Friday, January 15th, 2010

I'm be damned if Avatar hasn't popped up as the big thing in entertainment this past week, with The Tonight Show debacle and celebrities for Haiti and all. Yet, somehow, James Cameron still keeps creeping to the top of this blog. Yahoo! Movies reports that Cameron is finally going to start pre-production on Battle Angel, an adaptation of a manga series, Battle Angel Alita, by Yukito Kishiro, with a projected release date of 2011. The news is big because, adding Cameron and the built in manga audience, a sure blockbuster/nerd following combination will result in big bucks at the box office, but it also points towards the earlier speculations of Cameron adapting the nonfiction book The Last Train from Hiroshima to be much later in his plans than originally slated, or that the director is possibly looking at only a producing job on that flick while he focuses most of his attention towards Battle Angel. As an added note, not knowing anything about the manga, the image I stole from /Film's coverage of the story already has me more sold for that film than all the onslaught of positive Avatar press that is being shoved down our throats.

I haven't heard much of Mitch Glazer's upcoming film Passion Play, starring Megan Fox, Mickey Rourke and formerly Toby Kebbell. Don't know who Kebbell is? Me either, but look him up, and decide from the dicey male model-esque pics Google Image will return if Bill Murray would be the first name in your head to replace him. But that is who /Film reports is stepping aboard the project to fill the void, much to the delight of, well, I'm sure everybody. Murray will play a mobster, whom calls on an angel, played by Fox. Other than that, I don't know much, but as soon as I find out more, it will be passed along.

From one good replacement to one of the worst I've ever heard. Nerd Bastards has an article on the possible new director for the reboot of the Spider-Man franchise, Nimrod Antal. Although the virtually unknown Antal's possible hiring would be a big story on a normal day, the same article also says that stepping into Tobey Maguire's old red and blue tights will be the sparkling, brooding vampire face of Robert Pattinson. It's one thing to rip this project away from Sam Raimi, but to bring a connection between Twilight and Marvel? Jesus, is NBC behind this shit!?

I just re-subscribed to Netflix, and unfortunately for myself, for the second time in the past two weeks, the DVD-by-mail rental service is seeing negative press. This time, according to Bloomberg, within a legal dispute between The Walt Disney Company and Starz. Apparently, most of the films with the ability to stream on Netflix comes from a deal made with Starz, but Disney wants their contract with Starz updated so the films cannot be streamed. Despite Netflix's best efforts to give us more streamable material, companies like Disney and Warner Brothers are ruining it for us all to save approximately half a penny per employee. I mean, for Walt Disney to have been an anti-Semite, this is an awfully Jew move. Wow, that must be the harsh schedule of school catching up to my brain for the hate speech to spill out on this blog. That's for another one that I plan on starting up soon, stay tuned kiddos.

Finally, to end on a more depressing note than Robert Pattinson as Peter Parker or the conglomerate war against accessible film, here is the trailer for the adaptation of Tekken. If this doesn't win a Razzie next year, I may castrate myself.

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

So, the big things in the news today, finally overshadowing the reboot of Marvel's Spider-Man series or Avatar's financial success was the National Board of Review awards gala last night. First off, Ivan Reitman was in attendance in support of his son, Jason Reitman, and the honoring of his latest directorial effort Up in the Air receiving the distinction of the year's best film. While there, MTV caught up with Ivan to question him on the status of Ghostusters 3, and while the director wouldn't confirm nor deny Signourney Weaver's slip-up spoilers from a few weeks back, he did announce that he would be stepping behind the director's chair one more time in the series and that Harold Ramis' projected 2011 release could be happening as the script is finished and he has hopes of filming beginning within the year.

Secondly from the event, a special achievement award went to Wes Anderson for his stop motion film, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, in which he accepted via a nice stop motion animated skit. Forgive me for not being able to find an embeddable version of the clip, but here is the link to /Film's coverage.

Cinematical's Monika Bartyzel has an excellent article up on her elated feelings on the Los Angeles Film Critics Society's choice for the greatest film of the decade... David Lynch's typically bizarre homage to Hollywood life, Mulholland Drive. Well worth the read.

The New York Times announced today that the Nintendo Wii will join the ranks of the fellow new generation video game consoles and will begin streaming Netflix over the Internet. The only downside is Wii's inability to play high definition, although the linked article speculates on the release of a Wii HD, already an inevitability.

Thursday, January 7th, 2010

Just as I am about the renew my Netflix account, the Associated Press reports today that the DVD-by-mail and streaming rental service signed a deal with Warner Brothers Pictures that will delay releases of all films under the Warner label for 28 days after the scheduled release date. I suppose the move for Warner is in hopes that Netflix users will start buying the films, or renting them elsewhere for more revenue. However, if you're already paying for Netflix, chances are Warner films will just be setting for 28 days in peoples queues for most of the next year. One of the perks that will come from this is that Warner supposedly signed over the rights for more of their content to be streamed across the Internet to PCs and video game consoles. I'll still probably go down the Netflix road once again though, as getting a film 28 days later is quite better than not being able to rent them at all, case in point Away We Go and Anvil! The Story of Anvil, two non-obscure films that did not get a release at any of the three local rental places. So the better question, will those that live in places with adequate rental options decide it is time to cut their losses with Netflix?

It was announced in Variety today that Thor has an official release date, May 20th, 2011. This is big news for those of us awaiting to see the Asgardians on the silver screen; however, its appearance on today's blog just isn't for that alone. The date had formerly belonged to Spider-Man 4, and after weeks of any website not being able to confirm or deny the rumors that the superhero flick was having production troubles and indefinitely delayed, the removal from Marvel's film schedule and replacement with Thor all but confirms it.

The Directors Guild of America announced their nominees for Director of the Year today, via Cinematical. It is no surprise to see that Jason Reitman, Quentin Tarantino and Kathryn Bigelow scored a nod, as all three have been rumored to be in top contention for the Academy Award. James Cameron also gained notice for Avatar, which according to how you look at it is the most shocking or the most obvious pick among the group. Finally, the underdog pick is Lee Daniels, for Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire. I'm going Tarantino all the way, but have a hunch that Bigelow will take the award.

Nerd Bastards has an entertaining article up, quoting an interview with Darren Lynn Bousman on his frustration with the release of Repo Men, as he feels that it is for all purposes, a re-envisioning, albeit non-musical, of his rock opera/horror flick Repo: The Genetic Opera. I see his point, but after already gathering a cult following, Bousman's flick will have a longer shelf life than the Jude Law/Forest Whitaker drama.

/Film announced today that the first 3-D Blu-ray has been scheduled for release. 'Twas inevitable. The Sony Pictures CGI animated Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs will claim the milestone of being the first, as the release coincides with the release of Sony's brand new Bravia 3-D compatible HD, LCD television sets. I am still hoping that 3-D is a passing fad, but this TV is another step towards a bleak future for that hope.

Friday, November 20th, 2009

I was going to take off the day from blogging due to some school work and just consider it one proverbial long awkward pause in honor of The Twilight Saga: New Moon's release today, but then I read some good news at the hands of Cinematical to combat my rant against the local movie rental place I posted the other night. The article announces that Netflix will soon be streaming independent films for download while their still in theaters due to unavailability to most audiences due to the limited releasing. The new program will be implemented through IFC and their Festival Direct project, which shows the indie flicks that are making splashes at some of the bigger film festivals, including Sundance, Cannes, Tribeca, Toronto, etc. as well as the In Theaters + On Demand service, which begins streaming certain films on the day they premiere in limited release. A lot of possibilities there, and with the rental company coming soon to Play Station 3 and my growing dismay towards Movies to Go, I'm sure I will soon be able to give a firsthand review of this.

Speaking of disappointment in the movie industry (that is, if you can consider my local rental store to be the movie industry), the short list for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards Best Documentary Feature Award has been receiving more and more controversy. I included the story of the snubbing of Capitalism: A Love Story and Anvil! The Story of Anvil on my blog the other day, but I left one major contender that was snubbed out, that being the highly reviewed James Toback documentary on the infamously bizarre and misunderstood namesake boxer in the flick Tyson. Toback himself took notice of this, as he took to an interview with The New York Times to claim that the selections process borders close to "extortion". The article goes on to give the Academy's rebuttal of Toback's claims; however, I'm sure it will not quite squash the buzz and controversy as we move ever forward to the iconic award show.

And... today is Friday, so that means new releases. Among the films in theaters this week include what looks like one of the more overrated flicks in some time, especially in regards to Sandra Bullock's performance, which the trailer at least doesn't really wow me, The Blind Side, the true story of a mediocrely famous Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman. Also, The Rock's career continues to look sadder in the animated Planet 51. We also get a helping of Werner Herzog's take on Abel Ferrera's cult classic in Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, starring Nicolas Cage and Eva Mendes, in a flick that most certainly has a better behind the scenes and back story than anything that will actually appear on the screen. And finally, yes, New Moon also made its debut last night at midnight. Instead of giving my take on how I feel about setting uncomfortably in a theater watching the only wet dream of Native Americans I've ever seen, I'll direct you to Roger Ebert's review, which includes the phrase "long pauses interrupt longer ones" while describing the plot. If that wasn't fascinating enough, to give a break of all the Twihard madness, here is a clip of Kevin Smith from this past San Diego Comic Con describing why we shouldn't hate the Twihards, and his feeling on the trailer of New Moon that debuted at the convention. Definitely worth a listen.