema with an iron fist during the 1990s and the early part of this decade via Miramax Pictures.

Welcome!

To whomever has stumbled across this blog, Welcome!

There really is no reason to have another blog about the world of cinema on the internet. God only knows how many clog cyberspace already, with most pretty much talking about the same things: box-office grosses, the latest and greatest, etc. Still, to me, a blog seemed like an online diary that may be instrumental in getting me to write articles on a more constant basis. And since I won't be writing about my private life on this blog (trust me, you're not missing a single thing), I might as well write about something I know (or at least think I know): film.

Depending on my schedule, I'll be posting thoughts that come across my mind about the world of cinema, past and present. I'll talk about screenings I have attended, give shameless plugs for a site or two and I'll welcome your comments in what will hopefully be a civilized discussion (yeah, I know, keep dreaming).

Keep an eye out for my first official post this week. Thanks for stopping by.

-Shawn F.