Movie Touchdown!

What is going on with Legendary Pictures "Godzilla" movie?

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 02:48:00 -0400

As a lifelong Godzilla fan I can’t tell you how excited I was to read in March 2010 that Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. have received the rights to make an American Godzilla movie. Before it was officially announced there had been rumors floating in around August 2009 that LP was in negotiations with Toho Studios for the rights to Godzilla and it was officially confirmed a few months later. The announcement was that LP had secured the rights and was aiming for a 2012 release with the film being a reboot to the franchise and a director was to be announced soon. After the announcement things were silent until in July at the San Diego Comic Con where LP was handing out t-shirts with a new Godzilla design on them in order to promote the movie. The design was not the official design for the new Godzilla but a promotion for the movie. Later in September of that year someone had caught up with one of the producers, Brian Rogers, and asked him about the movie. He replied that 2012 was the target release date and that Godzilla would fight one or more monsters in the film. The film is also rumored to be in 3D. Everything was once again quiet until January 2011 where Gareth Edwards was officially announced to direct the film. Edwards is best know for his film “Monsters” which he mostly did himself on a low budget but it has gained popularity. Edwards has admitted to being a fan of the Godzilla series and has stressed the importance of getting the film done right. After that things have been very quiet regarding the film. The only other details that have been found out was that scriptwriter David Callaham was brought aboard only to have been replaced with a new yet to be announced writer. Thomas Tull has also been quoted as saying the film was in “full active development” and that LP wasn’t granting interviews about the film because of that.

With everything being so quiet a lot of Godzilla fans, including myself, are becoming increasingly frustrated by lack of news. I spoke to a close friend of mine, Matt Williams, and discussed this with him saying how even if they want to keep things quiet at least give us just a little info every now and then just so we know everything is on the right track but this total darkness is confusing and annoying a lot of fans. Today I learned that Legendary has a brand new Facebook and Twitter page and so I tweeted them asking if there would be any info on the new “Godzilla” movie at Comic Con this year to which they replied to me saying…..

“We’ll be revealing news throughout SDCC for various film and comic projects. Visit http://bit.ly/r9Mp1x for regular updates.”

Well I wasn’t expecting an answer so that was surprising but it had at least got my hopes up that we would finally be getting new on “Godzilla.” Well when I had returned tonight from work I found out that Legendary had announced their line up for Comic Con and that “Godzilla” was not on the list. As I found that out I was very unhappy because I felt that we deserved some kind of info. I looked on their FB page to see several upset Godzilla fans posting questions as to why the film was not on LP’s schedule. Right now it seems the only thing we can hope for is that Godzilla fans show up to Comic Con and ask the LP panel what the status is on “Godzilla” and why we aren’t receiving any news. This is all we know so far on the new American Godzilla movie. However I feel that if Comic Con comes and goes and we still find out nothing on the movie then I will start to really fear the film not being made at all. As fans all we can do is wait and see and pay close attention to the Comic Con and hope for the best! I will be sure to keep updates on it.

My review- Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Sun, 03 Jul 2011 02:13:00 -0400

If Disney ever had a big money maker franchise it would be their “Pirates” franchise. From the release of “Curse of the Black Pearl” the franchise has sky rocketed to massive box office revenue and major popularity among audiences so of course it should only be fitting that they continue on with the franchise past 3 movies and they did with the May 2011 release of “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.”

“Stranger Tides” kicks off with Jack Sparrow once again escaping capture from the British police but while on the run he receives word that someone else named Jack Sparrow is attempting to assemble a crew together for a ship. In desperate need of a ship Jack goes to investigate and comes across his impersonator who, after a brief sword fight, is revealed to be his ex lover Angelic who takes him aboard the ship run by the fierce pirate and Angelica’s father, Blackbeard. They are both searching for the Fountain of Youth and need Jack in order to find it. Also hot on their trail is Jack’s old rival Barbossa who is seeking vengeance on Blackbeard for costing him his leg and taking the Black Pearl from him. While on board Jack meets a missionary named Phillip whom Blackbeard wishes to have help him redeem his soul. The crew are soon able to trap a mermaid that had saved Phillip’s live but he and the mermaid soon begin to fall in love with each other whom he names Syrena. After getting a mermaid tear from her the crew soon reaches the Fountain of Youth along with Barbossa and his crew and the Spanish Armada. As a massive fight breaks out between all 3 sides the Spanish manage to destroy the Fountain and Barbossa stabs Blackbeard with a poisoned dipped sword that Angelica manages to accidentally cut herself with. As both lay dying Jack is able to retrieve water into the 2 cups they have found previously and fills both with the last of the water from the Fountain and puts the mermaid tear in one as the one person to live must drink the cup with the mermaid tear in it in order to live. Blackbeard drinks the cup he believes to be the right one but Jack had switched the cups and it is Angelica who receives the healing power while absorbing the life force from her father. Phillip returns to free Syrena and she takes him underwater to save his life and to be happily together. Barbossa soon takes off with Blackbeards crew whilst Jack leaves Angelica stranded on a deserted island fearing that she would try to avenge her father’s death.

The “Pirates” movies just seem to be getting better and better. This one had old characters along with new ones that were done very well. You really don’t miss Orlando Bloom or Kiera Knigthly at all really. Yes I’ll admit I even fell in love with Syrena the Mermaid at times.

The special effects and CGI were very well done. The CGI was realistic and hardly used adding to the realism of the movie. Aside from “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” this movie had the best special effects I’ve seen this year at least. I did not get to see it in 3D but I can see in the effects how it was supposed to be done and all I can say is bravo.

My only complaint with the movie is I felt the whole Spanish Armada deal seemed unnecessary and didn’t do much for the story. I would’ve also liked to have seen what exactly happened in the fight between Barbossa’s ship and Blackbeard’s ship. Aside from that though the movie had really no other problems.

Overall I felt that this is one of the best films of the year and a fine one at that. I’m really looking forward to seeing what else Disney has in store for the “Pirates” franchise as I’m sure future ones will still be as good. Go see this if you haven’t seen it yet it is one of the must sees of the year!

9/10

My review- Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Sat, 02 Jul 2011 14:33:00 -0400

Just a few nights ago I had the pleasure of going to see one of the most anticipated films of the year, Transformers: Dark of the Moon. I was extremely excited for this film more so than I have been for any other film in awhile (since “The Dark Knight” actually) so this one was going to be a real treat for me. I grew up with a “Beast Wars: Transformers” so I was already and fan of Transformers from an early age. I loved the first “Transformers” movie and even enjoyed “Revenge of the Fallen” even though it had major issues but more on that later. After watching numerous trailers and tv spots I went in with very high expectations and boy I wasn’t disappointed!

The movie starts off with a recap of the moon landing back in the 60’s with American astronauts discovering a long lost Autobot shuttle crashed on the moon but only a few know of it and it is kept a secret from everyone else. We cut to present day where the Autobots are continuing to work with the US military but also act on themselves to protect mankind from destroying itself, such as destroying illegal nuclear plants in the middle east, and we also Sam Whitwicky now out of college and struggling to find work despite all of his accomplishments from events in the first 2 films. Sam is dating a new girl named Carly as him and Mikaela split after the 2nd film.

Events soon begin to pick up with the Decepticons making their return, along with the appearance of Shockwave, and the discovery by the Autobots of Sentinal Prime who was long thought to be dead. With this discovery the Autobots now believe they have everything in place to finally defeat the Decepticons. All is not as it seems however after a brief highway chase, where Ironhide and Sideswipe fight and kill 3 Decepticons known as The Dreads, Sentinal Prime reveals that he has betrayed the Autobots and made a deal with the Decepticons. Sentinal then kills Ironhide and destroys a military base before meeting up with Megatron and the other Decepticons in Washington D.C. where they transport other Decepticons and weapons to Earth and head for Chicago where the humans and Autobots soon follow and after a long war in which there are deaths on all sides Optimus Prime kills Shockwave, Megatron and Sentinal Prime allowing the Autobots victory and peace on their new home planet Earth.

All I can say is wow! I was expecting lots of action with a good story and I wasn’t let down at all! Sh*t does get blown up in this movie and by the end Chicago is a smoking ruin. The humor was really well done this time around the characters were really enjoyable. The way they tied this movie into real life events was done excellently and could not have been done any better I think. This movie, especially the final battle, really felt more like a war movie than an action movie and I think that really adds to the feel of it.

The CGI and special effects in the movie were superb and some of the best I have ever seen. The details on the robots were spot on and realistic. It really makes you appreciate how much time and work they did into creating every little detail on the robots.

The only complaints I have are that at times I felt the human story kind of dragged on at times and it cut out from the action battles between the robots. Also the continuing black cut screens got annoying at times and last I felt Shockwave should’ve had a lot more screen time than he did I mean when you saw Shockwave come out of the ground and pump his gun you knew crazy sh*t was going down! Aside from those things I felt everything else was great.

All in all I would say this is my favorite film of the year and probably the best film of the year but we still have “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” and “Captain America: The First Avenger” so we will see what happens. This film is a big improvement over “Revenge of the Fallen” and a big action packed thrill ride that will be sure to keep you on your seat! Over the course of the film you could tell the audience was really enjoying it and there were even kids there who had Transformers toys lined up on the floor. I will now go see the movie in IMAX 3D to really get the feel for it. This is an excellent movie and a must see right now!

*P.S.* Watch and listen closely toward the Chicago battle scene where one of the main characters mentions Grissom Air Force Base!

9.5/10

Why they should've done "Spider-Man 4" instead of a reboot.

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 02:46:00 -0400

It was just 4 years ago that audiences were treated to Spider-Man 3 which was anxiously awaited on due to the appearance of Venom. While the movie was a box office success it was a critical flop. Regardless though fans anxiously awaited for news on the 4th installment of the series and what would be Peter Parker’s next journey. Everything seemed ago as Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire were coming back and it was set for a May 2011 release date. However rumors were starting to leak out that the project was in trouble and those rumors soon proved to be correct in January 2010 as it was announced that Raimi was leaving the project and Sony would be rebooting the franchise. This announcement was met with mixed reactions among the Spidey fans and general public. The Spidey reboot has moved forward since then with the title “The Amazing Spider-Man” with Andrew Garfield playing Peter Parker and all signs pointing to him facing off against The Lizard (one of my fav villains), However there are people, like myself, who are still unsure about the reboot and would much rather have just had “Spider-Man 4” instead. Let’s take a look why….

Looking at the first 3 movies there was nothing really major wrong with them. Sure the 3rd one had major issues but it was stilly enjoyable and it was a box office hit. None of the films showed any reason as to why the franchise should be rebooted. Look at “Spider-Man 2” and tell me how such an amazing and fantastic movie like that can be rebooted? The stories were great and the cast from each movie fit their roles perfectly.

Now what exactly happened with “SM4” you ask? Well after the critical flop of the 3rd one Raimi felt that they had over did it on villains in the movie (thanks a lot Sony) and wanted to cut back to 1 or 2 for the 4th. Well the first idea as the villain in the 4th was The Lizard who was much awaited for after being hinted at in the 3rd and was actually going to be in the 2nd along with Doc Ock and Black Cat before being taken out. Well that soon fell through as Sony wanted a villain with a face that people could see (once again thank you Sony you idiots). Well after that Raimi was going to settle on Vulture as the main villain of the movie but Sony felt that he wasn’t a popular character enough. Coupled with that among other things Raimi finally left the project due to “creative differences.”

So basically thanks to Sony’s meddling we are now getting a reboot that is basically starting over with Peter Parker back in high school although no one quite knows the plot just yet but that is what seems to be the direction they are taking and that is he is going to fight The Lizard which ironically that was the original idea for “SM4” so go figure.

I for one am very concerned about this because well for one Spider-Man is one of my fav comic book heros of all time and I loved the Raimi trilogy but also that people aren’t going to be happy seeing an origin story all over again and I think that adding that along with competition next summer from “The Dark Knight Rises” and “The Avengers” I think could make for a bad sign for the reboot. While being a huge Spidey fan of course I will go see the movie and I am stoked that The Lizard is finally getting his due but all in all I think they would’ve been much better off just going ahead with the 4th movie instead of rebooting it but then again this is Sony we are talking about who is known for royally screwing up big name movies (*cough* Godzilla *cough*). Only time will tell though and hopefully they are taking this movie seriously as I want to see the franchise continue. I still think though they would’ve been better off doing “Spider-Man 4” but we will soon find out in a year.