The ultimate struggle for power pits men against kings and kings against gods. But the war between the gods themselves could destroy the world.
The Magical Sorcerer’s Apprentice stars Nicolas Cage as Balthazar Blake, Jay Baruchel as Dave Stutler, Monica Bellucci as Veronica and Alfred Molina as Horvath.
In modern day Manhattan, the master sorcerer Balthazar Blake (Nicholas Cage) attempts to protect the city from his arch-nemesis, Maxim Horvath (Alfred Molina), an evil wizard with nefarious plans.
Despite talk of casting an unknown as Steve Rogers in Captain America: First Avenger, The Hollywood Reporter has reported 6 familiar faces auditioning for the role of Steve Rogers this week: John Krasinski, Michael Cassidy, Mike Vogel, Patrick Flueger, Scott Porter and Chace Crawford. Are any of them worthy of wielding Caps Shield?
I’m wondering if they plan to do Cap’s body with CG because although it is an attractive group, none of these boys have that Super Soldier Serum look. Click on the images below to see them fullsize AND read the accompanying captions about their professional history my thoughts on their suitability. Read all about them (captions appear under fullsize images) and then let me know about your thoughts on these candidates.
Apparently also considered but unavailable due to schedule conflicts were “Supernatural” stud Jenson Ackles and Garret Hedlund of the upcoming “Tron Legacy.” Other possibilities bandied about since the movie was announced have included Will Smith, Matthew McConaughey, Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt, but they seem to have fallen by the wayside since the news about wanting an “unknown” leaked.
Recent talk about the upcoming Captain America: First Avenger movie has revealed a few choice tidbits. First reveal is no BIG surprise…likely big bad is The Red Skull. Which isn’t a huge shocker to any longtime Steve Rogers fans. The other reveal which IS a bit more of a significant revelation. The Invaders will play a BIG part in the second act of the film and will include no less than six members. But they have YET to reveal exactly WHICH six members…
Now the Invaders had a number of different members over the years, but I’ve narrowed it down to what I thought were some of the more interesting candidates with big screen potential and fanboy panache… Who would YOU like to see fighting ratzis aside Captain America?
Be sure to check out the rest of the Comic Book Inspired Animation in Superhero Cartoons!
What happens when Marvel’s well-intentioned Illuminati (Iron Man, Mister Fantastic and Dr. Strange are visible in the trailer but Black Bolt and Namor are silhouettes) exiles the Hulk off-world for wreaking havoc one too many times? Torn from the pages of Hulk, PLANET HULK: EXILE is the monumental story of Hulk’s journey from monster of Earth to savior of Skaar. Who knows if it is well received we may even get a sequel WORLD WAR HULK!
Marvel’s decision to tell the stories too big for live-action as animation is a good one. I hope they keep ‘em coming!
The trailer for director Terry Gilliam’s (Jabberwocky, Time Bandits, Brazil, The Fisher King, 12 Monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) new movie looks pretty spectacular so I lit a fire under Popapathy to get him to go to the movies today to see Heath Ledger’s final role, and I’m oh so glad I did. I grew up on the movies of Tery Gilliam (he had me at Time Bandits), so I think I tend to see them differently than most viewers. From the dry set of previews in front of the movie I expected a movie from E.M. Forrester (not that I don’t enjoy a good stuffy art film, but I wasn’t on that wavelength going in – or at all during the movie). Now it IS a smart film, a bit disjointed in part due to the nature of the story which takes us to the past and into the minds of others, but also due to the way the death of Heath Ledger is dealt with.
A fantastical morality tale set in the present day, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus tells the story of Dr Parnassus and his extraordinary ‘Imaginarium’, a traveling show where members of the audience get an irresistible opportunity to choose between light and joy or darkness and gloom. Blessed with the extraordinary gift of guiding the imaginations of others, Dr Parnassus is cursed with a dark secret. Long ago he made a bet with the devil, Mr Nick, in which he won immortality. Many centuries later, on meeting his one true love, Dr Parnassus made another deal with the devil, trading his immortality for youth, on condition that when his first-born reached its 16th birthday he or she would become the property of Mr Nick.
Valentina is now rapidly approaching this ‘coming of age’ milestone and Dr Parnassus is desperate to protect her from her impending fate. Mr Nick arrives to collect but, always keen to make a bet, renegotiates the wager. Now the winner of Valentina will be determined by whoever seduces the first five souls. Enlisting a series of wild, comical and compelling characters in his journey, Dr Parnassus promises his daughter’s hand in marriage to the man that helps him win. In this captivating, explosive and wonderfully imaginative race against time, Dr Parnassus must fight to save his daughter in a never-ending landscape of surreal obstacles – and undo the mistakes of his past once and for all
I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Terry Gilliam strikes again!
Although it IS a funny albeit slightly snarky way to sum up a soldier who starts to identify with the differently-hued (in this case blue) indigenous people, it is an oversimplification. It would be better if you say “Epic CGI War Dances With Tall Very Fit Smurfs” which is more descriptive. But even that still doesn’t capture the truly epic scale and groundbreaking nature of this amazing film.
Unfortunately the storyline wasn’t quite as phenomenal. Take Kevin Costner’s Dances With Wolves, toss in some of Disney’s Pocahontas and add a pinch of tree hugging Ferngully, mix it up and chuck it into space and you basically have Avatar. But worry not, the film is still very much worth the price of admission.
I’ve seen just about every CGI FX film since Young Sherlock Homes. So seeing the emotive capacity of the 3D models when combined with the performance capture technology used to create the film completely blew me away. There was none of that Polar Express deadeye that I’ve come to expect from CGI films. These 3D characters had life in their eyes and personality on their faces due to the amazing performance capture technology of Giant Studios.
I was lucky enough to see the first IMAX showing on opening day and then again the following week. I had to get up early as on both occasions Popapathy had snagged tickets for the first showing the following day (even though all other shows that day were sold out by the morning – very lucky ticket karma I guess). Now this isn’t the first 3D CGI movie I’ve seen, so I’m not easily impressed. But the previous attempts at such an experience usually end up being a few painfully short sequences at key moments that always aim for the showiest in-your-face kind of 3D you could imagine. The 3D of Avatar is far subtler. It is more like actually being there as the events go down than any 3D IMAX experience I’ve ever had.
The New Moon toy line has been released and is available at Amazon, but no word on this shirtless action figure of Taylor Lautner as wolf-boy hottie Jacob Black. I hope they haven’t decided not to release it.
This has to be the hottest action figure I’ve seen in awhile. Fingers crossed it isn’t too gay for shelves. If you have the scoop on when/if it will see the light of day, let’s hear it!
which is gayer… Jacob the shirtless wolfboy… or Gay Bob from 1977?
Too bad Jacob Black doesn’t come anatomically correct (and life size).
Part of me is worried that stylistically it seems to have more in common with Sky High than with Wanted. The swan-diving superhero at the beginning is a good sign that they didn’t COMPLETELY kidify the story to make it not only palatable to the teens and tweens who will inevitably want to see a movie about a 15 year old who dons a suit to fight crime, but also acceptable to their parents who would have a problem with an 11 year-old hit girl going all Kill Bill on a group of Mafiosos (hence they aged her).
Kick-Ass is a great supposedly monthly comic (although I have some problems with the unnecessary hate speech that writer Mark Millar puts in his hero’s mouth), but it was seriously harmed by scheduling issues (took 18 months to publish 8 issues). A pivotal part of the plot was revealed early… at the time the casting for Red Mist was revealed, the character was described as the son of a Mafia don even though he hadn’t even been introduced yet – completely spoiling that characters eventual betrayal. The concluding eighth issue of Kick-Ass is due in December so perhaps we’ll see a resolution to the story before the movie comes out.
Losing the Prop 8 vote in large part to the direct influence of the out of state Morman political machine left a lot of LGBT Californians with unresolved anger. At the time there was a lot of talk of LGBT boycotts of Mormon business but I hadn’t heard as much about it until recently.
As with its predecessor Twilight, The impending release of New Moon has some calling for a boycott of the film (which is based upon a book by a “devout” Mormon writer and the books are chock full of Mormon ideals) others raving about Jacob’s (Taylor Lautner) amazing abs and the rest generally just don’t care. I’m torn, and haven’t decide yet which camp I’m in, but thought I’d open it to debate. But I have to remind you no matter how hot he is, the boy is jailbait until February 11 2010, so so no fauxtoshopping and set your countdowns now.
So is YOUR anger at an organized religion interfering in an out-of-state political process stronger than the lustful desire to watch the sinewy 30 pounds of muscle that Jacob (Taylor Lautner) put in in action while he runs with the rest of his shirtless pack.
Now I will say that I read the series and while some of the ideas about the vampire mythos were interesting and include a rich history with great story potential, the books themselves were not particularly well written and the peppering with Mormonism is hamfisted. So with very little of Edward (Rober Pattinson), aside from young Mr. Lautner and his shirtless wolfpack, I’m not sure what else New Moon has to offer.
Marvel has released the first trailer for the upcoming event that returns Marvel own trilogy to the limelight. Norman Osborn, his Dark Avengers and his Thunderbolts lay siege to Asgard and Thor, Iron Man and Captain America aren’t going to stand for it. The beginning of Norman’s end starts HERE!
Thanks to ButtersBoi who sent me this link. This looks adorable. I’ve been hoping for Incredibles 2 from Pixar, but this 3D animated exploration of cartoon villainy coming in 2010 from Universal looks like a helluva lot of fun.
In a happy suburban neighborhood surrounded by white picket fences with flowering rose bushes, sits a black house with a dead lawn. Unbeknownst to the neighbors, hidden beneath this home is a vast secret hideout. Surrounded by a small army of minions, we discover Gru (voiced by Steve Carell), planning the biggest heist in the history of the world. He is going to steal the moon (Yes, the moon!) in Universal’s new 3-D CGI feature, Despicable Me.
A second theatrical trailer focuses on the ongoing professional rivalry between a-list thieving supervillains Gru and Vector.
This is definitely on my list. Thoughts? I don’t see EVERY 3D animated movie (in fact missed a lot recently) but I do like to try and see the ones that have concepts that interest me and supervillains bent on stealing the moon qualify big time.
UPDATE! Gallery and clip of Cory Monteith in David DeCoteau’s homoerotic thriller, in Killer Bash: Here he is in most of his glory (no frontal ) from Bloody Mary. Seriously… Stop watching when he looks in the bathroom mirror – Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Former small screen Jimmy Olson Justin Whalen can’t seem to get much of a big screen break. Except for Terry Hatcher, the cast of Lois and Clark hasn’t gone on to much.
Would-be superhero, Ed Gruberman, who possesses no super powers must join a team of misfit heroes-in-training known as The Super Capers. Having only faith, Gruberman must travel through time to uncover an evil plot involving some gold bullion, a fiery femme fatale, and a criminal mastermind with a dark secret about Ed’s past.
Doesn’t look PARTICULARLY promising, but I’m fascinated at Hollywood’s love affair with comic book/superhero properties. Its just too bad they don’t pick a better story to start with.
Due out 9.29.09 is Superman Batman Public Enemies…
A desperate solution for a troubled country: Lex Luthor for President with the Justice League in the service of the government. Only Batman and Superman stand against the new regime – and their disloyalty proves to be exactly what Luthor intended. Using their outcast status to instigate a scandal against Superman, Luthor finally tastes a victory in his vendetta against The Man of Steel.
From Executive Producer Bruce Timm and voiced by the cast from both hit Batman and Superman animated TV series including Kevin Conroy, Tim Daly and Clancy Brown, this DC Universe Original Animated Movie of Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness’s popular graphic novel seethes with political intrigue and action-packed battles between heroes all believing they’re on the right side of the law.
Time Warner Inc.’s Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. announced on 9.9.09 that it has formed DC Entertainment Inc., a new company focusing on bringing the DC Comics brand and characters to “all media and platforms.” The studio named former Walt Disney Director of National Promotions, Diane Nelson as the president of DC Entertainment (she reports directly to Jeff Robinov, President, Warner Bros. Pictures Group).
Paul Levitz, who has served as President & Publisher of DC Comics since 2002, will segue from that role to return to his roots as a writer for DC (working on the title he made great as both a writer and editor, ADVENTURE COMICS) and become a contributing editor and overall consultant to DCE. This transition will take place as expeditiously as possible without disrupting DC`s business operations. In his new role, Levitz will be called upon for his deep knowledge and more than three-decade history with DC Comics, both as a comic creator and an executive. Besides serving as a writer on a number of DC Comics titles, he will be a contributing editor and consultant to DC Entertainment on projects in various media.
Sounds like they are keeping him on as captain of continuity.
Methinks that this organization is in response to Marvel’s recent relocation under the Disney umbrella. I think Warner has started to reconsider what they have with DC and hopefully the pressure applied by a direct competitor with a slew of recent hits and a big bucks corporate relationship in the honeymoon stages will force them to step things up a bit. Sure Dark Knight and Watchmen were fantastic, but what do they have planned for the next 2-3 years?
No one knows yet EXACTLY what this will mean for movies and TV properties dedicated to the DCU, but it’s not BAD news. Currently only the Ryan Reynolds-attached Green Lantern movie and a recently announced Guy Ritchie Lobo project are the only DC heroes being considered for big screen treatment.
Here are the DCU properties I want to see on the big screen! What is on YOUR short list?
But who knows, with DC Entertainment working specifically to bring DC Comics 4 color characters to life, the chances movies adaptions of the 12 properties above ACTUALLY making it to screen in our lifetimes are getting stronger by the minute.
If you missed it in theaters and on video store shelves, tonight is your chance… Tune in tonight and watch Were the World Mine on LOGO at 9PM Pacific. Its a touching gay musical with Shakespearean flair and a very talented/adorable cast.
When his drama teacher casts him as Puck in his school’s upcoming production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Timothy (Tanner Cohen) turns in an inspired performance, whipping up a fittingly Shakespearean love potion with the power to turn people gay. He begins, of course, with the school jock — the object of his affection. Tom Gustafson directs Were the World Mine, an unconventional movie-musical based on his award-winning short film, “Fairies.
For me musicals are all about that moment where something about the combination of music and voices raised in song makes my skin tingle and the hair on my arms stand up. Were the World Mine’s beautiful score manages all that and more.
Wolf takes us behind the scenes with Eddie Diaz and Francois Sagat ( who is camera shy) and to the set on the LA river where the car chase scene was shot for Grease.
LA Zombie is the follow-up to Bruce la Bruce’s sexually explicit art film Otto: Or Up With Dead People, that played in over 150 film festivals world wide. In interviews about Otto Bruce found himself pronoucing that “Zombie porn is the wave of the future”.
I just got back from seeing an early showing of District 9. I’m not sure what I was expecting. I knew from the previews that the humans were the villain of the story, but I had NO idea. It definitely is not your usual aliens vs humans movie in that although it is a tale of honor, heroism and family values, only one human shows any of those characteristics and he isn’t even fully… oops don’t want to say too much except you’ll find yourselves rooting for the aliens to kill every last one of the evil humans!
Not only is this acompelling mivie with story that will keep you guessing, its also amazing-looking! The digital FX are great! A million Aliens run amok in District 9 and the integration of the CGI creatures and technology with the desolate dusty slum of District 9 and the humans policing it is flawlessly realistic and seamless.
I’ll discuss more after the jump so don’t go poking around until you see it (it opens Friday Aug 14th). One od thing to note about the preview was the way they treated it as if it was ultra-top-secret. They ACTUALLY confiscated all cellphones so no one could capture video. It opens tomorrow – what is the big deal?
I happened upon this trailer for the Angels vs humanity apocalypse epic Legion on MySpace and it looks kinda awesome. The creepy long-limbed ice cream man and the foul-mouthed wall crawling grandma are especially freaky.
When God loses faith in Mankind, he sends his legion of angels to bring on the Apocalypse. Humanity’s only hope lies in a group of strangers trapped in a desert diner and the Archangel Michael (Paul Bettany).
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