Taking elements from different science fiction movies, such as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Alien, Constantin Films is hoping Pandorum(trailer) will be the next sci-fi success story, much like the Riddick (Vin Diesel) franchise. If a hit, Impact pictures, a subsidiary of Constantin, will give the go for sequels. Of course some proposed sci-fi franchises have not faired so well, such as the remake/reboot of Planet of the Apes. Though a financial success, it received mixed reviews and Fox said it would not produce sequels. Or it could receive a cult status like the Firefly/Serenity series. We’ll find out soon.
The worst thing ever? Getting stuck in a puzzle piece.
Set in the future and 500 millions miles from Earth, Dennis Quaid (G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra) and Ben Foster (3:10 to Yuma) star as Lieutenant Payton and Corporal Bower, two astronauts who awaken from hibernation and have no recollection of their identity or what happened to them. They find they were part of ship that carried 60,000 passengers and realize all the rest have all disappeared. Being the last two aboard, they begin searching the ship in hopes of finding what happened to the other passengers. During their search, they uncover clues about themselves in hopes of jogging their memory. They soon encounter other members of the crew and are given knowledge that they are trying to survive from a threat of possible alien-like creatures on board. The remaining survivors must fight off an enemy that is fast and physically stronger then them, while investigating what happened to the missing passengers. Learning more about their mysterious opponents, they soon find out that the threat may not be alien as they think.
The movie will also co-star Cam Gigandet (Twilight), German actress Antje Traue (Kleinruppin Forever) and mixed martial artist Cung Le (Fighting). German director Christian Alvart directs Pandorum and he will also direct the upcoming horror movie, Case 39. The fact that he has a second gig hopefully means Alvart won’t be like that “other” German director we all love, Uwe Boll. Alongside Alvart, Travis Milloy came up with the story and wrote the screenplay. Milloy has also written other titles like Just Like Mona and Street Gun.
When the cabin pressure drops, no one wants to put on their oxygen mask.
Though I like horror movies, I’m not a big fan of when they have a sci-fi backdrop, with the few exceptions being the Alien franchise. I love sci-fi, but tend to enjoy more when it’s incorporated with action/adventure. I do like Ben Foster though, and have taken notice of his work since his great performance in 3:10 to Yuma and his bit part in 30 Days of Night. Definitely an actor I have my eyes on. I might check this out mainly for his presence, but I’m somewhat leaning toward renting it later on.
I have a vague memory of “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.” I was in elementary school when the teacher first read it in class. I don’t remember the story per se, but more vividly the illustrations. Of course when you’re in kindergarten or 1st grade, you probably don’t care about the story, but are more captivated by the pictures. How could you not be amazed by food falling from the sky as if it were rain and then eating it? I would love the notion of eating already prepared food that fell right at my doorstep. I couldn’t fathom how much money you would save by not going to the store to buy it. Grocery stores would go out of business, but I’m sure gyms would thrive if crappy food, like donuts or pizza came raining down. It certainly would solve the ongoing problem of world hunger. “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” was originally a children’s book in 1978. It was written by the husband and wife team of Ron and Judi Barrett, with Ron providing the illustrations and Judi being the author. The premise of the book is about a town named Chewandswallow (clever name) and their experience in odd weather that provides food three times a day. Chewandswallow is later threatened when the food creates floods and forces the townspeople to relocate via bread boats. Once they find a new destination, they are regulated to buy food at the grocery store. Produced by Sony Pictures Animations (Open Season, Surf’s Up), the 3D animated movie of the same name will be a loose adaptation of the book.
Are rained down burgers of the McDonalds variety or homemade?
Flint Lockwood (Bill Hader, Adventureland) is a struggling scientist who has yet to invent anything successful. Growing up, most of his experiments are failures due to the lack of poor design or found to be worthless by other people. Despite little support from his dad, Tim Lockwood (James Caan, Thief), Flint never gives up on inventing. One day while fumbling with his computer, he discovers he can turn water into food. He then creates a machine capable of making rain turn into food. Thinking he is a hero, his machine suddenly goes awry and threatens the world with too much food. Flint must come up with a plan to stop it.
The movie will also co-star Anna Faris, Bruce Campbell, Andy Samberg, Mr. T and Benjamin Bratt. Phil Lord and Chris Miller direct Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and both also adapted the screenplay from the Barrett’s book.
All scientists are mad. Did you every have a sane science teacher?
Since it’s based off of a children’s book, this should be a big hit for younger audiences, especially since it will be a Real D 3D animated film. The trailer for Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs looks really charming and funny so I have a slight interest in seeing it. Plus I have yet to see an animated movie in 3D to this point.
Other than Wall E, 9 has to be the only other 3D animated movie that deals with post-apocalyptic Earth. I first saw the trailer for 9 back in May while seeing Terminator Salvation and I was intrigued by it. What’s odd about seeing the trailer of 9 before Terminator is that both roughly share the same premise of machines ruling the world. The problem this movie will encounter is that it shares the same numerical title as Nine (a musical with Daniel Day-Lewis) and people will undoubtedly confuse both. I just experienced some of that confusion last week while discussing 9 with someone. 9 was originally released as a short film in 2005 and it actually was nominated for an Oscar for Best Short Film. It will now be adapted into a full-length feature of the same name. Surprisingly, neither DreamWorks Animation nor Pixar have any involvement in this and instead will be helmed by Focus Features, a company mainly known for its independent films. This will be Focus’ second animated feature, after being Coraline.
This image might look familiar to those who've seen '2001' or 'Eagle Eye.'
A parallel Earth is ravaged and war-torn and the sake of humanity is barely holding on by a thread. Machines rule the world and are seeking to destroy every last human. These same machines were once built be a scientist to help Earth recover from a deadly war. The machines soon rebel against their original programming and assemble an army to annihilate the human civilization. The scientist, fearing the end, makes a group of organic rag dolls capable of independent thought to combat the machines. Nicknamed “stitch-punks,” by director and creator Shane Acker, this group of dolls are named after numbers to distinguish from one another. One such doll, named 9 (Elijah Wood), looks outside the doll box and tries to find the origin of his artificial species and also seeks knowledge about life. While one group of dolls, lead by their wise old leader 1 (Christopher Plummer) are struggling to stay alive, they cross paths with 9 and soon embrace his natural leadership and ideology to combat the machines.
9 will co-star Jennifer Connelly (7), John C. Reilly (5), Crispin Glover (6), Martin Landau (2) and Fred Tasasciore (8). Shane Acker, who wrote and directed the 9 short, will adapt his own work for the big screen. Acker has mostly done shorts before this, but he did work on some of the visual effects for Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. He developed the story, while Pamela Pettler (co-writer of Monster House and Corpse Bride) wrote the script.
If a human could project images like this, they'd instantly be my friend.
I have an interest in seeing 9 because it offers a different element to the 3D animated movie. Plus, it also has the track record of being adapted from an Academy Award nominated short film. This may not be for everyone who enjoys animated films and it’s certainly not for kids due to its darker themes. Also, don’t go in expecting to see Daniel Day-Lewis and I’m sure you’ll turn out all right.
9 cleverly opens on September 9th.
Also, for those interested, check out the Shane Acker short film which inspired the movie, below:
Written by “The Film Nest” writer, Rob R. (Raging Rob in the Comments section).
Late summer is usually a dumping ground for the movies deemed unworthy to stand next to the bigger blockbusters. Movies like Gamer are released at the end of summer by the studios to try and squeeze a few more dollars out of rabid summer movie fans. Gamer is the latest film in the vein of The RunningMan, The Condemned and Death Race. All of these films revolve around wrongly imprisoned men, fighting for their lives in a game show watched by millions. Gamer looks to follow this basic plot pretty well.
Gamer, which has went through several title revisions (first “Game” then “Citizen Game”), is set in a futuristic world where mind control is now possible. Mind control apparently lends itself very well to gaming because the online game, “Slayers” is a phenomenon, (think “American Idol” with guns). “Slayers” is the creation of genius Ken Castle, (the great Michael C. Hall – TV’s “Dexter”) in which death row inmates are controlled by at-home players in a fight to the death, against others from around the world. If any of the death row inmates can achieve 30 wins they are given their freedom. Gerard Butler (300) stars as Kable, the games most popular warrior who also holds the most victories in “Slayers” history (27). Butler’s character is being controlled by Simon, a gamer who has become a star in his own right because of his ability to win. Kable has been kidnapped and taken from his wife and daughter. Against his will, he is forced to fight in the deadly game in hopes of one day winning his freedom, and in the process bringing an end to Castle’s twisted blood sport.
Cool guys don't look at explosions.
Gamer is written and directed by the team of Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, the same guys behind both Crank films. As the box office performance of their last film, Crank 2: High Voltage was very poor, I don’t think we will be seeing any further Crank movies, unless they are of the direct to video variety. Gamer has a cast that includes: Alison Lohman (Drag Me To Hell), Kyra Sedgwick (TV’s “The Closer”), John Leguizamo (Ice Age:Dawn of the Dinosaurs), and rapper turned actor Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges (aka “Mr. Phat Rabbit” – do your homework!).
While Gamer boasts a unique mix of actors, I’m not sure that the film will find financial or critical success. The directing team of Neveldine/Taylor really need this film to do well, as I fear if it doesn’t succeed their chances of getting in the director’s chair behind bigger projects may soon disappear.As for action fans, I’m sure this will have just what they want to see in their summer movies. The film’s trailer features dozens of explosions and firefights which are sure to please fans of this genre. The trailer also features the Marilyn Manson cover of “Sweet Dreams” and I’m sure that the rest of the soundtrack is filled with many similar rock tracks to accompany the destruction on screen.
"THIS...IS...SPARTA!!" Oops, wrong movie.
For me, this looks very “been there, seen that.” Hopefully, there is a little more under the surface to save this from the rehashed plot and straight-to-video vibe Gamer is giving me.
You can play Gamer on theaterscreens starting September 4th.
Written by “The Film Nest” writer, Rob R. (Raging Rob in the Comments section).
In recent years, there has been a trend of remaking all of the great horror franchises of the past 30 years. This “new” concept started in 2003 with the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and is still continuing with the release of Rob Zombie’s sequel Halloween II. In 2007, rock musician Rob Zombie took on the task of remaking John Carpenter’s 1978 horror classic Halloween. Zombie wrote, produced and directed the re-imagining, which tried to delve deeper into what makes a serial killer. I think this was one of the film’s flaws. The reason Michael Myers was such a frightening figure in the original film, was that he was such a mysterious figure made of pure evil. There was no explaining why one night the young Myers picked up a knife and began killing. He did it because he was a psychopathic child, no further explanation needed.
The “process” that created the killer Michael Myers which opens the film, wasn’t my main problem with the movie because it was at least interesting to watch. The same cannot be said of the last hour, as it turned into a generic slasher film that used up every cliche in the horror “how-to” manual. The second half of Halloween relied on blood and gore to entertain instead of creating any genuine suspense or tension, as the original had done so brilliantly.
"Gee Mister, what are you supposed to be?"
Flash forward two years and a sequel to the remake of Halloween is being released in theaters. The story for Halloween II (or H2 as it is being called), picks up immediately after the events of the last film, as Laurie has survived Michael’s attack and is rushed to the hospital. Michael has also survived the events of the first film and is none too pleased that he wasn’t able to reunite with his baby sister. So, in true psycho killer fashion, he sets off on yet another murderous rampage to find her.
Rob Zombie has said in interviews that after the getting the origin story out of the way with the first film, this sequel will give him the chance to create a more extreme version of the legendary character. From what I can tell this includes adding a hoodie. Zombie also stated that this film will be more realistic, and will also deal with Laurie’s emotional state after the attack by her brother Michael.
Michael's tattered scarf completes his hip ensemble.
The first Halloween didn’t exactly set the box office on fire but, it was only budgeted at $15 million and earned 4 times that domestically, a nice feat for horror. This sequel, I expect to do identical business, maybe a little bit less, since the remake concept is what drew most non-fans to the theater in the first place. If you’re a horror fan, you will be there on opening night. If you’re like me and only a casual fan of the series, you will probably wait for a matinee to check this one out. In my eyes, Halloween II has to bring something fresh (or at least less horror film clichés) to the table to make up for the disappointing first film.
About 7-8 years ago, a friend told me that Quentin Taratino had ambitions to do a war movie, particularly about World War II. I like war films a lot and to have a notion that Tarantino would be directing one, I couldn’t dream of a better scenario. Tarantino would easily make my top 5 list of greatest directors of all-time and he certainly has earned that mark with others as well. Since time started to pass after hearing the news of the war film, I started to forget and even wondered if it ever was coming out. During that time, Tarantino has worked on other projects and has succeeded well with the Kill Bills, guest directing on Sin City, a couple of episodes of “CSI” and Death Proof from Grindhouse. Finally, after a long wait, Tarantino has finished his war movie called Inglourious Basterds and this is easily one of the most anticipated movies for me personally and I’m sure for a lot of other people as well. There is an Italian war movie called Inglorious Bastards from 1978, but it’s not related to the current one.
Some people never move on from tee ball.
Brad Pitt (The Curious Case ofBenjamin Button) stars as Lieutenant Aldo Raine, an officer in charge of recruiting eight Jewish-American soldiers to go undercover behind enemy lines in German-occupied France. Their main orders are to “kill Nazis” and for each soldier to get “100 Nazi scalps.” One of the soldiers, Donny Donowitz, will be played by Eli Roth (director of Hostel). This will be one of his biggest acting performances, as he has only done small cameos in the past. The other part of the story will focus on a young Jewish girl named Shosanna Dreyfus (Melanie Laurent, Paris). She is bent on revenge since the Nazis killed her family and is looking for Secret Service colonel Standartenfuhrer Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz, Ordinary Decent Criminal) aka “The Jew Hunter,” the man responsible for her families’ death. With the combination of Shosanna’s personal vendetta and the American’s German hunting, the Nazi’s world is about to be turned upside down.
Other actors appearing in the film will be Diane Kruger (National Treasure), Samuel L. Jackson (Snakes on a Plane) and Mike Myers (The Love Guru). Tarantino, who wrote and directed the film, developed the story into five main chapters chronicling different perspectives and also heavily barrowing themes from spaghetti westerns. Tarantino once said the spaghetti western epic, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, was the best-directed movie he has ever seen, so expect major influences from that.
If you were a Nazi, where would this rank on the "Worst Things to Wake Up To" list?
I can’t wait to see to this and I’m hoping Tarantino continues his colossal streak of great movies since he hasn’t had a bad one yet (his segment from Four Rooms doesn’t count). Since Tarantino’s last movie, Death Proof, didn’t do so hot in the box office, I’m not sure how this will turn out with audiences, but I’m hoping it will be huge.
Jeremy Piven is one of those actors who have lived off his recent typecasting. His snake-like, arrogant, deceiving characters have now been synonymous with his recent roles. Piven has always made me laugh with this type of role, but he is also one of those few actors that could easily break from this part and succeed at something else. His arrogant characters range from Dean Gordon “Cheese” Pritchard from Old School (the first time I was really exposed to him), Buddy “Aces” Israel from Smokin’ Aces and a brief voice-cameo as Agent Harv from Cars. Of course his ultimate claim to fame would be Ari Gold from “Entourage,” the wise-cracking talent agent of Vinny Chase (Adrian Grenier). He continues this typecast trend (and with good cause) with The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, one of his few headlining roles.
All it takes is a dismissive look from Piven to garner a laugh.
Piven stars as Ron Ready, a shady used car salesman who makes a living by liquidating cars for dealerships. He is accompanied by his “team,” comprised of Ving Rhames (Pulp Fiction), Kathryn Helms (Step Brothers) and David Koechner (The Comebacks). While at a strip club with his posse, he receives a phone call from a struggling dealership looking for help selling cars for a big Fourth of July weekend. He approaches the head of the dealership (James Brolin) and guarantees he will sell every car on the lot. He is told the task is impossible, but Ready and his team are determined to do it. Assisting him is the dealership’s sales team consisting of Ken Jeong (The Hangover) and Ed Helms (The Hangover). With the help of Ron’s bizarre selling tactics, the dealership hopes to land the jackpot for Fourth of July.
Craig Robinson (Zach and Miri Make a Porno) and Will Ferrell (Land of the Lost) will make cameos. The Goods is directed by Neal Brennan, one of the writers and directors from “Chappelle’s Show.” Andy Stock and Rick Stempson wrote the screenplay and both collaborated on a straight-to-video film titled Balls Out: Gary the Tennis Coach. I guess they like colons.
No film would be complete without the 'The Right Stuff' shot.
Despite the praise I’ve given Piven, this movie looks terrible. I have zero interest in seeing this and it looks like the perfect dumb comedy people see and then tell you how funny it was. Much like Talladega Nights: The Balled of Ricky Bobby or Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. It’s not heard to draw the comparisons, just look for the colon in the titles. I’m sure The Goods will be quite the opposite of what its title proclaims.
The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard opens August 14th.
Back in 1992, a horrible comedy with Kurt Russell called Captain Ron was released. The premise of the movie was about a vacationing family in the Bahamas who is assisted by an annoying guide named Ron (Kurt Russell). He drives the family into trouble and sometimes puts their lives in danger. A Perfect Getaway would be the thriller version of this movie, except the Captain Ron character or characters might be evil themselves. The premise of the film and locations most remind me of the recent horror films Turistas and The Ruins. One awful, the other okay, perhaps the third time’s a charm.
"Is someone getting stabbed to death, there?" "Nah, I think it's just an island surgical procedure."
Butt-touching extraordinaire Steve Zahn (Management) stars as Cliff, a traveler enjoying a remote island vacation spot with his girlfriend, Cydney (Milla Jovovich, Resident Evil). While driving to their destination, they decide to pick up a hitchhiking couple, Kale (Chris Hemsworth, Star Trek) and his girlfriend (Marley Shelton, W.). While hiking, they run into another couple named Nick (Timothy Olyphant, Hitman) and Gina (Kiele Sanchez, “Lost”). Cliff and Cydney feel uneasy because they don’t know the other couples very well and seem reluctant to give information about themselves. Things get really alarming when they are approached by law enforcement officers saying that they found two dead bodies on the beach and they’re looking for a man and woman as alleged suspects. Worried, Cliff and Cydney are apprehensive about their new “friends” and must figure out which one of the couples could be the killers, if they even survive to find out.
David Twohy, responsible for the Pitch Black franchise, directs from his own script.
"Just wait until tonight. Slicing women, I'm a certified carpet cutter."
At first guess, I would say Timothy Olyphant could be the potential villain since he looks menacing and has often played antagonists in the past. However, I would hope the film is smart enough to stay away from such obviousness. I might see this in hopes that the film capitalizes upon the two other films in which it shares a similar tone. Six years ago, I never would have taken this movie seriously since Steve Zahn is the lead, but after seeing his outstanding performances in Shattered Glass and Rescue Dawn, I figure he can carry this. A Perfect Getaway does look entertaining and it would have to be better than if Zahn and Jovovich had Captain Ron as their island guide.
As a horror fan, I’ve always liked the idea behind the Final Destination series. Accidental deaths controlled by the paranormal, which on occasion show an image of death (the Grim Reaper) or a mysterious shadow. These films have made an interesting job of killing people without a centralized villain or killer. People die by sheer accident and that’s why I’ve enjoyed them, because you have no idea when someone is going to get theirs and how. The first Final Destination was released in 2000 and was very entertaining. Surprisingly, the sequel, Final Destination 2 (2003), was even better than the original. It also featured one of the more impressive car crash sequences in recent memory. I actually didn’t see Final Destination 3 (2006) because I think the plot formula had become tiresome. In every movie, including the fourth installment, The Final Destination, the main lead sees a premonition of everyone dying and escapes death with others, only to be killed off one-by-one later. The first premonition was surviving a plane crash, the second was avoiding a grizzly car crash and the third was getting off of a roller coaster before it flies off the tracks. The fourth one will be a group of friends avoiding a racecar crash, in which debris flies into the stands killing people. Yes, they’re entertaining, but I’m tired of seeing movies using the same plot over and over again, especially for the fourth time. How many times do people have premonitions to avoid death? It’s like the Saw franchise. I didn’t even bother seeing the fifth one because I’m sick of seeing the same thing. I would hope this would be the last Final Destination as the title proclaims, but with Hollywood these days, who knows.
What 'Jaws' did for the water, 'The Final Destination' will do for escalators. Be forewarned.
Nick O’Bannon (Bobby Campo, 99) and his girlfriend, Lori (Shantel VanSanten, You and I), and his two friends, Janet (Haley Webb, Big Game) and Hunt (Nick Zano, Beverly Hills Chihuahua), are at a racing event. Suddenly…you guessed it, for the fourth time in the series, Nick sees a horrific premonition of a multiple cars crashing on the track and hunks of debris flying into the stands and killing people. After foreseeing his death, he cautions everyone to leave the track, despite the dismay of his friends. Suddenly, an explosion occurs in the background and the foreseen accidents become reality. Having cheated death, Nick and his friends must find a way to stay alive before they are gruesomely picked off one-by-one.
David R. Ellis directs the movie and he previously has done Final Destination 2 and was also responsible for the Internet-hyped Snakes on a Plane. Eric Bress, who worked with Ellis on FinalDestination 2.
I hate the rain and apparently so does she. I don't know if I've ever screamed about it, though.
Since I enjoy horror, I have a mild interest in this movie despite the same literal plot of the previous three. I really liked the second one and I’m kind of interested on how they will decide to end the series, if that even happens. My guess is that it will end in a death. I just have a hunch.
Wow, never before have I seen a movie take the idea of aliens from another world and place frame it within the concept of a docudrama. It also covers discrimination and oppression of a culture, despite them visiting from another world. I’m shocked by the concept from District 9. This looks like the freshest and original idea to come across Hollywood in a while. Produced by Peter Jackson (Lord of the Ring trilogy), District 9 offers another look at aliens. The idea of aliens in cinema has always been a curious and very popular notion in Hollywood, even in recent films like Indiana Jones and theKingdom of the Crystal Skull and the remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still. Of course, the majority of alien movies have to do with the fighting of an evil invasion or abduction. Other have looked outside the realm of fighting evil aliens and explored the areas of them coming in peace or even co-existing with them. District 9, however, offers something totally new by co-existing with them, but also exploiting them for personal gain.
When good aliens go bad.
Taking place in Johannesburg, South Africa, Aliens have come to Earth, but are forced to stay in a restricted zone called District 9. Called “non-humans,” they are governed by the Multi-National United (MNU) and not allowed to leave the zone. If they do escape, they are considered rogue and will be hunted down. The world is aware of the aliens, but often criticizes MNU’s treatment of them. MNU tries to promote unity with the species, but is actually exploiting their technology. They keep them separate from the humans and many do not understand the aliens because they are unsure if they pose a threat or are peaceful. Many people want them to leave, but others want to co-exist with them and protest the treatment of the MNU. All of this spreads a chaotic feeling amongst humans about the aliens’ presence.
The film’s leads are played by William Allen Young (“Moesha”), Sharlto Copley (debut), Jason Cope (Doomsday) and Robert Hobbs (Catch a Fire). Neill Blomkamp co-writes and directs District 9. Only short films are on his resume until now, but District 9 is actually adapted from one his shorts, called Alive in Joburg. The script was also co-written by Terri Tatchel (debut).
If Bill The Butcher survived 'The Gangs of New York' to witness an alien invasion, he'd probably look like this.
Like Cloverfield, the film has been somewhat of a secret to the public. After seeing the trailer, however, I was excited by the concept and can’t wait to see this. This should do moderately well just from the sheer anticipaction from its secrecy. It may turn away some people with the docudrama style, but this looks to be a good time out at the theater. .
