You've Got Red On You.

DVD Review – Sherlock Holmes

noreply@blogger.com (HeXeD) — Thu, 27 May 2010 07:20:00 +0000

I avoided Sherlock Holmes at the cinema. Partly because there were films I wanted to see more that were showing at the same time, but mostly because it looked a bit too much like a Wild Wild West/Shanghai Knights style telling of a Holmes story and I’m really not a fan of either of those. Presented with the opportunity to review the DVD however, I thought I’d give it a chance.

The movie has a strong footing to start from. It’s directed by Guy Ritchie, stars an interesting pairing of Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law as Holmes and Watson, has the rather sinister-looking Mark Strong as the main villain, and drops the lovely Rachel McAdams in as Holmes’ female associate and master criminal.

Holmes starts on a high by incarcerating the infamous black magician, Lord Blackwood, keeping London safe once more. He descends into a dull and unsatisfying existence with no cases to solve until it appears that Blackwood has risen from the grave to complete his true plan. The hunt starts once more for Holmes and this time he has to contend with a loved-up Watson, whose fiancée he rubs up the wrong way, and his own former love, Irene Adler

Throw away any ideas that Sherlock is a tweed-wearing, pipe-smoking, upper-class, clue-pondering toff. Instead consider that he is tweed-wearing, pipe-smoking, thrill-seeking, bare-knuckle boxing, incredibly observant genius, who appears to both love and hate the fact he knows everything. The idea of which I detested at first thought but having seen Holmes in action I’ve certainly become a fan of his style.

The scenes in which the audience is treated to a moment of Holmes clarity, when his senses allow him to see exactly what he needs to do in a given situation is pure brilliance. Holmes plans every one of his next moves knowing the consequences of each action before he acts and then treats us to a flurry of orchestrated movement resulting in exactly what he intended as an outcome. They are fantastic scenes and credit to Guy Ritchie for using them as a way of depicting Holmes’ observation skills.

Robert Downey Jr is his usual, charismatic, very cool self and he injects his style into the Holmes character, giving the world famous detective an edge that he shouldn’t have in the traditional sense but he does and it works. As much as I loved watching Downey Jr as Holmes, I had a real issue with the Holmes dialogue. The speech was very fast and very English, too English, I just couldn’t understand a thing he said half the time.

It’s a unique view on the Sherlock Holmes stories and not at all like my original fears of another Wild Wild West. It is full of olde English action and mystery, and gives us the starting point for what could well be a franchise. It is one of those films that you can just play, sit back and enjoy. There’s no need to over-exert your thinking muscles and equally you won’t get bored. It has some fantastic visuals and in parts is actually pretty funny. Sherlock Holmes gets 3 bowler hats out of 5.

Review – Iron Man 2

noreply@blogger.com (HeXeD) — Mon, 10 May 2010 08:14:00 +0000

Where do I start with a review of the sequel to one of the best super hero movies ever? In my opinion the origin story is generally always the better movie when compared to the sequels. I put this down to time. Time is afforded in huge amounts to very small details of an origin story, whereas the sequels always jump straight in from where we left our hero. They quickly introduce the new characters and head straight to the action, skipping the minute details so that we can just get on with seeing how things pan out. Is there any other way of doing it? Do I factor this in when reviewing Iron Man 2? Do I allow for the fact that it is accepted it will be inferior to Iron Man 1 and bump up the score accordingly?

Fortunately for Iron Man 2, it doesn’t need me to apply any such handicap to my score. The story picks up right where it left off. Tony Stark has just announced to the world that he IS Iron Man and he has spent some time making public appearances and battling with the government over who should possess the suit. In the meantime, a Russian physicist has designed a suit for himself that gives him hugely powerful whips as extensions to his arms, which as will be clearly demonstrated, can cut straight through a car. With an informative yet fearsome title, “Whiplash” plans to topple Stark Industries by going straight for Tony Stark/Iron Man.

On top of that Tony Stark is having to deal with Justin Hammer, his closest but very distant rival in the weapons arena, a rather annoyed Nick Fury, a somewhat disappointed Pepper Potts, and a strikingly beautiful new assistant, Natalia Romanova, who could prove deadly.

Did I mention War Machine?

As would be expected from the sequel in any series, the level of action has been ramped up a notch, and as I mentioned above, less time is afforded to the little things. There is no need to explain the workshop of Tony’s home, or his relationship with Pepper, or his cavalier attitude to most subjects, or even the Arc Reactors or his good friend James “Rhodey” Rhodes. This leaves Jon Favreau plenty of time to show us some fantastic action sequences. Whiplash at Monaco is a sight to behold as is a fight between Iron Man and a rather evenly matched opponent. They certainly drew some rather impressed noises from me, like I was watching a fireworks display.

In terms of the new characters, Mickey Rourke is just fantastic as Whiplash and whilst present quite frequently throughout the film, I could have done with a bit more destruction on his part. Just a few more things cut in half with his whips would have satisfied me but other than that he plays the angry Russian muscle-bound physicist with an agenda very well.

Sam Rockwell is yet again perfectly cast as the charismatic, but knowingly inferior weapons manufacturer, Justin Hammer. Hammer is tormented by the success of Stark and sees himself in Tony’s shadow but will never admit it and it will never stop him striving to eliminate the competition despite knowing it is unlikely he’d be able to do so. Rockwell conveys this inner thought process brilliantly in every facial expression.

As for Scarlett Johansson as Natalia Romanova AKA “Black Widow”, well she’s pretty much a non-entity. I didn’t think much of her apart from her outfit towards the end of the movie. Whilst she has an important part to play, I wasn’t very impressed by the character and overall I thought she was quite dull. Also, her fight scenes were possibly the clumsiest choreographed fights I have ever seen. I don’t know whether Favreau did it deliberately or not but I didn’t like them or her.

Whilst not a new character, James “Rhodey” Rhodes has been recast and is now played by Don Cheadle, who actually makes a very smooth transition and I forgot it wasn’t Cheadle in Iron Man 1 to be honest. My positive view of Cheadle is somewhat assisted I fear by the fact that he plays War Machine, who I feel was awesome but under-used. Though technically this movie, whilst a sequel to Iron Man, is in fact the origin story of War Machine so the next movie should be packed full with a grey-coloured Iron Man covered in weaponry shooting the hell out of everything, and this time with more effective weaponry!

The movie doesn’t deviate from my expectations that it would be a bigger, more expensive version of Iron Man 1 with less time afforded to the little things, but that’s not a bad thing. It means we get extra doses of destruction and mayhem and modifications to existing elements that we already know and love. You like his armour? How about if it took the shape of a briefcase?! Also, how could any relationships develop if we had to reiterate their dynamics or how they started?

I loved Iron Man 2, not as much as number one, but it was still brilliant and once released will be joining my Blu-Ray collection. It gets 4 Arc Reactors our of 5 from me.

I’m back, but an alien’s inner jaw is missing

noreply@blogger.com (HeXeD) — Thu, 06 May 2010 22:49:00 +0000

Well after a prolonged break due to volcanic ash and a break to recover from that, I’m back!

To welcome my return, here’s an appeal for information from the London Film Museum who have misplaced the inner haw of the Alien Queen!

The London Film Museum is sad to announce that someone has taken part of its Alien Queen!

The incident occurred last Wednesday when at the end of the day a member of staff noticed that the inner jaw was missing from the 30 foot piece.

The inner jaw is famous from the films as the part that pushes forward as the Alien creatures widen their jaws, usually in a scream. The production model housed in the museum belongs to the museums owner, Jonathan Sands and has been in his personal collection since 1990.

“The Alien Queen sits in the largest section of the museum surrounded and guarding her batch of eggs.” Jonathan said today. “It saddens me that someone felt the urge to lean over the barrier and take the inner jaw section, therefore making the piece incomplete. Whoever has taken the jaw is probably looking to sell it on so we are monitoring auction websites for any items that appear, and we are reviewing security footage of the museum and will hopefully be able to find the culprit soon.”

“We are not looking to press charges, only to reclaim the jaw and make the Queen complete again. The piece has little commercial value in isolation, but has huge sentimental value for us here at the museum. We would like the person who took the jaw to feel that they can return it to us without any consequences.”

If anyone has information as the whereabouts the of the Alien Queens inner jaw then they should contact the museum on 020 7202 7040 or email info@londonfilmmuseum.com.

Check out the image above and below to see what the Queen looks like without her inner jaw.

Latest Movie News (28/04/2010)

noreply@blogger.com (Curious Cat) — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 22:17:00 +0000

Finally, here I am with the latest news to offer for upcoming movies.

Straight in with news that some of you will have no doubt been waiting for:

Digital Spy reports that Bill Condon has been hired to direct The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn. Condon previously directed The Dreamgirls.

Eclipse, the next episode in the series, is due to hit UK cinemas on 30th June. Here is another chance to see the trailer which should tide you over ‘til then!

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Staying on the theme of Vampiric movies, Digital Spy also reports today that Platinum Studios is planning a cinematic adaptation of its vampire comic Blood Nation. Emjag Productions' Alexandra Milchan says that "Blood Nation is a world war movie set in the future where the humans and the vampires have divided up the planet but not yet made peace with each other".

A director for the project is currently being sought. Sounds like it could be promising.

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The CEO of DreamWorks Animation has said that there will be a sequel to their recent hit film, How to train your dragon. Jeffrey Katzenberg gave the news when he released the firm’s official financial statement in the USA and puts responsibility for their recent success firmly in the ~~hands~~ paws of the dragon. The sequel should be released sometime in 2013. In the meantime, we have Shrek Forever After and Kung Fu Panda 2 to keep us going!

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The biggest news for this week is that finally Iron Man 2 has arrived. Cinemas around the UK are running the preview screenings tomorrow night and the movie goes on general release on Friday 30th April!

That gives me an excuse to repost this picture:

And also to give you a chance to watch the fantastic trailer again, posted here by Hexed.

That’s all for today, more tomorrow!

Images: Movieweb

Site News

noreply@blogger.com (HeXeD) — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 12:37:00 +0000

Hi Everyone,

Just a quick message to you all to let you know of some decreased activity over the next few weeks, which has already started as you may have noticed. I’ve spent the last week or so preparing for a trip, which starts next week. I’ll be without a computer or internet access for the next two weeks roughly so I won’t be able to make any updates myself, however the site is being left in the very capable hands of Curious Cat who will be providing some news updates while I am away.

It’s certainly been nice to see a lot more activity on the site since I was joined by Curious Cat. Our readers have been slowly increasing, as have our Facebook friends, which is brilliant.

As soon as I’m back from my trip, things will revert to normal.

Thanks all

HeXeD (Nick)

Chihuanhas needs your help!

noreply@blogger.com (HeXeD) — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 12:30:00 +0000

You might remember a while ago I posted about an awesome horror movie concept called Chihuanhuas. You can find the original post here

In Chihuanhas, when a curio-collecting Professor returns from South America with a mysterious Piranha idol, it casts an ominous curse on his innocent Chihuahua “Lulu Bell”, and impregnates her with a litter of amphibious, mutant Chihuahua-Piranhas. Horrified, the Professor disposes of the idol and pups in a nearby mountain lake, but Lulu’s monstrous spawn soon return to repay the gesture...

Following the Professor’s demise, the ravenous critters seek out a pair of fatty-campers, their obsessive guide, a reclusive WWII veteran and a trio of vacationing porn stars. Led by the lake's ranger and her inept assistant, the eccentric team unites to survive and destroy the vicious rat-pack with available fire power, their bare hands and the most lethal of all processed cheese products!

Well, I and others have had an email from Jim Clark, the Director of the movie, and here is what he has to say:

Hi Nick,

Whether you know it or not, you guys have given a great boost to our film franchise "CHIHUANHAS", so thanks a ton! The film concept recently went viral and it's already been written-up in 25+ countries, on thousands of film fan sites, with over 130,000 google search results, so there's no doubt that we've found a worldwide audience. We explored the studio route, but decided to jump on a novel new way to finance the film with kickstarter.com. Now we want our fans to participate and help us get this film made!

If we reach our lofty target, we'll make film history and produce CHIHUANHAS with 100% audience financing, without the fat. The money we raise will employ more than 70 talented cast, crew and post production artists.

To the best of our knowledge, CHIHUANHAS would be KickStarter's highest funded project to date. This is a huge, important opportunity that will allow us to produce our first feature and distribute it directly to our audience, so we're going big!!!

Every dollar has to be committed before the money is released, and micro financing the project will require a lot of people, so your support is key to our success. It really takes a village!

To read our funding pitch and learn more about kickstarter, please visit the link below:
http://kck.st/9Uu7oR

Thank you in advance for getting the word out! Your support is greatly appreciated.

Jim Clark
Director
HIVE-FX

Fans have the chance to fund Chihuanhas and ensure that what could be the year’s best B-Movie appears on the big screen. Take a look at the link Jim provides as it tells you exactly how you will be credited for your donation from $5 to $5,000. They need a total of $750,000 and they have already raised a shade under $1,500, which has come from just 13 people. There are 78 days to go to reach this total.

Now’s your chance to get your name in the credits and I’m sure Jim would be forever grateful if we can get his baby to the big screen.

Check out the widget at the bottom of the page if you want to check up on the progress or visit the site directly here.

Review – Kick-Ass

noreply@blogger.com (HeXeD) — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 09:08:00 +0000

Kick-Ass, based on the comic book series by Mark Millar and directed by the brilliant Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake, Stardust), hit cinemas on Friday 26th March across the UK.

It tells the story of Dave Lizewski, an average uninteresting high school student, who is invisible to girls and spends his free time either with his friends in their local comic book store or at home pleasuring himself.

With no reasons other than “Why not?” and “Someone should do it”, Dave decides to become Kick-Ass, the world’s first superhero. Armed with two batons and no powers, Dave soon becomes an internet sensation when his “heroic” acts are published online causing him to catch the attention of the real superheroes in his hometown and of course, the villains.

As a person that doesn’t read comic books or graphic novels, I was concerned that I might get a little lost with Kick-Ass, much like Watchmen, which left me wondering just what the hell I was watching. Fortunately, you don’t need to have even heard of Kick-Ass before buying your ticket in order to love this film. It is an absolute blast! A simple, brilliant story filled with colourful and bizarre characters that I couldn’t help but love. What is there not to love about an 11 year old girl, with an affinity for butterfly knives, who can beat the crap out of a corridor full of armed men? There’s no heat vision in this, no flight, no super strength, no shape-shifting, just raw unadulterated violence.

The great thing about Kick-Ass is that I had no idea what it was really about until I watched it. Trailers are sometimes known to blindside you, and these ones really did. I was expecting a movie about a have-a-go vigilante and his escapades and personal hurdles, but without ruining the movie for you, Kick-Ass himself is one very small part of a much greater story. The movie literally switches from one story to a completely different one yet it works, and it works very well.

The humour of Kick-Ass is just fantastic. A dry, British approach to the laughs stops the movie from getting anywhere near the realms of a superhero spoof and had me laughing out loud in the cinema. There is one particular scene when one of Kick-Ass’ friends first sees Hit Girl that I am still laughing about now, it’s just brilliant. It’s great to see Nicolas Cage doing something other than crap action movies, or ridiculous apocalypse films. He takes to his role as Big Daddy very well and provides a lot of the laughs. I’m hoping he sees where his skills lie and he becomes a bit more selective over his scripts. As for Christopher Mintz-Plasse, he has really changed since Mclovin in Superbad. Again, he is very very funny, but more notably he plays a role I certainly did not expect him to and I think it suits him. I don’t want to say too much as It is much better to go and see the film without knowing the finer details, you’ll enjoy it so much more. Sufficed to say, everyone in Kick-Ass is brilliant.

Matthew Vaughn, who should have another “a” in his name in my opinion, is a skilled story teller. Having previously adapted a Neil Gaiman book to the big screen in the form of “Stardust”, Kick-Ass is yet another hit to add to his portfolio. He clearly has a love of stories of intertwining journeys and incredible characters and it shines through in quality of this movie. Whether intentional or not I don’t know but there are some huge moments of similarity between Kick-Ass and the inspirational styles of other movies. It is very easy to compare parts of the movie to Spiderman, and surprisingly Kill Bill as well, which works in it’s favour, it really does.

Before the release, issues were raised about how appropriate it is to have an 11 year old girl using quite obscene language in Kick-Ass. I wouldn’t worry about it. Yes, Hit Girl swears and yes, it could be considered obscene, but it’s really nothing. It isn’t all the time and it has more comedy value than shock. I just loved the whole thing and everything about it. I’m struggling to criticise any of it, perhaps it could be more funny that it already is? This one gets 5 green wetsuits out of 5 from me!

DVD Review – The House of the Devil

noreply@blogger.com (HeXeD) — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 23:47:00 +0000

Monday 29th March sees the release of The House of the Devil, a movie that the folks over at /Film called “The best horror film of the year”.

Naturally, having been billed as such a frightfest, Jason jumped at the chance to return as a guest reviewer again and take this one.

In The House of the Devil, pretty cash strapped college student Samantha, desperate to find a deposit on a new flat, accepts a one off babysitting job for a rather sinister sounding employer. The money is too good to turn down so Samantha puts her doubts aside and sets off with her boisterous friend Megan who insists on coming along to make sure all is ok.

The house turns out to be an eerie and isolated mansion quite a bit further out of town and upon arrival both the girls feel uncomfortable. However when the employer agrees to up Samantha’s wage, she is persuaded to stay and Megan promises to return at midnight to collect her. However no sooner does Megan leave but things begin to spiral out of control and Samantha soon finds herself trapped in the house.

As a lunar eclipse darkens the night sky, Samantha finds that her employers have something truly terrifying in store for her and it soon becomes clear that she will end this night with a bloody fight for her life.

Jason texted me as soon as he’d watched it telling me how great it is, here’s what he had to say:

Hard up and desperate for cash, a spot of babysitting should help, but when you turn up to find a creepy older couple, big creepy house and no kids in sight then you'd leave right? ...wrong! The couple don’t seem that bad and they say mother wont be any trouble... and importantly the money is good.

Alone in the house Samantha starts to explore, the tension builds slowly and the honest acting and rounded characters adds to the realism, like a leaking tap (drip drip drip) things slowly uncurl, the scares are few but the tension soars and threatens to peak. When you think the pipe must blow, a valve releases some steam and the tension builds again, it feels natural, never forced, mainly due to the normality of the action. When the climax is reached its worth the wait! 4 against 1 is poor odds but when you have the good of god on your side then there’s always a chance… then again, some have the luck of the devil!

Check out the trailer below:

Blu-ray Review – The Informant!

noreply@blogger.com (HeXeD) — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 23:15:00 +0000

Released tomorrow (Monday 29th March), The Informant! stars a very portly Matt Damon in the role of Mark Whitacre, the highest-ranked executive to ever turn whistle blower in US history.

Whiteacre, a vice president of an agri-business with a Ph.D in Biochemistry, and a $300,000 per year salary, famously turned FBI informant in 1992 when he alerted the authorities to price-fixing activities between his employer, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) and various other agri-businesses worldwide. Whitacre confessed to meeting “competitors” on behalf of ADM and fixing the price of Lysine in what was the largest case of its kind at the time. He named all company executives involved, including himself and helped the FBI by gathering hundreds of hours of video and audio tapes of the price-fixing agreements taking place.

Guaranteed no immunity from prosecution, Whitacre freely assisted the authorities and went the extra mile to gather the evidence they needed to sink ADM. It was hoped that his assistance would reflect well on him when the investigation reached it’s culmination and he expected to be left to run ADM as the only remaining qualified person. That is until it was found he had skimmed roughly $9 million from ADM during the two and half years he was assisting the FBI, in what he called an accepted practice.

Whiteacre was sentenced to a prison term three times longer than those of the persons he helped to convict and THAT is what makes this series of events utterly priceless.

You might think I’ve just told you the whole story but these are just the facts. The facts of what many people can’t believe is a true story. While brilliant and hilarious in their own right, the facts of this tale are nothing compared to Matt Damon’s wonderful portrayal of the genuine but naive, Mark Whiteacre.

Damon’s Whiteacre is oddly loveable and truly funny. He is just unbelievable. You can’t help but feel for his innocent nature until you’re snapped out of it by a monumentally stupid act. Couple this with the equally brilliant performance of Scott Bakula, who plays FBI Agent Brian Shepard, the officer in charge of the price-fixing investigation, and you have yourself a comedy pairing.

Shepard is generally a serious kind of guy until Whiteacre’s behaviour leads him to progress further and further into disbelief. Bakula shoots numerous looks throughout the movie that just had me in stitches. Shepard clearly can’t believe his ears a lot of the time and Bakula hammers this home with comedy impact in a simple movement of his eyes.

Steven Soderbergh has given The Informant! a nineties tint deeply enhanced by crap bright-coloured chyrons throughout. The movie feels like there should be a lot more content, like Soderbergh had to cut more than he wanted to, as some elements of Whiteacre’s story are very quickly covered, but it’s nothing that can’t be lived with. I just felt at times that I wanted to know just a little bit more. Nonetheless, I soon forgot what I wanted when I laughed by head off at Whiteacre’s next act of stupidity.

The Informant! is a sleek typical-Soderbergh movie with subject matter that appears too incredible to be true. A truly funny tale of the larger than life character of Whitacre and his rapid descent from normality. Fans of movies like Catch me if you Can and Ocean’s 11 will love the style of the film and everyone should love Matt Damon’s performance. I don’t think I’ve spent the duration of a movie in complete disbelief before this one. This is definitely one to get your hands on this week for you won’t be disappointed.

I give it 4 tape machines out of 5 for being bloody funny.

Robin Hood

noreply@blogger.com (Curious Cat) — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 23:12:00 +0000

The countdown has begun to the release of Ridley Scott’s latest epic, starring Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett, Robin Hood. In a little over two months, 14th May to be exact, we will know if Scott and Crowe have managed to reproduce the success of Gladiator. Gladiator is my personal favourite movie ever so this one is going to have to be good to get my vote. Here is the trailer to give you a taste of what is to come:

And just in case you missed it, here is another:

Russell Crowe stars as “Robin Hood” metaphorically (I hope) donning tights previously worn by Kevin Costner (Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves), Cary Elwes (Robin Hood: Men in Tights) and Jonas Armstrong (Robin Hood – BBC).

In 13th century England, Robin and his band of men lead an uprising against the King and change the balance of power forever.

The movie follows Robin, from his role of expert archer interested only in self-preservation, through his service in King Richard’s army and then back to Nottingham. He falls in love with Lady Marion (Blanchett) and, in an attempt, to win her hand and save the village, Robin assembles a gang of mercenaries to help him beat the evil upper classes.

Having watched both trailers, I do get that same feeling that I get when I watch Gladiator – it feels fast paced, action packed with plenty of amazing stunts, this time utilising the horsemanship of its star. However, Russell Crowe has admitted to Digital Spy that he was scared on the set of Robin Hood because a number of cast members were injured during filming.

"It's scary stuff. We had 15 people carried off the battlefield at one point. One guy got his eye poked out with a pike. Another guy broke an arm and a leg falling off a horse. A number of other people had their wills broken because it was violent and anarchic. Totally crazy."

He puts this down to the size of the production, stating that , at one stage, there were “130 horses doing a full-speed gallop charge into 600 guys on the ground.”

Back in December, Digital Spy also reported that Ridley Scott wants Robin Hood to be converted into the 3D format.

I haven’t found anything yet which suggests that Universal’s executives have agreed to trump up another $7 to $8 million to do this but I will keep you posted.

Robin Hood, starring Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, William Hurt and Matthew Macfadyen is due in cinemas on May 14.

Images: Movieweb

Kick Ass TV Spots

noreply@blogger.com (HeXeD) — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 21:59:00 +0000

Tomorrow is the day people. Kick Ass hits UK cinemas and I cannot wait.

Kick-Ass tells the story of average teenager Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson), a comic-book fanboy who decides to take his obsession as inspiration to become a real-life superhero. As any good superhero would, he chooses a new name -- Kick-Ass -- assembles a suit and mask to wear, and gets to work fighting crime. There's only one problem standing in his way: Kick-Ass has absolutely no superpowers.

His life is forever changed as he inspires a subculture of copy cats, is hunted by assorted violent and unpleasant characters, and meets up with a pair of crazed vigilantes, including an 11-year-old sword-wielding dynamo, Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz) and her father, Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) - and forges a friendship with another fledging super hero, Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse). But thanks to the scheming of a local mob boss Frank D'Amico (Mark Strong), that new alliance will be put to the test.

Check out the two TV Spots below if you need a fix before the big day!

Final Iron Man 2 Poster

noreply@blogger.com (HeXeD) — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 21:42:00 +0000

The final international poster for Iron Man 2, released on 30th April has been released and let’s just say, this is how a poster should look. Take note Twilight.

Source: Empire

World’s most boring movie poster.

noreply@blogger.com (HeXeD) — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 21:35:00 +0000

Here’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for folks. The world’s most boring movie poster courtesy of Summit Entertainment and Twilight: Eclipse.

It all begins… with a choice… whether to watch another attempt at ruining a perfectly good book.

Source: GeekTyrant

Casting Pirates of the Caribbean 4 is the best job ever?

noreply@blogger.com (HeXeD) — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 18:58:00 +0000

The New York Post reports that Disney has banned actresses who have fake breasts from Pirates of the Caribbean 4.

Apparently the studio sent out a casting call last week, which reads:

"beautiful female fit models. Must be 5ft7in-5ft8in, size 4 or 6, no bigger or smaller. Age 18-25. Must have a lean dancer body. Must have real breasts. Do not submit if you have implants."

Allegedly, the studio will be asking applicants to perform a “Jog Test” where the interviewers will watch the ladies’ assets bounce up and down and determine whether they are real by how much they move.

I don’t think I know enough about casting to sit on a panel and decide on a persons eligibility for a role but I can certainly judge a pair of breasts, however I’ve searched and searched and can’t for the life of me find where Disney have published the application forms.

I’ll let you know.

Source: New York Post via WWTDD

The Human Torch is Captain America

noreply@blogger.com (HeXeD) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 22:16:00 +0000

Heatvision have just broke the news that Chris Evans who played The Human Torch in The Fantastic Four has accepted an offer to play Captain America, which amounts to up to three movies in the Marvel Universe as The First Avenger, and also a role in the new “Avengers” movie.

I don’t see it myself. He doesn’t have it for me, I didn’t like him in Fantastic Four at all so I’m not too impressed by this. Surely an unknown or rather, someone who hasn’t already played a superhero would be a better choice?

Also, if you google him, Fantastic Four appears to be the most clothed he has ever been!

Official Trailer for Predators

noreply@blogger.com (HeXeD) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 22:02:00 +0000

I wasn’t available to post on Friday last week so unfortunately missed this.

The official trailer for Nimrod Antal’s “Predators” has been released and it is a corker. Essentially, it boils down to a group of human predators, killers, soldiers, gangsters being hunted by the true Predators we know and love. After AVP I’ve been less than interested in this, but just looking at some of the cast like Laurence Fishburne, Topher Grace and Adrian Brody, I’m very excited. Especially as I’m pretty sure I saw the world’s biggest sniper rifle in there.

Check it out:

Clash of the Titans clips and images!

noreply@blogger.com (HeXeD) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 21:37:00 +0000

Thanks to Bloody-Disgusting and Myspace, I have great pleasure in pointing you in the direction of these 11, yes you read it right, 11 clips from Clash of the Titans and a set of pretty nifty images.

Of note is the last clip from Bloody-Disgusting where Liam Neeson appears to have a problem with the fall of his favourite catalogue-based high street store.

My Favourite ^

Short theatrical release – the fault of pirates?

noreply@blogger.com (Curious Cat) — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 09:12:00 +0000

The BBC reports from the ShoWest convention in Las Vegas, that the length of theatrical release (cinema time before DVD release) is a hot topic in Hollywood right now. You will remember that Hexed reported here and here about the Odeon chain refusing to take Alice in Wonderland and then the Odeon chain changed their minds after reaching an agreement with Disney. The action revolved around the length of time Disney wanted the movie to show at cinemas before releasing the DVD.

Speaking at the convention, Michael Lynton, chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, said that the industry needed to adapt to ensure that audience demand is met while addressing the problems of piracy:

"It is clear from the changing economic model of our industry that we're going to have to re-evaluate the way in which the current window structure operates.

"To meet audience demand for entertainment when and where they want it, and to keep ahead of the pirates who will fill any void we leave, we've all got to be open to experimenting with new and different windows..."

According to the BBC, 10 years ago the theatrical release was around 6 months. Now, the average time is 17 weeks. In the article, a spokesman for Screen Digest suggests that the reason behind the unusually short theatrical release for Alice was two-fold: half term and the impending World Cup, an event that traditionally affects DVD sales although shortened releases in the past have been down to targeting the sales periods for holidays such as Christmas and Easter. France has a more robust approach to theatrical releases, with legislation in place to ensure 4 months before the film is available for sale.

You might be wondering what all the fuss is about with shortening theatrical releases. Both Hexed and I have talked about the number of 3D movies which are due to be released in the next few years. Cinemas have had to adjust to show these films and have introduced new technology to ensure we have the best cinematic experience possible. This has affected ticket prices as cinemas have to charge more to cover the costs. If films like Alice are given shorter and shorter releases, this means less revenue for the cinemas, as who will bother going to the cinema when, given a couple of months, they can buy the DVD for less than two tickets. Of course, this needs to be weighed up against the cost of piracy. Perhaps the solution is to drive the costs down at cinemas and with DVDs – this would reduce the market for the pirates and lure many people back to cinemas.

Free Clive Barker’s Dread Screensaver

noreply@blogger.com (HeXeD) — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:42:00 +0000

Last week I posted a review of Clive Barker’s Dread, which is being released on March 29th on DVD by Lionsgate.

In celebration of the release YGROY has a gory Dread screensaver to giveaway for free to all readers.

Simply click on one of the download links below for your free screensaver:

For PC users – Click Here

For Mac users – Click Here

New Expendables and A-Team Posters

noreply@blogger.com (HeXeD) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 22:32:00 +0000

First off, The Expendables, Sylvester Stallone’s huge action movie with one hell of a cast list has a new poster, and I love it. Thanks to IGN.

I don’t care what the plot is, I just want to see these guys blow stuff up, but if you do care, a full synopsis can be found here.

Finally, the A-Team has an international poster and it isn’t anything particularly impressive. It gives a view of the look of the characters but it’s pretty dull.

Liam Neeson looks fantastic though.

Source: IGN, Empire

And now I’m interested in Conan.

noreply@blogger.com (HeXeD) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 22:15:00 +0000

Recently Curious Cat mentioned that Ron Perlman has been cast as Conan’s Father in the upcoming Conan reboot.

Up until then I wasn’t particularly interested. Now I am! Look who is cast as an evil human/witch!

The lovely Rose McGowan.

I know I’m shallow but I’ll get over it.

Source: Empire

Awesome War Machine Figure

noreply@blogger.com (HeXeD) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 21:48:00 +0000

Dear Santa,

That is all.

Source: Hot Toys via GeekTyrant

Webchat with Robert Rodriguez rescheduled

noreply@blogger.com (HeXeD) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 21:39:00 +0000

The live webchat with Robert Rodriguez, director of “Predators” has been rescheduled due to ill health. See here for the original post.

The new times are:

7 AM CDT* - Wednesday, March 31^st (12 PM London/1 PM Paris)

2 PM CDT - Wednesday, March 31^st (1 PM Mexico City/4 PM Sao Paulo)

9 PM CDT - Wednesday, March 31^st (Thursday April 1^st 11 AM Tokyo/1 PM Sydney)

*Central Daylight Savings Time

Weekly News Digest

noreply@blogger.com (Curious Cat) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 23:02:00 +0000

Avatar

Right then, I know I promised that there would be no more talk of Oscars this year but I can’t help it. The hottest Oscar related news this week must be that James Cameron is thinking of re-releasing Avatar in cinemas later this year. This apparently has nothing to do with making more money and everything to do with making sure everyone gets a chance to see the film. There is also the possibility that this re-release will include scenes that were cut in trying to get the film ready on time. USA Today also reports that Cameron has plans to re-release Titanic in 2012 to celebrate 15 years since the film’s original release and the 100 year anniversary of the ship’s original sailing. He is also hoping that this can be a 3D remastered version.

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Caesar: Rise of the Apes

Rupert Wyatt (The Escapist) is to direct Caesar: Rise of the Apes which is thought to pay homage to the 1968 original, Planet of the Apes. Deadline Hollywood reports that Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver are writing the script which is thought to pay homage to the 1968 original Planet of the Apes. SciFi Wire also has details of the possible synopsis of the film which centres around a doctor’s search for a cure for Alzheimer’s. He tests on monkeys and ends up rearing Caesar who is incredibly intelligent and he mutates and evolves over time to the point where he can finally speak. Eventually, Caesar leads an army of apes in an uprising as a catastrophe hits mankind.

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Green Lantern 3D?

Digital Spy reports that Green Lantern, starring Ryan Reynolds, Mark Strong, Peter Sarsgaard, Blake Lively and Tim Robbins is due for a 3D release in April 2011. It is not known yet if it will be filmed in 3D or digitally produced afterwards.

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Iron Man 2

Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine) has revealed on his Twitter page that he is adding to the soundtrack for Iron Man 2, reports Digital Spy. This adds to the soundtrack already scheduled for release by AC/DC ahead of the movie release. Watch the trailer here.

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Conan the Barbarian

New York Magazine reports that Ron Perlman (Hellboy) is to replace Mickey Rourke as Corin, Conan's father.

Lionsgate is due to begin shooting the remake of the 1982 classic Conan the Barbarian in Bulgaria later this month with Marcus Nispel directing Jason Momoa in the title role. Stephen Lang (Avatar) is set to play the villain, Khalar Singh.

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Toy Story 3

More new characters this week for TS3 as previously mentioned here together with biogs provided by Disney.

Stretch is a fun-loving under-the-sea octopus friend that shines in glittery purple. Toss her high on the wall and watch her climb her way down! Clean in mild soap solution to remove dust and lint.

Meet Twitch, the insectaloid warrior, where MAN + INSECT = AWESOME!

Biog for Sparks will be released tomorrow (17th March)

And finally, a movie poster showing all the old favourites alongside the new characters:

It looks like there may be one or two more to introduce before the movie is released so continue to follow us for updates

Images: Movieweb

That’s all there is for now – watch for further news later this week.

Chat live with “Predators” producer Robert Rodriguez!

noreply@blogger.com (HeXeD) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:33:00 +0000

LOS ANGELES, 16 March 2010 – Fans around the world are invited to chat with Austin-based filmmaker Robert Rodriguez about the upcoming motion picture PREDATORS on Thursday, March 18^th, 2010, the same day that the PREDATORS trailer will be revealed online.

The live event will take place online at www.ustream.tv/predatorsmovie. Broadcasting from his Austin, Texas headquarters, Robert Rodriguez will be online three times during the day to accommodate fans from different time zones:

7 AM CDT* - Thursday, March 18^th ( 12 PM London/1 PM Paris)

2 PM CDT - Thursday March 18^th (1 PM Mexico City/4 PM Sao Paulo)

9 PM CDT - Friday, March 19^th ( 11 AM Tokyo/1 PM Sydney)

*Central Daylight Savings Time

A bold new chapter in the Predator universe, PREDATORS was shot on location under Rodriguez’s creative auspices at the filmmaker’s Austin-based Troublemaker Studios, and is directed by Nimród Antal. The film stars Adrien Brody as Royce, a mercenary reluctantly leading a group of elite warriors who come to realize they’ve been brought together on an alien planet…as prey. With the exception of a disgraced physician, they are all cold-blooded killers: mercenaries, Yakuza, convicts, death squad members—human “predators” now being systemically hunted and eliminated by a new breed of alien Predators. In addition to Adrien Brody, the film stars Topher Grace, Alice Braga, and Laurence Fishburne. Co-starring are Walton Goggins, Danny Trejo, Oleg Taktarov and Mahershalalhashbaz Ali.

PREDATORS was written by Alex Litvak & Michael Finch based upon characters created by Jim Thomas & John Thomas. The producers are Robert Rodriguez and Elizabeth Avellàn.

Twentieth Century Fox releases PREDATORS in cinemas everywhere in July 2010.

http://www.predators-movie.com/