We Are Movie Geeks All things movies… as noted by geeks.

March 8, 2010

TRON LEGACY Trailer Hits the Net

Filed under: Adventure,General News,Science Fiction,Sequels,Trailer — Tags: , , , — Kirk @ 10:18 pm

Painful admission, I know, but, until recently, I haven’t been a part of the TRON LEGACY buzz.  I understood it.  The original, 1982 film is considered a classic by many, and is a part of that year that is forever remembered as the greatest year for sci-fi film.  But, I have never been a huge fan, and the thought of a sequel 28 years in the making didn’t peak my excitement meter.

Then, I went to see ALICE IN WONDERLAND in 3-D.  This trailer played in front of it, and I was immediately sold.  Everything about this trailer exudes cool, builds a sense of epic mystery, and dares to toy with the notion that this is going to be more than just a run-of-the-mill sequel to capitalize on a successful brand.

It’s an adjective I have been trying to use less and less of, but there is no getting around it with this TRON LEGACY trailer.  It is awesome.  From the amazing visual effects to the incredible music.  Hell, even Bruce Boxleitner pops up to give a little setup.  It is, for lack of a better word, the perfect trailer, and, dare I say, it builds more excitement for TRON LEGACY than the IRON MAN 2 trailer did for it.

But, don’t take my word for it.  Click on Bad Blake’s eyes, head over to program-glitch-esc.net and see for yourself.  Be sure to crank those speakers, too, because this is one to experience.

TRON LEGACY is set to hit theaters on December 17th.

March 4, 2010

LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS First Look

Filed under: 3d,Adventure,Animated,General News,Movies,Trailer — Tags: , , , , — Kirk @ 5:38 pm

From the bloodthirsty director of 2004’s DAWN OF THE DEAD, 300, and WATCHMEN comes…an animated film about owls?  Hey, whatever floats Zack Snyder’s boat, and, judging from these first glimpses of LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS (Warner Brothers recently changed the name from GUARDIANS OF GA’HOOLE, because, evidently, you can’t pronounce GA’HOOLE), the man’s got an eye for animation, too.

First up, USA Today brings us the first stills from the film, which tells the tale of a young barn owl who is captured by a society that turns normal owls into brainwashed soldiers.  Pretty dark, and, judging from what Snyder has to say about the film, it is going to follow suit.

Check out these images:

Also up today, thanks to Yahoo! Movies, we have the first trailer for the film.

Check it out right here:

Hey, any trailer that begins with Hugo Weaving’s voice telling us about a legend has me immediately sold.  But, more than that, it’s just a really well-cut trailer that makes the film look very powerful.  It almost seems like a film that should be coming out this Summer instead of the dog days of September.  Oh, well, we need quality films then, too, I guess.

LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS hits theaters on September 24th.

March 3, 2010

Rourke Starts a WAR OF THE GODS

Filed under: Action,Actors,Adventure,Casting,General News,Movies — Tags: , , , , , — Kirk @ 7:10 am

Another day.  Another blockbuster for Mickey Rourke to gnash his teeth into.  He’s already set to kick a little Downey ass in IRON MAN 2.  Just last week, Rourke officially signed on to play CONAN’s daddy in the new version of that film.  Now, Rourke is absolutely going God-like, as Variety is reporting he has stepped into the role of the villain, King Hyperion, for Tarsem Singh’s WAR OF THE GODS.  Rourke steps into the role against Henry Cavill and Freida Pinto.

The film tells the tale of a young warrior, presumably to be played by Cavill, who leads a group of men in battle against evil gods in order to save humanity.  Something tells me this is going to be more 300 and less LEGION. One can hope, anyway.

The film is set up at Relativity Media with Universal serving as distributor.  The belief that Rourke would quietly slip back into the night after losing the Oscar has proven to be a falsehood.  The man is sticking around, and he’s taking some roles with him.  We haven’t seen him in IRON MAN 2, yet, but here’s hoping he isn’t quickly pigeon-holing himself into these smaller or villainous roles just to earn some notoriety and some fast cash.

WAR OF THE GODS is set to begin production in April.

March 2, 2010

2nd PRINCE OF PERSIA Trailer Gets the Last Word

Filed under: Adaptations,Adventure,General News,Movies,Trailer — Tags: , , , , , , , , — Kirk @ 10:33 am

You ever notice in these big budget, Summer blockbuster, while armies of thousands are battling to the death, the lead and the love interest seem to have their own battle going on?  They fight to see who gets the last word in.  Annoying in real life.  Cute in the movies.

This is on full display in the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced, Mike Newell-directed PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME, and the new trailer incorporates as much “last word fighting” between Jake Gyllenhaal and Gemma Arterton as it possibly can.  It even gets to the point where Gyllenhaal wants the last word, he has to have it, but, alas, no, actual, words come out of his mouth.  It also incorporates a lot of CG-laden footage we’ve already seen, just edited a bit differently.  Plus, we get a little more Sir Ben Kingsley in this one, who is, judging from the goatee, the villain of the piece.

Check it out for yourself right here:


PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME hits theaters on May 28th, 2010.

March 1, 2010

TRON LEGACY Coming At You in IMAX Size

Filed under: 3d,Adventure,General News,IMAX,Movies,Sequels — Tags: , , , , , , — Kirk @ 7:17 am

As some of you may or may not know, Disney held a trailer unveiling event for TRON LEGACY across the nation this past Saturday.  At the Los Angeles premiere, TRON LEGACY director Joseph Kosinski and the director of the original TRON, Steven Lisberger, were on hand for a Q&A following the teaser.  However, the biggest news, both literally and figuratively, came after the event when FirstShowing and SlashFilm caught up with Kosinski for a quick chat.

During that chat, it was revealed TRON LEGACY would be featuring scenes in the full, 1.7:1 aspect ration exclusively for IMAX.  If you’re not 100% sure what that insinuates, Christopher Nolan utilized the same style for many scenes in 2008’s THE DARK KNIGHT, utilizing the full capability of the IMAX’s immense size.  Kosinski revealed there would be five such action scenes featured in TRON LEGACY.

As if TRON LEGACY and its 3-D qualities weren’t going to be immersive enough, these IMAX elements are going to completely transport the audience fully into the TRON world.  Here’s hoping Kosinski’s usage of the technique is as smoothly utilized as Nolan’s scenes were in THE DARK KNIGHT.

SlashFilm was also told Disney would be releasing a special, online trailer for TRON LEGACY showing the difference audiences are to expect in the IMAX presentation.  TRON LEGACY is set for release on December 17th.

February 25, 2010

Who is CONAN’s Daddy, and What Does He Do?

Filed under: Action,Actors,Adventure,Casting,General News,Movies,Remakes — Tags: , , , , — Kirk @ 7:25 am

Look at Mickey Rourke in this picture for a bit.  Almost like a chiseled warrior of old (minus the neon green armbands) looking up to Crom asking why the God has forsaken his only son, CONAN.  This could very well be an image we see again, as The Heat Vision Blog has confirmed what Latino Review scooped last month that Rourke has signed on for the small but important role of Conan’s father, Corin.  Rourke will be joining STARGATE: ATLANTIS’ Jason Momoa who has already signed on to play the titular warrior.

With news also coming down the pike that screenwriter Sean Hood has been brought in to do a script polish, it is looking like the CONAN remake is in full swing.  We won’t hold it against Hood that he also wrote HALLOWEEN: RESURRECTION, CUBE 2: HYPERCUBE, and THE CROW: WICKED PRAYER.  We’ll just let those little blotches on his resume pass by and see what he has to offer on CONAN.

CONAN is set to begin shooting on March 15th under the direction of Marcus Nispel.  Hopefully it’s more TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE Nispel and not FRIDAY THE 13TH Nispel.  Regardless which Nispel we get, I’m betting there won’t be any neon green armbands involved here.

February 23, 2010

McShane and His Black Beard to Take On PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN

Filed under: Actors,Adventure,Casting,Franchises,General News,Movies,Sequels — Tags: , , , , , — Kirk @ 8:40 am

Swearengen on the high seas.  Now that sounds like a good idea.  Disney thought so, too, as, according to The Hollywood Reporter,  Ian McShane is in negotiations to play the villain for PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES.  McShane will be taking on the role of Blackbeard, probably the most notable, real pirate in history.

McShane will be joining a cast that already includes the returning Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow and Penelope Cruz, who will be playing Sparrow’s love interest/equal in the film.  The story is to revolve around the quest for the Fountain of Youth.

This is great casting, as McShane is continuing his growing popularity in these days of DEADWOOD’s wake.  There is no word on whether Geoffrey Rush will be returning as Barbossa, but, if he doesn’t, McShane seems a likely candidate to fill that void.

CHICAGO and NINE director Rob Marshall is stepping in as director on the film which will begin shooting this coming Summer.  PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES is set to be released on May 20th, 2011.

February 17, 2010

Jeremy Renner Could Be Headed to E4

Filed under: Action,Actors,Adaptations,Adventure,Casting,General News,Movies — Tags: , , , , , , — Kirk @ 10:13 pm

No, that never gets old.

It is always great to see the rise of an actor who is making his way from the arthouse to the awards podium to bigger and brighter things.  Such is the case of Jeremy Renner, whose praises I have been singing since seeing him headline the 2002 indie flick DAHMER.  With an Academy Award nomination now under his belt, THE HURT LOCKER star is prepping his next films, and one of them could be a blockbuster.

According to a report from Reuters, Renner is in talks to take on the lead role of Universal’s adaptation of BATTLESHIP to be helmed by Peter Berg.  This bit of news comes just 10 days after it was announced BATTLESHIP would be moving its release date back from July 29th, 2011 to Memorial Day, 2012.

The film is scheduled to shoot this coming Summer, and Renner may have to make a decision.  He revealed to Reuters he has had at least five meetings with the producers of another, as yet unrevealed project which would also be shooting this coming Summer.

Says Renner about the success and the potential in the industry THE HURT LOCKER has given him:

(‘Locker’ has) allowed me to exhale and go, ‘OK, now I can really start.’  Maybe it’s a form of arrival, maybe it’s a type of beginning.

Personally, I would rather see him take on a different role than the lead in BATTLESHIP.  Yes, it would be a great opportunity for him to headline a big budget, Summer movie like that, but he is slowly sinking into a pigeonhole of playing these military types that I think he is better than.  It gladdens me to hear in this same report he has signed on to star alongside Ewan McGregor in RAVEN, an indie, period thriller to be shot before Summer hits.

Nonetheless, it is great to see Renner getting recognized for his talent.  Let’s just hope that pigeonhole doesn’t get filled any time soon.

February 12, 2010

More CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK Offically Fueled by Diesel

Filed under: Action,Actors,Adventure,Casting,Franchises,General News,Genres,Movies,Sequels — Tags: , , , , — Kirk @ 9:15 am

I remember the good, ol’ days (this would be early 2000) when hardly anyone knew who Vin Diesel was and the character Riddick from PITCH BLACK was one of the ultimate anti-heroes.  Jump forward 4 1/2 years to THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK, a PG-13, sci-fi epic that pretty much dispelled any badassery PITCH BLACK built up both in the character and the world he lived in.  I don’t want to say the film was bad.  It just didn’t live up to potential.

Now leap forward another 6 years.  Vin Diesel, according to Variety, has officially signed on to play Riddick in a third franchise outing, tentatively titled RIDDICK.  David Twohy, the man behind the first, two films, will also return to write and direct this installment, and there is definitely some conflict on whether this is a good thing or a bad thing.   The report says sources close to the project are saying the third film would be more in line tonally with PITCH BLACK than CHRONICLES, and that is definitely a positive.

Shooting dates are being worked around Diesel’s return to the FAST AND THE FURIOUS franchise.   Universal is handling all domestic distribution on the new film despite THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK pulling in $116 million worldwide against a $105-million budget.   Expect the budget on the next film to be closer to the $23 million spend on PITCH BLACK.

February 10, 2010

New LAST AIRBENDER Trailer Coming At Ya’

Filed under: Adaptations,Adventure,General News,Movies,Trailer — Tags: , , — Kirk @ 2:31 pm

You wanna know the absolute best thing about this new trailer for M. Night Shyamalan’s adaptation of THE LAST AIRBENDER?   Not only does it kick some serious booty when it comes to visual aesthetics mixed with clever editing and a nice epic yet cool track overlain.   It also ends a bit short.

In fact, it does precisely what most trailers don’t do, what most studios won’t allow their trailers to do.   It makes us clamor for more.   Just when you are getting into the martial arts and highly inventive usage of CG, it pulls the rug out from under us, flashes the film’s title, and ends.   Some people will be pissed about this.   I applaud Paramount for that fact alone.   They make me want more, and, what’s more, they make me feel like there is something in store for me when I, eventually, see the finished product.

In an age where trailers for films like CLASH OF THE TITANS seem to give us every money shot in the film, it’s nice to see a trailer that teases you but does so in highly effective fashion.   Here’s hoping M. Night proves me right in that there is so much more from THE LAST AIRBENDER that we don’t see in this trailer, and here’s also hoping this is the final trailer before the film’s July 2nd release.

Check it out, right here.   It comes to us courtesy of Yahoo! Movies:

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