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Downfall (2004) Movie Review
2 hours ago
It seems to me that there is a metaphor embedded somewhere in Downfall, transforming what is at first glance just another World War II film into a provocative account of the final days of the Nazi party, anchored by a genuinely great performance from Bruno Ganz, who plays Adolph Hitler as a man that seems hunched over and sickly, his voice rough and haggard. The withering emaciation of ruthless and unchecked power makes him appear like a man whose soul is corroded away and his body denigrated, whose ideologies have obviated compassion and understanding and set him on the course toward total annihilation. Occasionally he effects a moment of warmth and affection, as if the evil is the corruption of all that’s good and true within him, but his obsession with conquest (or, at least, holding Berlin) drags him down again into a dark place within his soul. At »
- Jacob
Keith Arem Goes From Call of Duty to Frost Road
3 hours ago
There has been very little immigration between the worlds of videogames and films, but that doesn’t stop Keith Arem, director of the game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, from trying to direct a large motion picture. According to Variety, this film is called Frost Road, which is the story about a young man who is immune to a contagion that is sweeping through a small east coast town. Arem is also collaborating on a graphic novel version with c-creator Brandon Humphreys and illustrator Christopher Shy. Variety discusses some of Arem’s credentials: As talent director on the game, Arem was responsible for directing, casting and engineering all of the actors for the game, which included 50 Cent, Barry Pepper, Kevin McKidd, Keith David, Billy Murray and Lance Henriksen. Through Pcb, Arem has also done game development for the “Lord of the Rings,” “Spider-Man,” “Rainbow Six,” “Silent Hill,” “Prince of Persia, »
- Jacob
Paul Greengrass Makes it Official: He’s Not Directing Bourne 4
5 hours ago
Sorry, Bourne fans, looks like there’s a major crimp in “Bourne 4’s” road to a 2011 release date: director Paul Greengrass, who helmed the previous two films in the franchise, has bailed on the fourth entry. This follows the Playlist article of Greengrass’ departure, and it certainly looks like Greengrass and Universal have gotten together to do some damage control. The result is this press release from Greengrass through the studio: “You won’t find a more devoted supporter of the Bourne franchise than me. I will always be grateful to have been the caretaker to Jason Bourne over the course of ‘The Bourne Supremacy’ and ‘The Bourne Ultimatum.’ I’m very proud of those films and feel they express everything I most passionately believe about the possibility of making quality movies in the mainstream. My decision to not return a third time as director is simply about feeling the call for a different challenge. »
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Zombieland Sequel Will Offer Up Zombie Brains in 3D
5 hours ago
It wasn’t that long ago when the writers of “Zombieland” were rolling around ideas for a sequel, and now it looks like it’s actually happening, and pretty fast, too. In an article about upcoming movies that are trying to take advantage of the popular 3D format, Variety reports that a “Zombieland” sequel will be arriving in decaying malls faster than you think — in 3D. Apparently Sony has already made a deal with “Zombieland” director Ruben Fleischer to return for a sequel, and now negotiations are under way to get stars Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg to reprise their roles of badass zombie killer with a heart of gold and awkward skinny kid with made-up zombie survival rules, respectively. No word on the possible return of Abigail Breslin and Emma Stone. But then again, I suppose the real meat of the story is Tallahassee and Columbus, right? It might »
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Night of the Living Dead Origins Fills Up its Voice Cast
5 hours ago
Zebediah de Soto’s ode to Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead” has filled out its cast with some more names. Previously, the only name we had was Danielle Harris. Joining her will be Jesse Corti, Bill Moseley, Joe Pilato, Alona Tal and Cornell Womack. The 3D CGI animated film is a “re-imagining” of Romero’s movie, set in a major city as the dead rises to dine on the living. De Soto has me interested when he says that “Origins” will be “played [out] on an epic scale”, but then loses me when he says he wants to “make this look like a living Monet; it’s expressionism”. Um. Okay. Here’s the cast/character breakdown: Corti (”Heroes”) is voicing a news reporter, and Harris (”Halloween II”) plays a woman who held her family together forced to come to grips with its absence. Moseley (”Carnivale”) is reprising the role »
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First Images from the Karate Kid Remake
16 hours ago
Yahoo! Movies has your first official images from Jackie Chan’s remake of “The Karate Kid”. No more “Kung Fu Kid” name change, then? The remake stars Jaden Smith in the Ralph Macchio role, while Jackie Chan steps into Mister Miyagi’s sandals. The setting has been moved to China, and as you can see from the images below, the Great Wall of China has now become a place for what will no doubt be a kung fu training montage. Directed by Harald Zwart, the film co-stars Taraji P. Henson and is due out June 11, 2010. »
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The Man Who Killed Batman is Back with Blood Creek
17 hours ago
In hindsight, you really can’t blame Joel Schumacher for destroying the Batman franchise by giving Bats and Robin perky rubber nipples. Oh wait. Yes you can. Ol Joel has been quietly making a bit of a comeback of late, with movies like “The Number 23″ and “The Phantom of the Opera”. His latest is “Blood Creek”, formerly “Town Creek”. After sitting on Lionsgate’s shelves for the last two years, the film is finally getting a very limited theatrical release in bargain locales (good luck finding it, though), and will be headed to DVD January 19, 2010. Check out a Red Band trailer and poster for it below. Acclaimed director Joel Schumacher (The Lost Boys, Tigerland) takes the reins of Blood Creek, a tense supernatural horror-thriller concerning two brothers who find themselves at the center of a terrifying occult experiment. In 1936, the Wollners, a German family living in Town Creek, West Virginia, »
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Joel Schumacher’s Blood Creek Gives Us Nazis, Black Magic, and Lots of Blood
18 hours ago
Nazi-related horror movies seem to be pretty popular at the moment. If you want Nazis and zombies, you can check out “Dead Snow.” If you’re more interested in a Nazi-centric slasher, “Final Solution” looks like it may fit the proverbial bill. However, if blood rituals, black magic, and Dominic Purcell is more to your liking, director Joel Schumacher’s upcoming “Blood Creek” (aka “Town Creek”) might be the cinematic gem you’re searching for. The trailer certainly looks interesting, but then again, I’m kind of a sucker for those “people trapped in a building fighting otherworldly entities” movies, so my opinion may not be worth anything at all. Once you properly investigate the trailer embedded below, you’ll see what I mean. Then again, maybe not. The synopsis is as follows: In 1936, the Wollners – a German family living in rural Town Creek, Maryland – are contacted by the Third »
- Todd
First Look at Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
18 hours ago
Can I just say? Emma Watson has grown up into a fine looking woman. I’m just saying. Hey, she’s 19 now, I can say these things. Ahem. So, here’s your first look at the first part of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” via USA Today. “Deathly Hallows” is the last book in J.K. Rowling’s wizard series, which has been split into two movies. Part one opens in 2010, followed by part two in 2011. After that, Warner Bros. executives will cry themselves to sleep, while working feverishly to find a replacement franchise. (One of their hopeful replacement candidates is “Beautiful Creatures”.) The first installment finds young wizards Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) struggling to find their way in the Muggle (human) world, with their own lives in the balance and the fate of the magical realm in their hands. “They’re paranoid,” says Grint. »
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Warner Bros. Readies Beautiful Creatures aka Their Next Harry Potter Franchise
18 hours ago
Authors Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl’s novel “Beautiful Creatures”, the first in an expected five-part series, lands in bookstores today, but Warner Bros. has already beaten you to the punch and will be turning the first book into a movie to be written and directed by Richard Lagravanese. So what’s this “next Harry Potter” franchise about? Well, for one it’s got teenagers, it’s got burgeoning young love, and it’s got witches and supernatural happenings. Basically, Harry Potter with a Southern accent. Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she’s struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, »
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Twilight’s Breaking Dawn Will Probably be Two Movies
19 hours ago
To be honest, we figured they would do this months ago. And frankly, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t. The fanbase isn’t exactly going to mind, and everyone else — well, as long as the fanbase is happy, the movie is still going to earn a mint at the box office. What am I talking about? Pulling a “Harry Potter”, of course, and turning Stephenie Meyers’ last “Twilight” novel, “Breaking Dawn” into two movies instead of one. That seems like the obvious path that Summit Entertainment is headed at the moment. To be sure, $481 million in worldwide grosses in just two weeks of release doesn’t exactly hurt the notion of splitting “Breaking Dawn” into two movies and capping the franchise off for maximum profits. There’s blood to be squeezed out of them stones, and if you have a massive book like “Dawn”, why not do it? »
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A Ton of Icky Stills from the Upcoming Splatterhouse Reboot
19 hours ago
Back in the glory days of the Sega Genesis, I was all about “Splatterhouse.” The idea of playing a guy that resembled Jason Voorhees appealed directly to my horror-soaked brain, especially since the main character was a sinister badass who could easily break apart monsters with his bare hands. Rumors of a supposed “remake” have been circulating for years, but now, it seems, the game is finally coming together. The kindly folks lurking behind-the-scenes at Kotaku have posted several screenshots from the upcoming “Splatterhouse” reboot, and I must say, it looks pretty faithful to the original series. Unfortunately, this puppy won’t see the light of day until September of 2010, so I suppose these pics will have to satisfy my virtual bloodlust until then. As long as I still get to smash monsters with a large chunk of wood, I’ll be a happy weirdo. »
- Todd
Trailer Number Three For Nine
1 December 2009 2:11 AM, PST
With only twenty-five days until release, the third trailer for Nine finally reveals some of the story. Usually a music isn’t that contingent on story – the one prerequisite is that it’s cute or charming – but this is based on the legendary film 8 1/2, after all. Rob Marshall’s musical seems to retain most of the angles: the childhood whore, the Catholic guilt and upbringing, and Guido’s latest project which represents a creative roadblock – though the space rocket looks like it’s been replaced by some ancient Greek or Roman set. Of course, I’m pretty sure that the film’s plot will veer closely to the Italian musical, which I haven’t seen, and most people reading probably haven’t either. 8 1/2 is my only bearing. Hopefully it will combine the strong story of Federic Fellini’s classic with the musical pizazz of Rob Marshall to create an experience »
- Jacob
Reports of the Silver Surfer’s Death Greatly Exaggerated
1 December 2009 1:55 AM, PST
Somehow, an interview Collider conducted with J. Michael Straczynski got contorted into reports that the Silver Surfer spinoff was effectively dead. Something was clearly lost in the translation since Straczynski took the time to e-mail IGN in order to clear up any confusion on the issue. When I was asked about the Silver Surfer script, I responded about the one I’d written around the time that FF2 was launched, and was designed to pick up where that one left off. When FF2 didn’t do as well as hoped for, that script was set aside, but that has Nothing to do with the Silver Surfer script that is Now under development at Fox with other folks. As far as I know, that is proceeding apace. So the hysteria that’s gripped the nets about ‘ohmygod the Surfer movie is dead!’ is not correct, as I was again referring to »
- Jacob
Alec Baldwin Quits While He’s Ahead
1 December 2009 1:19 AM, PST
“I consider my entire movie career a complete failure,” says Alec Baldwin, the man who has just about acted in more films, sixty-five, than ER has episodes. The quote is taken by Reuters from an interview with Baldwin in an upcoming issue of Men’s Journal. He went on to say, “The goal of movie-making is to star in a film where your performance drives the film, and the film is either a soaring critical or commercial success, and I never had that.” If we are to judge his career based on the metric of significant movies that he has been in, then they most certainly do furnish his life, ranging from Beetlejuice to The Royal Tenenbaums to The Aviator to The Departed. I mean, not every actor gets the chance to belong to films that will endure until the day that cinema is forgotten. Until then, people can see the movie and say, »
- Jacob
Joe Wright Was Directing My Fair Lady, And Now He’s Not, And Now John Madden Is, And That’s The Way It Is…Boom
1 December 2009 12:30 AM, PST
Hall-of-Famer John Madden announced his stunning retirement earlier this year, leaving the NFL without its most famous ambassador for the first time since before cavemen could paint on walls, but Variety is announcing that he has come out of retirement to apparently direct the remake of My Fair Lady, which is based on a 1956 play starring Julia Andrews and Rex Harrison (itself based on a musical called Pygmalion) that was later turned into the first theatrical version starring Harrison and Audrey Hepburn. The remake will star Brett Favre as Eliza Doolittle. Brett Favre will also play the part of Henry Higgins. He’ll play every part, really. The title of the film will be changed to Brett Favre is Brett Favre. At the end of the film, the cast of Brett Favres will be so overwhelming that it will cause the celluloid to spontaneously combust. (Puts hand in ear John Stewart style) What’s that? »
- Jacob
Three Explosive and Kickass 24 Season 8 Promos
30 November 2009 6:39 PM, PST
If it’s December (or thereabouts), it must be one more month before Jack Bauer invades TV screens again. Yup, that’s right, ladies and gents, Bauer and company (and a newly resurrected CTU) returns to save the day January 2010. Check out three new promo spots for the upcoming Season 8. I gotta admit, after Season 7, I was a little down on the show, but it sure looks like transplanting the action from L.A. to New York has given the show a whole new vitality it hasn’t had in a while. Returning players include Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer, Mary Lynn Rajskub as Chloe O’Brian, Annie Wersching as Renee Walker, and Cherry Jones as President Allison Taylor. Also back, Gregory Itzin as the scheming former Prez Charles Logan. They’re joined by Mykelti Williamson as the head of CTU New York, Katee Sackhoff as CTU agent Dana Walsh, »
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Official Iron Man 2 Poster and New Images
30 November 2009 4:12 PM, PST
Yeah, it looks like a comic book cover, but then again, maybe that’s the point. This is, after all, a comic book movie. Check out the first official poster for Jon Favreau’s upcoming “Iron Man 2″, the sequel to his 2008 mega hit movie courtesy of Yahoo! Movies. And yes, I’m still loving the fact that they haven’t tacked on a needless extra sentence to the title. In the sequel, returning players Robert Downey Jr, Samuel L. Jackson, and Gwyneth Paltrow are joined by new faces Mickey Rourke, Scarlett Johansson, Don Cheadle, Sam Rockwell, and Kate Mara. The jet boots blast off again May 7, 2010. Update: Also added, four new images from the movie, including a, ahem, nicer look at Scarlett Johansson in Black Widow pose. »
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Has Paul Greengrass Quit Bourne 4? For Now, Yes.
30 November 2009 2:51 PM, PST
So reports the boys at The Playlist. According to them, this is actually old news, as Greengrass apparently quit the sequel last week, but the site has been gathering more info for the article. It’s, you know, journalistic integrity or something. In any case, according to the site, the main bone of contention (or in Hollywood parlance, “creative difference”) seems to stem from the fact that Universal foot the bill for Greengrass and Damon’s Iraq War movie “Green Zone”, something the studio was loathe to do given that, well, not a single Iraq War movie has made a profit, or come even close, but did it anyway to keep the two men happy and put at the studio for a “Bourne 4″. Matters, says the Playlist, were further complicated by the fact that “Green Zone’s” budget is now rumored at around $150 million, and the studio is probably looking »
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Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead Theatrical Re-Release Poster and Play Dates
30 November 2009 11:59 AM, PST
I gotta admit, one of my biggest disappointments is that I see a lot of really great movies for the first time on DVD and TV, and miss out on their original theatrical releases. One of those movies is Sam Raimi’s “Evil Dead”, which starred a then-unknown Bruce Campbell. Well good news, fellow Deadites, because Raimi and company would like to rectify that by bringing the original back into theaters around the country starting next year. Check out the official press release and first batch of release dates and locations via Fear.net. Landmark Theatres will present the director’s 35mm print of Evil Dead at special midnight shows in Minneapolis, Denver, Seattle, New York, Houston, Dallas, and Los Angeles in the first quarter of 2010. Grindhouse Releasing has created a new full-color movie poster for the theatrical reissue of the 1981 horror classic. Designed by Tad Leger, the collectible one-sheet »
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