Wolverine ...

The title says it all ... here is the first official pic of Jackman in character.

Another Uni Sol movie with Jean and Dolph???

Is it me going crazy or do both Jean Claude Van-Damme and Dolph Lundgren need to find a new line of work eh... I mean new roles for movies. I personally didn't like the last Universal Soldier -Regeneration but I sat through watching half the movie until I had enough and was forced to turn it off.

I mean why make a movie, use actors who are capable of more and give them roles just so you can sell a movie. I doubt I will watch this one unless Rotten Tomatoes gives this movie 75% and above.  from the looks of the poster it seems the movie is promising ... but I have been wrong before.

Well ... let's see what they have in store with : Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning.

Lincoln

The great 16th present of the United States has been been given a live action treatment by none other then the master director Spielberg. The teaser just hit online.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqXiUdoKUVY

Gotta say ... Lewis makes one of a Lincoln and the perfect character actor to tackle such a role.

The Posession

Sam Raimi has done it again ...looking at the below pic just gives me the shivers. Wait till you see the trailer .....

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vsNmlF_Sq0&feature=related

The Amazing Spiderman new poster

A new poster for The Amazing Spiderman has managed to sneak into bus stops it makes us wonder when fans will be able to get their hands on one of them. Looks good, will the movie be better then its predecessor?

Its a bird ... its a plane .. oh wait its the JL script thrown out of the window

Warner Brothers have hired Will Beall to script their big Justice League project. Reportedly Will got hired when The Avengers was being made. The task of coming up with a script with characters like that would be tough. Then again I thought The Avengers will not be good when they first announced it. Will JL take the same route, introducing the characters first and the a big bang with JL? Or will this be shelved again? Only time will tell.

Hannibal lives again ...

NBC in an attempt to have a new show that can rake in a lot of views are trying to make a TV series out of the Lecter franchise. Its more like a prequel to Red Dragon. It will tell the tale of Hannibal Lecter and Will Graham working together to solve crime leading up the events of Red Dragon. The actor chosen to play Lecter is Mads Mikkelsen (Le Chiffre in CASINO ROYALE). I am not too keen on Mads as Lecter, but I sure as hell want to see how the story is told ...

Kate and Leo see the Blu's

Finally after so many years Titanic was converted to 3D and now its on its way to Blu Ray. September 12 it will crash again against the iceberg of movie collectors. The Blu Ray will contain 2 1/2 hours of new footage ad well as documentary. It will also feature 29 deleted scenes and SN alternate ending (hope Jack is still dead in that) and 60 behind the scene features ... yup maybe the painting scene as well.

Any one of you waiting for this?

Iron Man III - news

Since the first and the second Iron Man movies hit us right in the face with a really good storyline, good actors and really good special effects, its now time for the build up of the third part. Word is out that Mandarin (definitely not the fruit) might be the villain in the up coming sequel with a set of twins doing all his dirty work.

And set pictures realised today show another character in armor which is Iron Patriot. Two heroes or too many villians? We will find out later.

Bond .. James Bond

Finally we get a glimpse of what skyfall is ... Daniel Craig as bond.

Check it out here.

The Great Gatsby - Trailer

The new trailer for The Great Gatsby has been released. I have not read the novel but looking at the trailer it seems the story is pretty interesting with the assembled cast. With the likes of Leonardo Dicaprio, Tobey Maguire and many other actors, an Indian cinema icon makes an appearance as well, Amitabh Bachchan. From the looks of the trailer it seems the story is pretty intense ... lets hope the trailer lives up to the movies expectations.

Watch the trailer here. 

Expendables ... 2

Now this was expected with a movie in this day and age. If its hit .. try squeezing it dry until there isn't any more stories to tell in the sequels or the the actors are too old to act. Same things is happening with Expendables with a sequel that was announced and now its all over the internet for everyone. i knw some old actors still have it in them ... but a few should throw the towel and let it go as their time has finished. Check out the trailer below.

The Avengers

AVENGERS ASSEMBLE ... I would have loved to hear those words. This season The Avengers has been the winner at the ticket booth it seems. Given the current track record and reviews this movie will not move from it current standing maybe for a month. The movie on its own was a blast. It must have been a really hard task for Josh Whedon to bring together so many actors and giving them justifiable screen time while at the same time dealing with so many personalities.

The direction of the movie was superb. At first I wasn't keen on watching this in  3D, but the inner child in me got the better of things and I was sitting in the cinema with flat 3D glasses sitting in my face. The audience are glued to the screen from the very start of the movie. Never did I feel that the action was too fast for 3D. Like a kid I cheered through all the battle scenes. The best was between The Hulk and Thor. Even though it lasted only a few minutes, I feel the fight should have been a little longer.

The Avengers had its share of fun times as well that was put in places so we can get a few laughs or giggles. Two things ... rather characters I felt didn't quite fit into the movie, Hawk eye and Black widow. The character for hawk eye was played very well by Renner but the character didn't fit into the team itself. No suit, archaic weaponry bad arse attitude and a love interest. Black widow was the same as well. She was sent into bring in Banner and gets a slap from hulk half way through the movie.

Captain America played by Evans had a perfectly buildup from his solo movie setting the grounds for The Avengers. The only thing I don't get is why do you change the suit and the helmet ... to make it right in the squeal maybe? Yes its in production according to Disney. Iron Man played by Downey was the same, rich brat who doesn't like rules. Again the suit changed the arc reactor. Not fussy on the but we can live with it right?

The Hulk played by Mark was perfect. What I liked about this portrayal of Hulk was that they made Banner more reserved ...  and when he changes ... more angry. Also finally it seems that the CGI has caught up with the green beast. Mark made a really good Hulk. Thor played by Helmsworth was superb bringing the same God like attitude.  Nick Fury played by Jackson was a little risky given the timeline, but its comic world right? Jackson made a really good Fury (given the gay looking DH in older Fury movie).

All in all the movie was what The Avengers fan was waiting for. A four year wait ... numerous castings ... few shelving of the movie but in the end is that Josh Whedon pulled it off. I would give this movie a 9.5 out of 10. Now let's wait for sequel and see if the purple looking villain from the ending shows up or not.

Pathology

Yes guys this movie is about doctors cutting up humans that have deceased. Finding the cause of death of that individual by logical or medical reasoning. This movie though has a nasty twist to it. Imagine people who find cause of death being death themselves. This story takes its turn as a game in which doctors play a game where another deduces what was the cause of death. Milo Ventimiglia (from Heroes) plays doctor Grey who is fresh out of medical school and is the latest edition to the game. Rest of the cast include (famous faces) Alyssa Milano (Charmed) and John de Lancie (Star Trek: The Next Generation). Other central cast include Michael Weston and Lauren Lee Smith.
The first time I heard about Milo Ventimiglia in a normal movie I was a little skeptical about him holding a movie on his own even though his presence is felt rather heavily during the airing of Heroes. He has proven my critic thoughts wrong though with his acting skill. Milo has played a character with little or no facial expression during the course of the movie. His good side was Alyssa Milano who plays his fiancée and John de Lancie (or ‘Q’) is just another addition to the cast of the movie both the actors do not have much role though.  
The atmosphere surrounding the movie is rather dark taking into account the number of murders we get to see and how they are committed. The story is mostly focused on Milo going thru the phase change of how he plays the game and how he is by the time the movie ends. A person who is afraid of doctors would think twice before ending up in their clinics. The killings in the movie takes it toll on ones mind, it plays thoughts that you might never have thought they existed. In total the movie is a good watch but not for the weak stomach and defiantly not when they are eating. All in all I would give this movie a 7. Single watch only. :-)

Why so serious ?

I remember the first time I had been at the cinema to watch Batman (1987), the shear excitement of being in the cinema was overwhelming and to top it off it was the caped crusader fighting crime. After 19 years Warner Brothers decided to re-launch the franchise. WB handed the helms of the project to Christopher Nolan who took the movie into a completely different direction which was much close to comic books as it can be. Even though both the movie (Batman 1987 and Batman begins 2006) are based on the same Batman character (Frank Millers: The Dark Knight Returns) there is a vast difference in the conceptualization of the character by the two directors. Nolen directs Bales by making his movie darker then what Tim Burton had done and more realistic. 
With the cast as superb as Nolan had assembled the movie was a sure hit from the day started shooting (Rorrie’s first Kiss). The Dark Knight stars Christian Bale (Bruce Wayne/Batman), Michael Caine (Alfred Pennyworth), Heath Ledger (Joker), Aaron Achart (Harvey Dent/Two Face) Morgan Freeman (Lucius Fox) and Gary Oldman (Jim Gordon). The Dark Knight continues the story of battle against evil but this time around Batman is faced with his arch enemy, Joker, who has a habit of creating mayhem wherever he goes. This movie marks the appearance of Harvey Two Face and Joker in the same movie and the departure of Heath Ledger after his untimely death.
It was noted that Ledger had locked himself in a hotel room for a month to get into the character of the clown prince of Gotham and now that sets the standard for any person playing that character. His portrayal was the darkest compared to what we had seen in ‘87’. Aaron Achart did a perfect portrayal of Harvey, actually the half burnt face gave the effect much more then his acting but it’s the guy behind it right? Gary Oldman is at his best as he is in all his movies. It had been rumored that Heath Ledger will be nominated at the Academy Awards for this role as the Joker but critics have enlightened the views that Oscar nominees are not selected from movies that are based on comics. Personally I feel that the death of the character Rachel Dawes marks a void in the continuation that will make a possibility of the appearance of Vicky Vale. The character of Robin is yet to be introduced and Batgirl. This movie is a must watch and if you are a fan like me, then more then twice is a good idea. 

Spoiler: Movie opens up with a daring daylight robbery by six men in a clown suit one of which is the clown prince himself. Joker proposes to kill the Batman to the thugs whose money he had stolen. Harvery Dent and Gordon get together and bring all the thugs of Falcone behind bars after which The Joker is caught by Gordon while trying to unmask Batman when Dent is charged of being the caped crusader who murded 5 police officers. Dent and Rachel Dawes are held in separate warehouses rigged to blow with oil drums all around him. Only Dent is saved but leaves him scared for life with half his face burnt in the explosion marking the appearance of two face in the movie. Final battle between Batman and Joker takes place in a building under construction, where joker is left hanging for the GPD to be collected. Two Face dies in the final sequence with Batman taking the blame of his kills on to himself which now makes him a criminal.

Hulk Smash!!!

Finally after so many years the wait was over for a Hulk movie to smash into cinemas. The predecessor was considered such a big disaster that people end up forgetting there was one with Ang Lee at its helm. This time around since Marvel has taken over the production themselves and we have seen that movies based on their creations have sky rocketed to success (The incredible Hulk and the Iron Man). This movie deviates a lot from its predecessor firstly by not irritating its viewers with the split screens and a hulk that is not humungous and grass green. 

The movie shows the origin of Hulk during the opening credit (Norton sitting in a chair similar to Bixby), the gamma radiation, and the metamorphosis of Banner to Hulk. The actual physical transformation isn’t shown in the movie until the beginning of the climax sequence. I heard from a few people say “Edward Norton .. bleh he wouldn’t make a good Banner”, I have to admit there were a few scenes that I wished wasn’t with Ed Norton as Banner. The story line is the same as the comic books and the original TV series, Banner and his team is doing an experiment that goes terribly wrong and he is changed into the green beast of a character. Speaking of the old TV series, it can be noted that there is a cameo made by Lou Ferrigano as a security guard (Pizza Delivery), Stan Lee (with the juice bottle) and Bill Bixby (punched by the kid – on TV start of movie). 

Personally I think Norton did a splendid job with Banner, he got into the character like Bixby did during his time, and his transformed part was just *lost for words*. Of course the Hulk is CGI but it doesn’t look anything close to the green thing in Ang Lees venture. Liv Taylor looks as beautiful and ravishing as she used to look; she has her scenes in the movie but is lost at times when she is with Norton or Hulk. William Hurt plays General Ross the military dude chasing Hulk all the way to hell if he had to; I feel that he lacked the enthusiasm that Sam Elliiot had in his role as Ross. Both played the same role but the feeling of having Sam play a ruthless general is spine tingling at times. Not forgetting Tim Roth, he was just superb in the role as Emil Blonsky an English soldier brought in to lead a team of mercenaries to hunt down and bring hulk to Ross, alive and sedated, which is close to impossible. 

The action sequences in the movie was breath taking, the fight between the abomination and Hulk was done nicely, Hulk had his signature clap towards the end of the movie, and ground punch and lastly the dialogue, his first words actually “HULK SMASH!!!”. According to IMDB the voice of hulk was done by Lou Ferrigno, I guess keeping the legend alive through the original voice. I haven’t read much about abomination in the comics but it’s evident to me now that he is an integral part of the Marvel universe. 

All in all I would give this movie 9/10. HULK SMASH!!!

SPOLIERS !!!

There are three surprises in the movie

1.) There is a mention of a super soldier serum that the military is still testing on. Get it yet? Super soldier serum that made Captain America, the first Avenger, a Legend. 
2.) There is a mention of a so called Weapon Plus program that is developing and testing the super soldier serum. Weapon plus later developed into Weapon X program, which we all know what resulted into. 
3.) Lastly there is an appearance by Tony Start telling general Ross that “your super soldier program didn’t go to well” and that “we are assembling a team”

Now that is a lot of info to any Marvel fan and to top it off Marvel studios has release this:

Iron Man 2 April 30, 2010 Jon Favreau in negotiations; original cast returning
Thor June 4, 2010 Screenwriter Mark Protosevich attached
The First Avenger: May 6, 2011 Screenwriter David Self attached
Captain America

The Avengers Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, and Captain America  July 2011 

Ant-Man TBA

Now this is what I would call a Universe in the making … the Marvel Universe.

Indiana Jones Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Waiting for Indiana Jones 4 was like waiting at a store for your favorite star wars toy or waiting for the world’s best supercar to be unveiled. Indiana Jones Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was worth the wait for a fan such as me. Before going to the cinema’s I had watched all three of its prequels to get the feeling back of having Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones back. After exiting the cinema I was humming the theme, a friend of mine gave me a smirk when he heard me and I was like, “what?” Kingdom of the Crystal Skull continues about 20 years after the incidents of The Last Crusade. He is faced with a search to find a crystal skull that promises great power to the person who returns it to its rightful place. Joining the cast is Shia LaBeouf (transformers) and Karen Allen (Marion from Indiana Jones and the Lost Ark). There are quite a few linkups that are done with this movie and its last installment (in spoilers). Even though Harrison ford is old (and looks fragile) he still has the stamina to do most of his stunts. At the age of 66, it’s still a sight to see Indiana Jones and having his whip fly around.
The movie is based on a theme that has been in talks by us for a long time, but I guess Lucas was able to handle the theme with ease (of course you have Spielberg there). The cast were new but they did hold up in the expectation. Unlike the older ones that had a recurring sole of Salah, Brody or Hendry Jones Senior, who are missing and it is felt in the movie who were there to make the mood a little lighter. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull shows in a scene Indiana looking at his father’s picture (Connery) and Brody (Elliott). Even though I enjoyed the movie a lot but it did not surpass the feel that Lost Ark had or Last Crusade had and with all the bloopers going around on the internet I feel that someone made little messes along the way while editing.

All in all I would rate this movie a 8.5/10.

Spoiler Alert !!!!
The movie starts off with German soldiers hauling out a hat and two men from the boot of a car. Only the hat is shown and some one walks up to the hat and up its on (only shadow), it’s Indy. Russians want to locate a crate that Indy had helped put in the storage shown in the end of Last Crusade. The crate contains something highly magnetic. Indy finds it by the use of gun powder and the contents of a bullet. When uncovered it showed an alien that has been frozen and in the crate. Indy escapes the Russians, with the theme in the background, by locking himself in a fridge in an area located for nuclear testing.
Basically the movie is based on a theme of aliens. The mysterious crystal skull that indy has to find is the skull of an alien head that was removed (surgically by FBI it seems) and it was lost for sometime. Shia is the one that asks Indy to go and look for the professor and his mum (Karen Allen).
Indy sets off after the trail left by the professor, he does find the professor and Karen. A few minutes later it is discovered that Shia is Indy’s son, Hendry Jones the third (that scene cracked me up). The adventure ends with Indy returning the skull and an alien space craft vanishing into think air. Indy addresses Shia LaBeouf as Junior (being Hendry Jones the 3rd) like his father used to do, then there is the end when Shia LaBeouf picks up the hat of indy and is in the process of wearing it, Ford snatches it off his hands. It was like saying “Its not your time right now ... Junior”.

The Forbidden Kingdom

I remember the first time I heard about this movie (it was an untitled project then) that Jet Li and Jackie Chan were supposed to be in the same movie. It was a moment in time that I had started thinking of what the story concepts would have been like to have these two icons appear in a single frame. The storyline of the movie is that a stick made of gold is kept with an old video shop owner who is waiting for the stick to be picked up by its rightful owner. It so happens that the young kid who is interested so much into kung fu movies is the one chosen to make journey and return it. Like all the other Chinese fantasy movies, Forbidden Kingdom also takes the same path.
Filled with magic, mischief and martial arts, this movie stands out from the others. Jackie Chan plays a drunken martial arts master and Jet Li plays Sun Wukong (Monkey King) both of whom accompany Jason in his journey. There is a scene in a temple when for the first time Li and Chan are shown on screen and they end up fighting for the staff. The movie shows that both have the same amount of power and stamina during the fight scene. Li possesses mystical powers like multiplying himself with just a strand of hair (genetic cloning? But this was instant) any ways he possessed more than just replicating (if you want to call that), powers like being able to command his stick to fight without him actually holding it. Even though the actor who plays Jason is the central character in the movie, his character is dull when Li and Chan appear on the screen, either during fight scenes or just talking to him. I guess that’s what we call on screen charisma.

Spoiler:


Movie opens with Jet Li fighting in the clouds (actually mountains very high up) with soldiers, next Jason is shown on screen dreaming that fight sequence. After the credits Jason goes and buys a few martial arts action movies from an old Chinese video shop owner. On his departure from the shop he gets into a fight which he looses, the victor finds out that he has been buying movies from the old Chinese man and takes him to the shop to pretend that he came to buy movies but his motive was to steal cash. During the robbery the victor (of the fight) shoots the shop owner and Jason runs away with the golden staff he saw earlier. They chase him to a roof top from where Jason falls off.
Jason awakes up in a village in China and he is again chased by some soldiers (Chinese army) where is saved by a drunken martial arts master (Jackie Chan). Who tells him that he is responsible to return the stick to the rightful owner and he is not going to help in its return. The stick is stolen from Jason by Jet Li, which initiates a fight between Chan and Li. Matters are solved, and they both start teaching Jason martial arts. Jason ends up in a dual after Chan is injured in an escape and he needs the potion that will give Chan eternal life. Li comes to Jason’s rescue just when he was about to be killed and the staff is returned. The Jet Li that accompanied Jason on his journey turns out to be a clone(?).
The monkey god is awoken from his 400 years sleep and all ends well, with Jason back in the right place, defeats the guy who bullied him in the starting of the movie.
Over all I would rate this movie 8/10 (I guess I m a fan of Li and Chan and I like their scenes).

Iron Man

I remember way back in 1993 when I picked up my first Iron man comic from a supermarket, I went home in a rush and started flipping through the pages of the hero who wore a metallic suit with colors like hot rod red and yellow. Just like its counterpart, Marvel had introduced a lot of heroes to the Marvel universe and now finally we see a movie version of the hero in the IRON suit. The movie according to many reviews I have read, and agreed with, is closest to the character of Iron Man you can get. The suit looks like it is just out of the comic books, the scenery and the tone of the movie is just perfect.
Even though I m not a Marvel fan, I still read comics of the character that I like. (so I m not a dedicated DC fan, shoot me). Over the years of enjoying cinematic pieces, this is the third time I m able to enjoy a movie that has stayed true to its, comic roots you can say.

Spoiler:
The movie starts off with the natives of Afghanistan taking Toney Stark (Robert Downey Jr) hostage and are asking to build the Jericho missile (shown in the trailers). Stark builds a suit that enables him to punch through walls and escape (with the spectacular flame thrower) and return to his home. There on the story takes place with Stark realizing what he had been doing, being the merchant of death, and plans to rid the people who took him hostage off the weapons that he had been building for the US Military.
Stark is assisted in this task by his personal AI named Jarvis, which he had built and which controls his house. There are a number of scenes that show Stark doing some tests on his suits (before it is put together) like his rocket boosters in the boots and in the palms of his suit. All this while after his escape the Afghanis are piecing together the suit that Stark had left in the desert after this escape. Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) is shown as the guy who had assisted Stark’s dad when he was alive and helps the young Stark with his fathers business. Stane later is shown as the guy who had planned the kidnapping and murder of Stark, because the plan had failed Stane kills the Afghanis, and takes the suit from them and builds a bigger version for himself. Both the men battle atop the roof of Stark Industries in the finally.
The movie ends with a secret group that had an alibi ready for Stark because the media had been accusing him of being Iron Man. The final words in the movie was Tony Stark admitting “I m Iron Man”.

When I first heard of the director Jon Favreau, I was like ok this is a new director for me, and I didn’t know which movies he had made. But it so turned out I saw a number of his movies and I really liked them. Robert Downey JR is by far the best choice for Tony Stark for any director, he has the charisma and the talent to fit into roles like gloves. Gwyneth Paltrow did a good job also but the role was very short for an actress of her talent (unless they are planning more for her in the sequel). Terence Howard and Jeff Bridges were just right also, I did hear that Howards character will have a bigger role in the sequels, and as for Bridges, well he is an actor in his own class. All in all the movie can be rated as an 9/10 overall. Good work Favreau, I just hope Marvel gives you the reins of the sequel.

Also: I was told that Nick Fury makes a cameo in this movie right in the end, scolding Stark for this action and inform him of the Avenger Initiative. I didn’t sit till the end of the credits but I should be able to catch Nick Fury in the DVD’s once it gets released.

One Missed Call

Faint heartbeat growing louder, panting sound coming from a child and then a scream, this is what sets the pace for this movie from the very beginning. Although am not a big fan of horror movies, One Missed Call had me starting at my LCD screen in the middle of the night with it being source of illumination for my room. I stared at the movie and wondered where I had seen a similar story line. Until you see the third death in the movie it is mostly a blur of events that keeps you guessing about what the movie hold.

Plot:
The movie starts of with a hospital on fire and a little girl being carried by a fireman who asks about her mom. The girl doesn’t reply but it is known that there is something that happened that wasn’t supposed to. The very next screen after the credits roll the movie starts with deaths all around. People getting killed and all the killings seem unexplained. Right till the end we are kept guessing what was the reason for the deaths and why it was happening.

The movie was made with good quality special effects (not too much) and the cast were very fitting in their roles (all the way down to their expressions). It was really cool to watch what effect artists can do with a face if they have it their computer. I did enjoy One Missed Call but it had a strange and uncanny resemblance to Final Destination. I have to admit after watching all part of Final destination one is rather hooked to the scenario of death around us being unexplained or of supernatural origin. I guess this movie tried to do just that but was deliberately made different so that it doesn’t look like another notch in the Final Destination franchise.

This movie had its share of freaky time on screen compared to the two previous movies I had watched. Over all I would rate this movie 6.5/10