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Monday 31 January 2011

Movie News: JAVIER BARDEM AS BOND VILLAIN?



Word is flying around Hollywood at the moment that Oscar nominee, Javier Bardem, has been offered a 'big role' in the next Bond film.  Let's hope that 'big role' is playing the main villain. Seriously, this guy plays badass like no-one else, as anyone who's seen No Country For Old Men will agree.  There's no doubt that the best Bond films have the best villains, Dr No, Goldfinger and You Only Live Twice (Blofeld).  It's about time 007 had some decent competition and Bardem could well be it.

Obviously, this is just a rumour and even if it is true, there's no guarantee that Bardem will accept the role.  Let's just all keep our collective fingers crossed that he does though.

PS - You're right he does look like Nick Knowles! :)

Sunday 30 January 2011

Movie News: A BEATLES TIME TRAVEL MOVIE?

 

Unbelievably, the green light has been given to produce a new film about The Beatles. Surely we know everything there is to know about the Fab Four though, right? What could this new film be all about?

Well, prepare yourselves, as this movie sees two Beatles fans travel back in time to stop John Lennon from ever meeting Yoko Ono and therefore (in their mind) keeping one of the biggest and best bands of all time together.

It's being directed by Mark Waters (Freaky Friday, Mean Girls) and I don't know what to make of it. Surely Yoko is going to have a few choice words about the whole thing and I can't imagine (no pun intended) that McCartney is going to help fund it. Word is it goes into production this June, but let's just wait and see!

What do you guys think?

Monday 24 January 2011

Movie News: MORE MATRIX MOVIES?




I'm not sure how I feel about this news...actually, I am sure, it fills me with fear!  I loved The Matrix, I quite enjoyed Reloaded, but Revolutions was a dire cock-up of a movie, that killed off my earlier enjoyment of the other films. Anyway, according to some news reports, Keanu Reeves has said The Wachowski's have completed work on two more Matrix film scripts. That's like someone telling me George Lucas has another couple of Star Wars Trilogies up his sleeve.

That being said, if it's true and they want to shoot them in 3D, then maybe they can win me over once again...MAYBE. Not that we'll be seeing them anytime soon. If the scripts have just been finished and it's being shot in 3D, we probably won't be seeing Neo back on the big screen until 2015!

Are you guys happy about this news?

Friday 21 January 2011

Movie News: X-MEN: FIRST CLASS PICS!




X-Men: First Class is the latest in the X-Men series and will reveal how the X-Men saga began, as it follows the younger versions of our favourite characters coming to grips with their powers and their enemies.  There's a great cast including James McAvoy, January Jones, Kevin Bacon, Michael Fassbender and Nicholas Hoult. It's directed by Matthew Vaughn (Kick Ass) which is a sign that this film could be something special.

Anyway, I've managed to get my hands on these pics from the film and although we don't get to see a lot of action, we do at least get an early glimpse of how the film and the characters will look. One word - 'retro'.

Check out the pics below and let me know what you think.

X-Men: First Class is released on 2 June 2011




Movie News: WILL SMITH WANTS TO RE-MAKE ANNIE!




The word around Hollywood at the moment is that Will Smith is looking to do a re-make of the 1980s classic musical, Annie. This all new film will star his daughter and current 'hair whipper' Willow, as the ginger haired orphan, although she'll probably have braids or a weave! It's also rumoured that Will himself will play Daddy Warbucks, meaning this will be yet another Smith family affair!

I don't know what to think about this news, accept that I hope it isn't true. Seriously, some films do not need re-making and this is one of them. One positive point is that Jay-Z could well be involved producing the soundtrack, so they could be given the whole movie a hip hop, urban street vibe spin, which could be interesting...I think.

Movie Charts: Top Ten of 2010 (voted by Twitter)

Movie News: ANNE HATHAWAY IS CATWOMAN!



It's been the big movie news story of the last 24 hours, as Warner Bros have officially confirmed that Anne Hathaway will be playing Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises.  Only last week I mentioned that Hathaway and several other female actors had been in for a screentest and it seems she impressed Christopher Nolan the most.  I'm not sure she would have been my choice for the role, but I would never dares question Nolan's decision, afterall he seems to have an extraordinary ability to cast his films perfectly.


We've known for a while that Tom Hardy had been signed up to play the villain in the movie, but it has now been confirmed which villain that will be...BANE! As you can see from the picture above, Bane is a big mean dude, so Tom may have to phone his personal trainer and buff up like he did for Bronson a couple of years ago. Either that or he'll be relying on CGI and prosthetics.  Whichever method they decide upon, the one thing that's certain is, this film will be incredible.  I cannot wait!

Tuesday 18 January 2011

Movie News: HANGOVER 2




Hangover 2 is released in cinemas this spring, so not too long to wait.  To whet your appetite though, I've got my hands on this picture from the film and it seems things will be getting even weirder for the guys second time round. Why is that monkey wearing a jacket, why does Stu have a Mike Tyson tattoo on his face and why is Alan bald? I cannot wait to see the first trailer for this film, cause I have a feeling it's gonna be hilarious!

Friday 14 January 2011

UK Top Ten: 7-9th JANUARY 2011

 
 
Forget about your action films and your comedies, there was only one film that drew in the huge audiences last weekend and that was The King's Speech. It totally deserves the top spot though and don't be surprised if we see it winning a few Oscars in a couple of months time.
 
Although it easily took the number one spot, there was some tough competition from another true life drama 127 Hours, starring James Franco, which took over £2m and landed in the runner-up position.
 
Little Fockers (surprisingly) and Gulliver's Travels continued to take decent money, but it was a terrible opening weekend for Nicholas Cage's new movie Season of the Witch, barely managing to scrape in £500,000. It seems the critics were right and people avoided this film in a big way!
 

FILM

WEEKEND GROSS

TOTAL GROSS SINCE RELEASE

The King's Speech

£3,523,102

£3,523,102


127 Hours

£2,168,570

£2,168,570


Little Fockers

£1,798,677

£15,282,292


Gulliver's Travels

£1,554,266

£10,881,583


The Next Three Days

£1,046,333

£1,046,333


Love and Other Drugs

807,912

£3,584,886


Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

£712,728

£50,640,371



Tron Legacy

£639,903

£9,072,983


Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

£621,393

£13,038,647



Season of the Witch

£559,769

£559,769

Movie News: THE NEW SPIDERMAN!




So here it is, the very first picture of Andrew Garfield as Spiderman and you may have noticed there have been a few changes, including a new costume and logo (although it looks like he's been in a fight, so the logo could just been damaged).

The studio must be confident to have released a picture so early on and I must admit I am really looking forward to seeing this film.  Now just give me some shots of the villain and a teaser trailer and my head may implode!

Anyway, what do you guys think of Mr Garfield in the Spidey suit? Let me know by commenting below.

Wednesday 12 January 2011

Movie News: THE DARK KNIGHT RISES CASTING!



We're only a few months away from the start of shooting on Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises and the word coming out of Hollywood is they're now looking for two female actresses. One will be a villain and the other will be a love interest.  Anne Hathaway, Keira Knightley, Jessica Biel, Charlotte Riley and Kate Mara are among the key names to go in for a screen test over the next few days. 

No major surprises, although it's interesting to see Riley on the list, as she is the fiancee of Tom Hardy, who's playing the main villain in the film. Personally, I'd like to see someone relatively unknown in the roles, so she could be an good choice.

Let me know what you guys think. Is there anyone you'd like to see get the job?

Movie News: JAMES BOND 23




MGM have just announced the official release date for the next James Bond film and it's 9 November 2012! Admittedly, it's ages away and a good six months after the London Olympics, but at least it'll be something to look forward to as we head into another dreary winter.

I'll keep you posted with news about the possible title, theme tune singer, Bond girls and other bits too.

Review: THE GREEN HORNET in 3D




THE CAST
Seth Rogen - Britt Reid aka The Green Hornet
Jay Chou - Kato
Cameron Diaz - Lenore
Christoph Waltz - Chudnofsky
Edward James Olmos - Axford
Tom Wilkinson - James Reid

THE STORY
Britt Reid is the bored playboy son of a multi-millionaire media mogul, who begins fighting crime as the Green Hornet, after his father dies in suspicious circumstances. Teaming up with his late father's highly skilled car mechanic and coffee maker, Kato, he goes on a vigilante mission to clean up the streets and avenge his father's death.



THE STRENGTHS
There are some fun action set pieces, especially the fight scenes with Kato and they really make the most of the super slow motion or 'bullet time', made famous by The Matrix more than a decade ago. This means the director, Michel Gondry, allows you to actually see what's happening during these sequences, making them all the more enjoyable. Jay Chou puts in a solid and likeable performance as Kato. Impressive, when you consider this character was made famous onscreen by Bruce Lee, so there were some big shoes to fill, well probably not big shoes, but you know what I'm saying.  You should also look out for a great cameo by James Franco, which is one of the funniest parts of the film and makes you wish he was in it some more.



THE WEAKNESSES
I'm not a fan of 3D upscaling. If you want a film to be in 3D, shoot it in 3D, don't just do some half-baked 3D post-production on it because it doesn't work. The Green Hornet is the most recent proof of this, as wearing the glasses seemed pointless for about 107 of the 108 minute running time. Cameron Diaz was totally wasted in an underwritten role, that could've been played by any blonde female. Christophe Waltz is a superb actor, but now he knows what it was like for Halle berry after winning her Oscar and going on to make Catwoman! We know he can play a brilliant villain (Inglorious Basterds), but he seemed to struggle finding the balance between fear and funny, meaning some of the 'jokes' fell a bit flat.  Here then is the biggest problem with the film, it's over-reliance on the comedy. It felt like everyone was trying too hard, especially Seth Rogen, who seemed intent on trying to steal every scene. Don't get me wrong, Rogen is a funny guy, but it seemed everything else had to be secondary to his comedy performance. This meant it was difficult to actually care about what was going on in the rest of the movie. The chemistry between Rogen and Chou wasn't great either and occasionally came across like the least funny parts of a Chris Tucker/Jackie Chan Rush Hour movie. 


THE SUMMARY
If you're a big fan of Seth Logan you'll like this film, if you're not, you probably won't. As far as comic book movies go it isn't as bad as Daredevil, but it's nowhere near as good as Iron Man. It's tongue is firmly in it's cheek and it's a fairly entertaining ride, but suffers from too much 'comedy' and not enough decent action. 


MICHAEL'S MOVIE MARK    5/10

Monday 10 January 2011

Movie News: TOTAL RECALL REMAKE!


Let's face it, Hollywood love a remake and it seems the 1990 classic Total Recall is next on it's list. This movie was Arnie at his best and it was made even better with sexy kick ass Sharon Stone as his wife...brilliant! I loved this film, sure the special effects look a bit ropey today, well a lot ropey, but who really cares? Living on Mars never seemed so appealing, apart from all the freaky people, that guy with a creature growing out of his stomach and that ever impending threat of death.



Anyway, Colin Farrell is the man chosen to fill those big Austrian shoes and it's going to be a tough job. Also, early word is, it isn't going to be set on Mars, in fact it isn't going to be set in space at all. Not sure how I feel about that, but I'll hold off any judgement...for now at least!

Premiere: THE GREEN HORNET LA PREMIERE




Here are the highlights from last night's Green Hornet premiere in Los Angeles. All the stars of the film appeared including; Seth Logan, Jay Chou, Cameron Diaz and Christoph Waltz.


Saturday 8 January 2011

Trailer of the Week: HANNA



If you clicked on this thinking you might be about to watch a new Hannah Montana movie trailer, you'd better leave right now! Seriously, cause you are not going to want to watch this trailer.

This is in fact the latest film from director Joe Wright starring Saoirse Ronan, Eric Bana and Cate Blanchett. Forget Wright's previous work like Pride & Prejudice and Atonement, because this film is something very very different and it's going to kick some serious butt. If you don't believe me, click on the link below and watch the trailer, then let me know what you think.

Movie News: EMINEM RETURNS TO ACTING!



It's been nearly nine years since we saw Eminem's feature film debut in 8 Mile, but it seems he's kept us waiting long enough, as he's returning to the big screen to star in 20th Century Fox's Random Acts of Violence. He'll be playing an ex-con who's struggling to stay straight, as his old gang try to convince him to return and the FBI pressure him to become an informer and bring the gang down.

Clearly, this is going to be a stretch for him *sarcastic tone*, but hopefully that'll mean his performance will be as strong as it was in 8 Mile. Maybe he'll even win an Oscar...again!

UK Top Ten: 31st DEC 2010 - 2nd JAN 2011



Do I smell a Jack Black franchise starting up? Damn right I do! After Gulliver's Travels stormed into the number one spot last weekend, taking more than £7m, I think it's fair to say a sequel won't be too far behind.  Just to put it into perspective, this film took nearly as much as the rest of the top ten put together.

Little Fockers continued raking in the cash, even though it's universally accepted that it's by far the worst of the series. Meanwhile, Jake Gyllenhaal's latest movie Love and Other Drugs managed to take a respectable £1.6m and landed in third position.

I thought there wasn't a human being left in the UK that hadn't seen the new Harry Potter film, but apparently I was wrong, as it added another million pounds to it's total of nearly £50m! Impressive, but it still isn't the most successful Harry Potter film in the UK. That honour belongs to Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone which took over £66m.


FILM

WEEKEND GROSS

TOTAL GROSS SINCE RELEASE

Gulliver's Travels


£7,028,747

£7,028,747

Little Fockers


£2,614,802

£11,159,635

Love and Other Drugs


£1,606,253

£1,606,253

The Way Back


£1,327,650

£1,327,650

Chronicles of Narnia: The
Voyage of the Dawn Treader


£1,207,264

£11,263,418

Tron: Legacy


£1,059,569

£7,371,361

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part One


£1,040,826

£48,914,777

Megamind


£612,327

£8,378,843

The Tourist


£396,758

£4,702,790

Animals United


£243,442

£1,736,166

Tuesday 4 January 2011

Competition: INCEPTION WINNERS!




It feels like I launched this competition years ago, but after a short-ish Christmas break, I'm back and ready for action!  So, to start things off, here is the answer and the names of the five lucky winners from last month's INCEPTION competition:

In Inception, this actor plays Fischer and re-teams with filmmaker Christopher Nolan who cast him for the role of The Scarecrow in The Dark Knight. Name the actor.

Answer:  Cillian Murphy

WINNERS

Becca Caddy
Tim Hills
Dafydd Lloyd
Rhianwen Davies
Kieran O'Shaughnessy

Congratulations to the five winners, who'll each be receiving a fantastic INCEPTION goody bag. If you're not one of them, then make sure you bookmark my blog, as there'll be other great competitions on the way this year.