Screen Rant » Paul Young

‘The Treasure Hunter’ Featuring Kato from ‘Green Hornet’

Paul Young — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:37:58 +0000

There are few people that are aware of the growing movie market overseas. Thailand is emerging as a serious threat in the marital arts action genre with the help of Tony Jaa (Ong Bak); Russia is proving they can make a slick and entertaining film thanks to studios like Disney (Black Lightning); and, of course, Japan has always been the source for many Hollywood studios’ “inspired” horror remakes (The Ring, The Grudge). One foreign market that tends to be brushed off as only doing kung-fu or martial art films is China.

Today we have a trailer for a new Asian film which has the odd IMDB genre label of romance/sci-fi called Ci Ling (Treasure Hunter). Why are we at Screen Rant sharing this trailer with you? Because Treasure Hunter stars an actor most English-speaking audiences may not be familiar with yet, but will be next year: Jay Chou. Chou is also playing Kato opposite Seth Rogen in the upcoming re-imagining of The Green Hornet. We thought you might a first-look at how the actor does onscreen.

Here’s the synopsis for Treasure Hunter and the trailer after the jump:

In the northwest desert where countless prosperous dynasties have flourish and fall, there is rumor of a treasure of unbelievable riches buried among it. A group of mysterious guardians have been guarding the map to the location of the treasure until a fierce rivalry erupted. A notorious international crime group, The Company, hunted down the map keeper and before they managed to secure the map, the keeper passed the map to a young chivalrous man Ciao Fei (Jay Chou). Ciao Fei was forced to give up the map to save the life of his mentor’s daughter Lan Ting (Lin Chi Ling). Teaming up with Hua Ding Bang (a famous archaeologist) and Lan Ting they embark on a dangerous journey to recover the map and fight to protect the ancient treasure.

I like the look of Treasure Hunter and even though it will never open in American theaters – unless it’s remade by Stephen Sommers, starring Brendan Fraser and Nicolas Cage in the renamed “National Treasure: Mummy Hunter”- I still look forward to watching it on DVD in a few months.

If the truth be known, a hefty portion of martial arts experts from China are fight choreographers for big Hollywood productions. Other films usually glazed over by American audiences, are the sweeping epics that China has produced in the recent years: Curse of the Golden Flower, House of Flying Daggers, and my personal favorite, Hero. I think it has something to do with American audiences’ disinterest in reading subtitles.

…And hose are just the films that make it into American theaters, thanks to the help and persuasion of people like Quentin Tarantino, who is a HUGE Asian cinema fan. There are plenty of bankable Asian actors that English audiences are familiar with: Jackie Chan (The Drunken Master), Stephen Chow (Kung Fu Hustle), Jet Li (Black Mask), Chow Yun-Fat (Confucius), Maggie Cheung (Hero), Donnie Yen (Iron Monkey), and Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). Odds are pretty good that you’ve seen at least one of each of those actors’ films and had to read the dialog in subtitles.

What do you think about Jay Chou, Treasure Hunter and Asian cinema, like it, hate it or open to it?

Treasure Hunter opens in Asian theaters December 31, 2009. The Green Hornet opens December 22, 2010.

Source: Twitch

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New Daybreakers PSA Reminds You to Turn in Humans

Paul Young — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:32:16 +0000

Earlier this summer, we posted a great trailer for the upcoming modern vampire tale Daybreakers. The first time I watched the trailer was in the theater before watching The Final Destination and all I could think was “Wow, I wanna watch that instead!” How can a movie go wrong with actors like Ethan Hawke (Gattaca), Sam Neil (Event Horizon) and Willem Dafoe (John Carter of Mars)? The answer – You can’t!

Set in a (obvious) future, fictional world where vampires have just about converted every human to be a stalker of the night, Daybreakers takes the unique approach of applying modern day situations and geopolitical statements to the vampires – they are slowly running out of food (read: blood) and have begun farming humans for just their blood, think The Matrix but with plasma.

A group of humans, lead by the crossbow wielding Elvis (Dafoe), survive outside of the blood farms and while Edward (seriously? Do we need another Edward the vampire?), played by Hawke, tries to find a blood substitute, he stumbles upon a cure. Unfortunately, it would appear that not every vampire is eager to switch back, including Charles Bromely (Neil).

Check out this new video clip courtesy of MTV Movies Blog after the jump:

Daybreakers is the third film written and directed by brothers Michael and Peter Spierig, whose last film Undead was very enjoyable but underrated. Many people don’t know this but the brothers did all of the special effects for Undead themselves on their home computers. This time around though, I think they were able to splurge for something a bit more expensive.

I’m hoping we see some viral PSA style marketing for this movie as we get closer to the January release date. It’s a novel approach to think that the “vamps” no longer want to kill all the human when they feed. Kind of reminds me of how humans have a tendency to over fish the tuna population, except this time we’re the tuna.

Next up for the Spierig brothers is a remake of the classic Errol Flynn movie, Captain Blood and if Daybreakers is half as good as the trailer is, then consider me on board for that movie too.

Are you interested in watching this new take on vampire lore or are you all vamped out?

Daybreakers sinks its teeth into audiences January 8^th, 2010.

Source: MTV Movies Blog

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Trailer For ‘The Final’: Can Hollywood Go Too Far?

Paul Young — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 01:31:43 +0000

The AFM (American Film Market) is a very big deal. Every year thousands of people attend and hundreds of films are shown by hopeful indie filmmakers trying to get picked up by a studio for a distribution deal. The festival ended last week but the deals are still coming – one of those deals was between After Dark Films and Agora Entertainment for their horror film The Final.

The Final will join 7 other films in the After Dark Horrorfest 4: 8 Films to Die For which include Hidden, Dread, The Graves, Lake Mungo and ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction. Here is the official synopsis for The Final (as well as a trailer for the film):

“In the scenic and remote county of Rocky Branch, Texas, the Workley ranch house would become the infamous scene known internationally on the internet as “The Final.”

“Dane, an awkward student with a deadly vendetta and suicidal tendencies, leads a group of outcasts who plot to avenge the years of humiliation they faced by the popular students at Hohn High School. Employing ideas inspired both from their classes as well as from horror films they watched, the outcasts turn the tables on the popular students who made sport of them.”

“After receiving a lake-house granted to him in his uncle’s will, Dane and his friends, Jack, Ravi, Andy and Emily prepare for a single night that will leave their tormentors scarred for life… physically and emotionally.”

The Final Trailer from AGORA ENTERTAINMENT on Vimeo.

The film, like most never-before-heard-of movies, stars some relative unknown actors and actresses – Marc Donato (Degrassi: The Next Generation), Jascha Washington, Whitney Hoy, Lindsay Seidel and Justin Arnold. Newcomer Joey Stewart is behind the camera for the first time working from Jason Kabolati’s script, who also produced The Final. Serving as executive producers on the film were Edward Lewis Von Hohn and Bill Randle.

It may be hard to discern but the question the mask tormentor asks at the end of the trailer is “What did you do to deserve this?”

That’s my question as well.

Take a look at the poster for The Final; a group of students with guns standing in a school hallway with other kids laying dead or dying in front of them. Remind you of anything? It should; 10 years ago mass murderers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold walked into Columbine High School with guns and homemade bombs then killed 13 people, injured 21 others and then turn the guns on themselves, all in the name of revenge for being bullied.

I realize this isn’t the first time a movie has been made that hearkens back to the events surrounding April 20, 1999. Gus Van Sant told a very similar story in 2003 with his movie Elephant but that wasn’t a glorification or praise of the massacre at Columbine. It was more of a story that told of the day’s events through multiple eyes. The Final is going in a whole different direction by justifying the violence against the teens’ tormentors. Director Joey Stewart said this about The Final in a press release:

“The Final is about being picked on, bullied, and tormented, and the retaliation and revenge that it incurs. As the characters feel that life has no meaning, they make a pact for revenge that will teach these kids a valuable life lesson. It’s about what happens when people are pushed to the brink of despair, and the consequences that the responsible parties must face.”

After Dark EVP Stephanie Caleb added this statement that I personally find chilling:

“This haunting and vengeful film is a perfect addition to this year’s line-up. Anyone who has experienced the difficulties of high school will find themselves empathizing with both the nerds and the popular kids alike.”

It’s almost like this studio is saying “If you ever had a bad word to say about someone in high school, don’t be surprised when they justifiably come down on you and your friends and kill you.”

I realize this is a fictional story of horror but is this really the message Hollywood wants to send to impressionable teens? Maybe the studio just didn’t see the connection – making a film that justifies teen on teen violence – but I would think that someone along the chain would have seen the connection. We already know that Harris and Klebold were recreating a scene they saw in The Matrix and that music and video games glorifying excessive amount of violence against people played a major role in their lives (yeah, yeah, violent video games don’t make kids violent – it was all part of the pattern here).

Would it be much of a stretch to think that After Dark and Agora Entertainment should have taken a step back, looked at the bigger picture and said “We should change the motive behind the killers’ revenge”? Where does Hollywood draw the line in what they’re willing to put on the screen?

It took 10 years before someone justified the bullying the Columbine killers received that made them snap. If the same timeline holds true, then in another 2 years someone is going to make a movie about the terrorists of 9/11 being heroes for striking back at their “tormentors.” Then the director will make a ridiculous statement about “what happens when people are pushed to the brink of despair, and the consequences that the responsible parties must face.” That would be followed by the EVP of a studio praising their decision to pick the film up for distribution by saying, “This haunting and vengeful film is a perfect addition to this year’s line-up.”

What’s next? Giving us insight on a child molester and why he’s justified in his actions because women ignore him? How about a film saying it’s OK to abuse a woman because she forgot to wash her husband’s clothes or make his dinner the right way? All absurd statements you say – and there is no way those stories would ever get told as a film. But 10 years ago people were saying the same thing about the story of teens killing teens in revenge for bullying.

What do you think?

Source: Twitch

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Star Trek Blu-ray Easter Egg: R2D2 Cameo

Paul Young — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:40:36 +0000

Everybody loves a good Easter Egg – both the kind you decorate, hide, then eat and the kind that artists, directors and musicians include in their various works of art for dedicated fans to find. Going way back to 2000 when the X-Men DVD came out, fans were treated to a brief introduction of Spider-Man in the special features section. That was just the first of many eggs to come.

When Iron Man came out, many sharp-eyed fans were quick to point out Captain America’s shield laying on Tony Stark’s work table; Ol’ Cap was then glimpsed frozen in an iceberg in a deleted opening scene from The Incredible Hulk. Just recently Michael Bay inserted a hidden video of himself talking about Unicron in the Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen Blu-ray; Bay even put a Terminator reference in TF2 with the words “T-1000” branded onto a destroyed robot’s arm.

Well, J.J. Abrams is continuing the Easter Egg trend with the help of ILM (Industrial Light and Magic) and thanks to the keen eyes at Gizmodo, everybody’s favorite little Star Wars droid can be spotted floating through space in a scene from this summer’s sci-fi hit reboot, Star Trek. Take a look at the picture:

Click the image to view a high resolution shot at Gizmodo.

Just like Gary Coleman, R2D2 must need the work because ILM is always trying to include him in just about every movie they work on, including the previously mentioned Transformer 2, which you can see here at Gizmodo. With a good list of sci-fi movies in the pipleline for ILM, such as Avatar, Iron Man 2, The Last Airbender, Star Trek 2, two Harry Potter films and an unknown film called Interstellar, I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of our white little droid buddy making his Stan Lee-type cameos.

If you want to find more movie Easter Eggs, then check out eeggs.com. They have plenty to look at and find. Have you seen R2D2 in any other films besides these and where do you think he will pop up next?

Star Trek comes out on Blu-ray and DVD tomorrow November 17^th, 2009.

Source: Film School Rejects

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Next in the TV Show Remake Craze: Charlie’s Angels

Paul Young — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:43:28 +0000

The remake bug has made its transition from the big screen to the small screen. This infectious virus, which the CDC (Center for Disease Control) has categorized as the most aggressive ever, has been mutated and become a full-fledged epidemic among the major television networks. It started a couple of years ago when NBC tried to remake two classic shows from the 70’s and 80’s, Bionic Woman and Knight Rider.

ABC has already showed symptoms of the bug with its most recent remakes of V and Melrose Place. Now, according to Variety, ABC’s next attempt will be the 70’s female spy show Charlie’s Angels. Josh Friedman, who helped adapt Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles for Fox, Leonard Goldberg who was a producer for the original Charlie’s Angels, Steve McPherson, and Drew Barrymore (who was in the movie version of the show in 2000 and its 2003 sequel) are all attached to the project.

Sony Pictures, also involved with the project, are dipping their toes in remake pool with Mark Burnett (Survivor) for reality game show version of Fantasy Island (groan) that will most likely have Vern “Mini Me” Troyer spouting the famous line “De Plane boss! De Plane!”

OK, so the Troyer part is speculation on my part… but tell me in the back of your mind you don’t see that eventually happening…

This isn’t the first time a Charlie’s Angels remake has been attempted. Back in 2004, Carlton Cuse and John Wirth (Lost) wrote a spec script for Sony and ABC but the project never got the green light. Things should be different this time around and a pilot is expected to be ordered with Friedman, Goldberg, Barrymore and Nancy Juvoneu (Whip It!) all set to produce.

What is it about TV show remakes of late that make these network studios think they are a good investment? You know what, let’s look at all of these recent remake attempts and see which of them have been around longer than one season:

90210 – The CW was infected with the virus last year with its remake of the 90’s teen drama, and while reviews have not been favorable, ratings have been high enough to get the show halfway through a 2^nd season.

Knight Rider, Bionic Woman – NBC really dropped the ball with both of these shows that tried too hard at being spy dramas and neither connected well with viewers. BW never even finished out its season after the writer’s strike.

V – The show had a great opening week and then dropped severely in its second week and had already been chopped up by the network for airing; it’s not looking so hot for a second season.

Melrose Place – The show is still on the air but if it’s ratings continue going the way of the dodo, then expect to see a new show in its time slot next year.

So television fans, if you thought that you were safe from the ravenous, nostalgic-killing remake bug because you don’t go to movies – surprise! You’re in for a world of hurt. I wonder what might be up next on the TV show remake chopping block: Fall Guy, Simon and Simon, Automan, Air Wolf, Street Hawk, Mork and Mindy, Three’s Company, MASH, Perfect Strangers, Cheers? The list could go on and on. If next year’s A-Team movie is successful, I suspect a remake of that show won’t be too far away.

The original Charlie’s Angels starred the beautiful Jaclyn Smith, Cheryl Ladd and the late Farrah Fawcett. I’m sure this will be a great opportunity to see three or four new “Angels” but audiences will most likely just see women off of other canceled shows. I’m thinking Eliza Dushku, Alyssa Milano, Summer Glau or Emilie Ullerup (Ashley from Sanctuary) would make be the most obvious choices.

What do you think about this latest trend to remake shows from the past 30 years? Are you excited to see a new set of Charlie’s Angels kicking butt on your TV and what shows would you like to see remade, if any?

There is no expected date for the Charlie’s Angels pilot to air.

Source: Variety

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Monopoly Movie Concept Revealed

Paul Young — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:25:23 +0000

Recently, Geoff Boucher from the LA Times had a chance to sit down with producer Frank Beddor (There’s Something About Mary), one of the minds behind the Monopoly concept, and Beddor gave readers the first ever look into what the story for the upcoming movie adaptation of Monopoly will be. What he said is not totally surprising: Beddor is working on a re-imagining of the Alice in Wonderland story called the Looking Glass Wars and he took that idea and applied it to Monopoly.

“[Hasbro has] this big world and this game — it’s the most famous board game in the world — and it just really came out of the whole ‘Alice’ thing. I took the approach of thinking of the main character falling down a rabbit hole and into a real place called Monopoly City … It was the re-engineering of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ that got me thinking and then with this it came around full circle and I was able to utilize that. That’s a big world. They were searching for that.”

To paraphrase: he has no original idea for making a board game into an actual movie but because he promised Hasbro to deliver he had to come up with something. I back up my previous statement with the following quote:

“I wrote the story that got Hasbro excited and I attached Ridley Scott. The project was underway but they were in a little bit of trouble I guess and they were looking for a way to actually turn it into a movie. I had a pretty interesting take and it got Sir Ridley interested.”

Want just a little bit more proof that Beddor is just phoning in the idea for Monopoly? Well, Pamela Pettler (9, Monster House) is penning the screenplay and as far as Beddor is concerned, his contribution to the project’s concept is done:

“Things will change; it’s been a couple of years since I came up with all that. I did my job where I created this world so they could get really excited and get Ridley excited.”

So what is this fantastic, game-changing idea (pun intended) that will rock the very foundation of the board game movie genre? I’m going to do something I rarely do and quote Beddor’s entire statement because it is just, so, totally… well, read it for yourself:

“I created a comedic, lovable loser who lives in Manhattan and works at a real estate company and he’s not very good at his job but he’s great at playing Monopoly. And the world record for playing is 70 straight days – over 1,600 hours – and he wanted to try to convince his friends to help him break that world record. They think he is crazy. They kid him about this girl and they’re playing the game and there’s this big fight. And he’s holding a Chance card and after they’ve left he says, ‘Damn, I wanted to use that Chance card,’ and he throws it down. He falls asleep and then he wakes up in the morning and he’s holding the Chance card, and he thinks, ‘That’s odd.’”

Wait it gets better (read: worse)

“He’s all groggy and he goes down to buy some coffee and he reaches into his pocket and all he has is Monopoly money. All this Monopoly money pours out. He’s confused and embarrassed and the girl reaches across the counter and says, ‘That’s OK.’ And she gives him change in Monopoly money. He walks outside and he’s in this very vibrant place, Monopoly City, and he’s just come out of a Chance Shop. As it goes on, he takes on the evil Parker Brothers in the game of Monopoly. He has to defeat them. It tries to incorporate all the iconic imageries — a sports car pulls up, there’s someone on a horse, someone pushing a wheelbarrow — and rich Uncle Pennybags, you’re going to see him as the maître d’ at the restaurant and he’s the buggy driver and the local eccentric and the doorman at the opera. There’s all these sight gags.”

OK, I’m just going to pull some keywords that bring on my groan-reflex: “world record”, “Monopoly City”, “Chance Shop”, “evil Parker Brothers”, “someone on a horse”, “someone pushing a wheelbarrow”, “buggy driver”, “sight gags”. I’ll bet you my vintage Evil Dead lunch box that Leslie Neilsen plays Uncle Pennybags.

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Secret Area 51 (Movie) Documents Released to the Public

Paul Young — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:32:48 +0000

Last month we reported that Paranormal Activity director Oren Peli was starting production on his next big screen project Area 51. For those living in a cave or under a rock, Area 51 has long been the focus of much extraterrestrial conspiracy theory. Famed for being a hotbed of alien activity, whether it be spaceships or alien beings, Area 51 holds a special place in modern day pop lore (thanks in part to movies like Independence Day).

Well the script was supposed to be one of the secrets that no one would ever crack. *Snicker* Come on now! This is the 21^st century; home to the internet (thanks Al Gore), Facebook, Twitter and 24 hour non-stop news, sports and games. Did they really think that a leak of some sort wasn’t going to happen? Our co-horts in cinema at Latino Review were visited in the night by an “owl” (named LEVLE) and when they woke up, he had left a mysterious package containing the script review at their bedside.

The problem is, the script review has been heavily edited by the military to remove all spoilers, but just like a military document released to the public – there are some nuggets of truth for us to gather and savor. There are four pages which you can look at after the jump before Big Brother makes us pull them down.

The Conspiracy continues on page 2…

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New Ultra-Gory Pics from Piranha 3D

Paul Young — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:26:35 +0000

When I first heard that Alexandre Aja (The Hills Have Eyes, Haute Tension) was writing and directing a remake of the classic 70’s Joe Dante film Piranha, I thought “Hmmm. This could be a good thing.” Then I read that he was doing it in 3D and I thought “Dang! I thought this could be a good thing; guess I was wrong.”

The remake, cleverly titled Piranha 3D, is set in the fictional location of Lake Victoria during spring break (think Lake Havasu), and after a underwater earthquake releases a prehistoric flesh-eating fish, “an unlikely group of strangers must band together to stop themselves from becoming fish food for the area’s new razor-toothed residents.” Sherriff Julie Forester must risk all that she loves and knows to destroy the piranha “save the lake and her family from totally being devoured.”

Piranha 3D stars Elizabeth Shue as Sherriff Julie Forester, along with Steve R. McQueen as her husband (ex?) Jake Forester. Joining them in their battle against the aquatic nightmare are Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future), Jerry O’Connell (Obsessed), Richard Dreyfuss (who is used to battling monsters in the water) Ving Rhames (The Tournament), Kelly Brook (Three) and “basterd” Eli Roth whose IMDB credit is listed as “Wet t-shirt contest emcee”.

We have some new pictures that have been released (thanks to Dread Central, where you can find more) and the ones you will see below are SFW and SFYS (Safe For Your Stomach). However, I would be remiss if I didn’t give you a link to some super-gory pics, and people, I’m mean SUPER GORY! I’m going to warn you now, if you are easily offended or disgusted by over-the-top blood and gore then by all means DO NOT CLICK ON THE FINAL THREE PICS OR PAGE 2!

Click to the next page for links to the gory pics.

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‘INK’ Trailer Will Leave You Wanting More

Paul Young — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:33:37 +0000

As some of our regular readers may know by now, we at Screen Rant like to hear about small studio indie films that may find a way to bring some original stories to the table and become widely successful. The recently successful Paranormal Activity is the biggest thing in the indie world since sliced bread. Last week, we introduced you to a new indie web series Broken Toy and of course we have been following the movies Black Death, Solomon Kane and The Tournament, in hopes of seeing them snag a big-screen wide release.

Today we bring you two trailers for a new film by indie studio Double Edge Films, which hopes to continue the indie breakout trend with their movie INK. Written and directed by Jamin Winans (which might make my top 10 coolest names – Kofi Outlaw is on that list as well), INK is the story of a little girl caught in a “metaphysical war being fought between the forces of light and darkness.” She gets kidnapped by a mysterious creature called Ink and is “taken through a labyrinthine world of dream states while those who love her fight to bring her back into the real world and bring salvation to her desperate father.”

It’s an interesting story, and while usually I don’t enjoy dream state movies (because they tend to be over-stylized in order to make sure the audience understands the characters are in a dream), INK intrigued me because of the attention it is gathering. IMDB shows the movie’s popularity up 81,000%! Surely, all those people can’t be wrong?

Watch the two trailers after the jump:

Trailer 1

Trailer 2

The adorable Quinn Hunchar plays the 8-year-old Emma Sullivan while Chris Kelly plays her broken and grieving father, John Sullivan. The “rescue team” known as Storytellers, the group of people whose task it is to bring Emma back from the clutches of Ink, are made up of Liev (Jessica Duffy), Jacob (Jeremy Make), Allel (Jennifer Batter), Gabe (Eme Ikwuakor) and are led from dream world to dream world by Sara (Shelby Malone).

Kiowa K. Winans (seriously does everybody involved with this production have a cool name?) joined up with Jamin in 2005 and has been working on INK for the past two years. The amount of work all parties involved have put into this project shows in all the great details and I’m glad to see their hard work paying off. Hopefully, they will continue to make great films and eventually a major studio will get their head out of their nether regions and start realizing that audiences like to see films like this.

Is INK something you would like to see in theaters? Well some of you may be in luck because there will be screening showing at the following locations and times:

What do you think of Double Edge Films latest offering INK and is it something you would have like to see on the big screen?

INK comes out on Blu-ray and DVD today, November 10^th, 2009.

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Roger Rabbit 2: Two-Dimensional Toons & CGI Humans?

Paul Young — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:57:34 +0000

Don’t act like you’re surprised. You knew this announcement was coming from the moment we first heard that director Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future) was making a sequel to his 1988 smash hit, Who Framed Roger Rabbit? It was just a matter of time, really. With three Mocap (that’s the new slang for “motion-capture”, FYI) films already under his belt – Polar Express, Beowulf, and A Christmas Carol – it was a natural leap of thought to assume Zemeckis would use his favorite new toy in a Roger Rabbit sequel.

However, it appears that the Toon characters (Roger, Jessica, Benny the Cab) will not be the ones making the leap into the 21^st century. According to his interview with MTV, Zemeckis doesn’t plan on using Mocap for those characters, just the human ones (as if that makes it any better). Read what he had to say below:

“I wouldn’t use it for the cartoon characters, because I think they should stay two-dimensional because that’s what — I wouldn’t dimensonalize Roger. And I couldn’t dimensonalize Jessica even if I wanted to because she doesn’t have a nose. We wouldn’t want to give her a nose.”

Wait, Jessica Rabbit didn’t a have nose? I honestly never noticed that before. I wonder why?

Why would Zemeckis feel it’s necessary to remove the only true human element from his movie? It was that interaction between the humans and the Toons that made Who Framed Roger Rabbit? so enjoyable in the first place. I hope he reconsiders and uses real humans in front of a camera, filming on a real set and with real life extras in the background. Although, to be fair, it could be that he is just tired of working in the traditional Hollywood movie setup.

After all, it has been 9 years since he filmed with a mutli-actor cast. The last three films he directed were all CGI Mocap and before that he did Cast Away, which basically only had one main actor. What Lies Beneath was his last multi-actor film in 2000 and then Contact back in 1997.

The good news is that the original writers, Jeffery Price (How the Grinch Stole Christmas) and Peter S. Seaman (Shrek the Third), are returning to pen the Roger Rabbit sequel. At least the story should be entertaining. There have been no announcements regarding the return of Bob Hoskins or any of the original cast members, but since Hoskins has done Mocap for Zemeckis in A Christmas Carol, it wouldn’t be a stretch to think he would reprise his role as gumshoe Eddie Valiant.

My standards for what films I watch are considerably lower than my standard for what films I find enjoyable. So regardless of how Zemeckis ultimately ends up filming Roger Rabbit 2, I’ll end up watching it. I just hope I find it to be as enjoyable as the first.

What do you think of Robert Zemekcis’ plan to use Mocap on the humans and not the Toons for Roger Rabbit 2?

Source: Cinema Blend

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Berenstain Bears Movie Coming to Theaters

Paul Young — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:32:48 +0000

There are only a couple of reason why you clicked through to read this article. A) You have kids and they still enjoy reading the books and watching the cartoons made popular by Jan and Stan Berenstain or B) You have a morbid sense of curiosity and just had to see what all the hubbub is about.

Either way, the news is true; Coming Soon points to a report from USA Today stating that Walden Media has bought the movie rights to produce The Berenstain Bears movie adaptation. The film will be a comedy with a mix of live-action and CGI (of course it will). No 3D has been announced yet, but just wait, it won’t be far behind, I’m sure.

On top of grabbing a rather obscure childrens’ property (maybe obscure isn’t the right word, let’s say ‘lesser-known children’s property’) like the Berenstain Bears, Walden Media has hired family niche director Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum, Real Steel) to get behind the camera and bring this story to life. Says Levy of the film:

“I’d like the film to be un-ironic about its family connections but have a wry comedic sensibility that isn’t oblivious to the fact that they’re bears. The comedy comes from this bear family coexisting in a more recognizably real world.”

ARGH! Seriously, who do I have to punch in the throat to make studios and directors understand that making the “real world” act around fake animals and CGI counterparts isn’t funny? I will personally trick every single one of the people in involved in the project into a theater, lock the doors behind them, ala Inglourious Basterds, and make them watch The Country Bears, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Garfield and Alvin and the Chimpmunks non-stop until the message is soaked into their thick skulls.

I have no problem with a Berenstain Bears movie being made; children’s films serve a great purpose in the film world and without them, parents would never be able to make time to “fold laundry” in the bedroom. All kidding aside, I enjoy watching a good children’s film – for example, my 4-year-old son and I routinely enjoy watching See Spot Run. What bugs me the most is Hollywood’s approach to genre; not every kid’s film needs to be “dumbed” down in order for children to appreciate it. Hollywood needs to remember that the parents should be entertained too because they will be in the theaters as well.

First look at the new Berenstain Bears outfits?

The Berenstain Bears are a family of four bears living in a tree. The family includes Papa, Mama, Brother and Sister. Those are the only names ever given to the bears but each story about them conveyed a moral or a message about growing up, interacting with others or just being courteous to your friends, neighbors and family.

How familiar are you with The Berenstain Bears and would you take your kids to watch a film about them (parents, do you even have a choice)?

No release date nailed down yet but The Berenstain Bears is expected to drop in 2011.

Source: Coming Soon

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Angelina Jolie in New Teaser Trailer as Agent Salt

Paul Young — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:42:51 +0000

I love salt, all types of salt really – Sea salt, table salt, rock salt and Evelyn Salt. Not familiar with that last one? She’s next summer’s female action spy played the ever so pouty-lipped Angelina Jolie. At one point, Tom Cruise was rumored to be attached to the Phillip Noyce (Patriot Games, The Bone Collector) directed secret double agent yarn but ultimately, Noyce and company decided to go with a more feminine touch. Good move guys!

Jolie has proven time and again that she is the go-to woman in Hollywood for lead female action roles. Say what you want about the Tomb Raider movie, but as Lara Croft there can be no other woman playing the part. Same goes for her roles in Mr. and Mrs. Smith and last summer’s Wanted. In Salt, she appears to be just as convincing while playing a wrongly accused woman on the run.

Salt co-stars Liev Schreiber (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) as Agent Winter, and Chiwetel Ejiofor (Redbelt, Serenity) that IMDB only lists as Peabody. Equilibrium (which is by far my favorite film of all time) script writer Kurt Wimmer penned the Salt script together with Brian Helgeland, who has an impressive resume himself (L.A. Confidential, Payback, Man on Fire).

Enjoy the trailer below:

Be sure to check out Yahoo to watch the trailer in HD.

With Noyce, Wimmer, Helgeland, Jolie, Schreiber, and Ejiofor all involved in the project, Salt looks to season up next summer’s movie line up.

What did you think about the teaser trailer for Salt? Think it will live up to its trailers expectations?

Salt comes out in theaters July 23^rd, 2010.

Source: Yahoo! Movies

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David Goyer: Ghost Rider Sequel Not a Reboot

Paul Young — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:27:02 +0000

The sequel to Ghost Rider is going to happen. Just deal with the reality and move on. You can whine all you want about how poorly done the first one was, in acting, script and direction, but that won’t change the fact the Ghost Rider 2 is on its way like a flame- skulled demon riding a motorcycle. All that fan boys can hope for now is a faithful retelling of the popular second tier Marvel/Disney property. I’m just hoping for a story that doesn’t include a flaming skeleton horse.

Last month, David Goyer (Super Max, FlashForward), who is producing his half a score old script (that’s ten years for you non-math majors), talked about his story a bit and confirmed he was attached to the project. Today, MTV has an interview with Goyer and addressed concerns about the sequel pulling off a PG-13 rating. So will it or won’t it be a reboot?

“It’s not exactly a reboot. I hate to say it’s more realistic, because he’s got a flaming skull for a head, but it’s a bit more stripped down and darker. It’s definitely changing tone. What Casino Royale was to the Bond movies, hopefully this will be to Ghost Rider.”

Well that wasn’t vague in the least. Is that a duck David? “Not exactly a duck.” Well I see two feet, feathers, a bill and it’s quacking. You sure it’s not a duck David? “Not exactly a duck.” Wait, what?

I’m nitpicking with words, but it does appear that the story is not “exactly” a reboot. Goyer says the story “will pick up 8 years after the first film” and that the character is “in a much darker, existential place.” One thing Goyer is doing with the Ghost Rider sequel is making it a standalone film; it reminds me of how The Hulk reboot was done. Same characters involved and instead of redoing an entire origin story, just briefly touching upon it to help show how the character gets from the previous story to the current one. It’s a good approach.

“You don’t have to have seen the first film. It doesn’t contradict anything that happened in the first film, but we’re pretending that our audience hasn’t seen the first film. It’s as if you took that same character where things ended in the first film and then picked it up eight years later.”

I wonder if they could make the second film feel as if I had NEVER seen the first film? There are still a few question marks concerning this project: What is a “dark” PG-13 film? What does he mean by “existential place”? How close does he plan to stay to his original script? Goyer answers that last question below:

“My script is out there on the Internet. We’re not changing much from it. It’ll be significantly the same script.”

Nic Cage is still attached to play Johnny Blaze/ Ghost Rider but the new tone and thought provoking direction of the sequel has me concerned we could see a lot of images like the one below.

Thanks to Film Drunk for the photo.

According to Goyer, Ghost Rider 2 is set to “roll before cameras next year” which means a release date of 2011 isn’t out of the question. Before that happens though, they’ll need to pick up a director.

Did David Goyer settle any of your concerns about the PG-13 rating or fears about a reboot for Ghost Rider 2?

Ghost Rider 2 has no official release date or title, but I hope it doesn’t have the words “Rides Again” in it.

Source: MTV Splash Page

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WWE Planning Old West Undertaker Origin Movie

Paul Young — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:50:40 +0000

We’ve seen a lot of origin stories in the past few years – Wolverine just came out this summer, Magneto may or may not be happening, there is always Superman and of course Batman’s origin has been told several times. Heck, The Hobbit can even be considered an origin story. Ghost Rider was unfortunately given an origin movie that dated back to the old west. I’m a huge fan of Tremors and the 4^th movie went back to the old west as well, for an origin story about the subterranean monster worm.

So I understand why studios and copyright holders want to make origin movies on comic book characters and even monsters, but I cannot for the life of me figure out this latest news coming from “wrastlin” news site Lords of Pain. WWE, in a bid to capitalize on one of their brands, is in the process of making a big-screen film on the origins of the current WWE SmackDown World Heavyweight Champion – The Undertaker. Yeah you read that right, a real-life, old-school wrestler is getting his own origin story. But why?

So far the only thing known about the film is that it will be set in the 1880s and will focus on “The Undertaker” character. The way WWE has handled its properties in the past (XFL anyone?) makes me think this will turn out badly and be a direct-to-DVD film, but website UGO has 4 good suggestions on how to make this a legitimate and successful film.

“Don’t Let The Undertaker Play The Undertaker”

I absolutely agree; we’ve seen what happens when wrestlers try to take their over-hyped, under-scripted performances from the mat to the screen. It’s neither pretty nor entertaining. Sure there have been some successes; Hulk Hogan (back in the day), Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, John Cena (mildly), even Andre the Giant (The Princess Bride) but there have been some real stinker performance as well. Can anyone say Triple H in Blade III, Kane in See No Evil or Randy “Macho Man” Savage in Spiderman? Even though They Live is a cult classic, Roddy “Rowdy” Piper acted like a cardboard cutout.

“I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass…and I’m all outta bubblegum.”

“Don’t Have The Actors Wrestle”

Again, I agree; in every first movie a wrestler has done, the WWE has felt the need load it up with the lead actors’ “signature” moves. Hulkster did it, “The Rock” did it, John Cena did it and so did Triple H. If we want to watch wrestling moves, then we’ll pile into our jacked-up, mud-covered trucks and head to the coliseum for Monday Night Raw. Onscreen, we just want a decent fight scene.

“Load the movie up with ‘That Guys’”

In case you are wondering, UGO is talking about “the sheriff, the barkeep, the whore with the heart of gold and the evil rich land baron”. These are characters that are common place in most western films. However, UGO is quick to point out that these characters should NOT be played by wrestlers. Yeah, because that’s what we need to see: Coco Beware or The Bushwhackers dressed in chaps and riding horses or manning the saloon bar.

“Don’t Rush Things”

Simply worded but filled with truth. If the WWE wants to make this into a franchise character then they need to take their time and do it right. They shouldn’t go rushing things into production just because they want to make a quick buck. If they take a step back and look at things in a wider perspective, then they might actually produce a film worth watching. After all, audiences like westerns and origin stories. Combining the two together in the right way could turn out promising, but only if the WWE does it right.

SIDE NOTE: As I was typing this, our buds at Film Drunk reported that the WWE is also making a film with The Big Show called Knucklehead, where he plays an orphan that never left the orphanage and almost burns it down. To help pay for the damages, he takes a road trip with the head nun and a shady guy to fight in a MMA tournament to win $100,000. Sigh; when we were talking about Hollywood coming up with original ideas, this isn’t exactly what we meant.

What do you think about an Undertaker origin story and did you watch wrestling growing up? Perhaps you still do; it is, after all, a billion-dollar-a-year industry.

No release date for this Undertaker origin film, but we’ll keep you posted.

Source: UGO, Lords of Pain, Film Drunk

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Movie Theater Etiquette for the Modern Day Audience

Paul Young — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:06:58 +0000

It’s very sad that I have to write an article like this in our day and age. One would think that society has grown and matured over the years to the point where we wouldn’t have to be told how to act around other people. Well it would seem that courtesy has been thrown out the window and a new day is dawning where people couldn’t care less about others around them. Back in 2003, Screen Rant founder Vic Holtreman wrote a great rant about people talking during films. I’ve decided to expand on those thoughts.

We could talk for hours about how rude society has become and how we ultimately got to this point, but that is a discussion for a different time and place. I want to discuss some of the issues facing the modern day moviegoer and what they can do to make everyone’s movie watching experience more enjoyable. So, I will be discussing the 3 biggest problems in movie theaters today: cell phones, babies and talking during films.

Although technology has improved our lives, it sometimes degrades our theater going experience. Take cell phones for example: these are wonderful modern day gadgets that allow us to be in constant contact with everyone and everything around us. Car broke down? Use your cell phone to call a tow truck. Want to order a pizza and pick it up on your way home from work? You can do that too. Miss your mom, girlfriend or boyfriend and want to catch up with them? You can now do it from anywhere in the world. However, “anywhere” does NOT include the movie theater!

Cell phone interruptions has become such a problem in theaters that the original “Please refrain from talking during the movie” slides that used to be shown before a film have now been replaced with “Please silence your cell phone.” Unfortunately, people didn’t respond very well to that because it was still happening on a consistent basis; theater groups and studios then upped the ante by producing very elaborate fake movie “trailers” that grabbed the viewers attention. Some of them are so well done that I’ve often wanted to see an actual film based on those fake trailers.

The problem with cell phones (as I see it) is that people think they are the most important person in the world and therefore the “common” rules don’t apply to them. They think that their phone call is SO important that it just absolutely can’t be put off for two hours. Unless you are a doctor, detective or district attorney (it would seem those people are constantly getting phone calls that they just can’t ignore – at least in movies) then you don’t need your phone on. At the very least put it on vibrate; no one is impressed that you have the latest P. Diddy, Dixie Chicks or Adam Lambert song as your ring tone.

I can understand if it slips your mind and you forget to put it on mute or vibrate – accidents happen, but the sake of everything fuzzy, grab it and hit mute when it starts ringing! Don’t sit there and act as if you can’t hear it ringing. The people outside the theater can hear it ringing! And do not answer the phone and say “Hey bro/mom/honey. What’s up?” or “Hey, I can’t talk now.” Just mute the ringer, and let it go to voicemail – that’s what voicemail is for.

So be courteous please and remember to mute your ringer before going into the theater. It shows how much you care about other people’s theater experience. After all, we paid to watch the film on the screen, not listen to your ringer jam out to MC Hammer’s “Too Legit to Quit”.

Click to learn why babies and movie theaters don’t mix…

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HBO Making Music Industry vs. Piracy Film

Paul Young — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:22:44 +0000

As I write this, I’m listening to an eclectic mix of Michael Jackson, Pearl Jam, The Foofighters and David Sanborn all of which are being pumped through randomly via my Zune. Just a few years ago, I would have been concerned about receiving a legal notice in the mail or the FBI breaking down my door for illegally downloading a three and a half minute song, but thanks to Amazon, iTunes and the Zune Store, I can listen to anything artist I want legally for a small fee.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) are always touting how their products are on the cutting edge of technology. Musicians now sing and perform in Dolby Surround sound and High Definition while movies like the upcoming A Christmas Carol and Avatar use motion-capture and state-of-the-art 3D technology to enhance our theater experience. But what happens after we leave the concert or theater and want to listen or watch again?

That is where the RIAA and MPAA are drastically behind the times; they have been, and, unless something changes soon, they will always be behind the curve. The story of the RIAA’s almost laughable failure to stay ahead of the retail game has been put into book form by Steve Knopper in his work Appetite for Self-Destruction: The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age. Our friends at Collider point story at The Hollywood Reporter stating the HBO has hired Playwright Victoria Stewart (Hardball) to script the adaption of Knopper’s book for an HBO original film.

The book follows the record industry’s inability or unwillingness to change with the times starting back with the fall of disco in the 70’s to the introduction of CDs in the 80’s and 90’s and their fight with Napster, Kazaa and other peer-to-peer networks that they associate with the falling CD sales in the 2000’s. It sounds like a very interesting read and I plan on checking it out this week.

There aren’t any actors associated with this project but knowing the high standards HBO has for its original films, I can’t see them hiring just anyone to star. Of course, I don’t doubt that anti-piracy bands like U2, Pearl Jam and Metellica will be all over the news protesting this movie. There is also no word on whether the movie will just be a dramatic re-telling of events leading up to today’s digital situation or more of a film that laughs at the RIAA. Time will tell.

The RIAA really took the wrong approach to piracy a few years back when it began suing “nobodies” in the online piracy world. Instead of going after the people that burn CDs and sell them for profit in foreign countries, they thought that millions of dollars would be better spent forcing grandmothers and college students to pony up thousands of dollars in legal bills and fines to prove their point.

I think the absurdity of the situation can best be summed up by the Weird Al Yankovic song “Don’t Download this Song” where he says “It doesn’t matter if you’re a grandma or a seven year old girl, They’ll treat you like the evil hard-bitten criminal scum you are”

The RIAA didn’t stop anyone from downloading music; they increased it. As my best friend in junior high said after I ripped my pants in front of a bunch of girls trying to impress them by doing a back flip, “Smooth move Ex-Lax!” Sure, the industry put a damper on it for a while but eventually they stopped chasing and beating up on the little guys (read: their customers) and moved on to what they should have been doing the entire time – figuring out a way to offer the music we want in the format we desire.

Just like when you are driving on the interstate and you come up on a cop, everyone slows down to the speed limit until the officer gets off the road and then it’s back to “pedal on the metal” time. Same thing applies here.

The old saying “If you can’t beat them; join them” is fitting because once the RIAA started focusing on offering music online for a fee, music sales jumped to an all-time high. Instead of buying a $15 CD with 4 songs I want on it, I can just buy the 4 songs for $4 (which is still too high IMHO), but at least now consumers have a viable legal option to acquire music legally in the format they want.

Do you think a story like this is worthy of being made or better left as something for the history books?

No debut date or title for the HBO original film.

Source: Collider

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‘Storm’ Trailer: Uwe Boll Returns to (Bad) Form

Paul Young — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:39:10 +0000

Every time that a new Uwe Boll film comes out, I watch it hoping that this will be the film in which he succeeds in blowing me away; I haven’t had that happen yet. Sure, his next release, Rampage, looks like it may be his finest work to date -- but that is like saying a small bag of garbage is better than a large bag of garbage. Our buddies over at /Film have pointed out a new trailer for Boll’s next film titles Storm, or Final Storm if you check out the IMDB page.

To be honest, with Boll’s track record of video game movies, I fully expected Storm to be about the new Blackberry phone; however, the only synopsis I could find for Storm was on IMDB and it looks like I I’ll have to wait for that Blackberry film:

“A stranger named Silas flees from a devastating storm and finds refuge with Tom and Gillian on their farm. While struggling with the Storm, Silas seems to be the only one who can help Tom and Gillian to find their son but there are other more dangerous forces out there, that are waiting for the three.”

Storm stars former Beverly Hills 90210 hunk Luke Perry (8 Seconds) and former Mrs. Jim Carrey, Lauren Holly (Dumb and Dumber) along with Steve Bacic (Good Luck Chuck) and Cole Heppell (The Fog). Boll usually writes and directs most of his films but in this instance, Storm was written by Canadian Tim McGregor, whose previous credits you most likely have never heard of.

Watch the trailer after the jump:

The trailer feels a little off to me. The dialog is delivered OK (I suppose) and maybe the film is edited better, but the trailer feels slapped together. To me it seems like a series of scenes pasted together and doesn’t do anything to explain the story. The trailer starts with floods and TV signals going off air but then a stranger staggers into their home in the middle of nowhere and the next 45 seconds or so are dedicated to the family just hanging out at the house. Then out of the blue a bunch of people are attacking them in a town. Huh?

Because I’ve made it one of my life’s goals to watch every film made by Uwe Boll, then I will be seeing this (most likely on DVD since I doubt it makes it to theaters in my town) but based on the trailer I don’t have very high hopes that Boll has surpassed or equaled the mild success he achieved with Rampage.

Oh well, there is always his next attempt Blackout which according to Wikipedia, “Boll is now offering the opportunity for anyone to “co-produce” his upcoming film Blackout. In exchange for a gift of 33 euros ($49 U.S.), a donor will receive a limited edition DVD of the film and a signed certificate from the cast and crew.”

On the flip-side, I am hearing good things about his German film Max Schmeling, the true story about the real life German boxer.

What do you think about Uwe Boll’s latest movie Storm?

Storm is supposed to release 2009 according to IMDB but I was unable to find an official release date.

Source: /Film

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[SR Pick]: Bill For ‘The Hangover’ Bachelor Party

Paul Young — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:34:16 +0000

This summer’s breakout hit has to be The Hangover. Everyone expected it to be funny and do well at the box office, but no one expected it to eclipse the $400 million worldwide mark. In case you didn’t know (or couldn’t guess), The Hangover 2 is already filming and planned for a Memorial Day 2011 release.

The film revolved around a group of four guys who head to Vegas for a bachelor party and after a night of raucous activities, can’t find the bachelor, have a baby to take care of and a tiger in their bathroom. Needless to say, all the pieces come together at the end of the film but have you ever thought to yourself “Man! How much would a night like that cost?”

I know my bachelor party was not quite that elaborate. I just had 4 of my best buds over to the house; we smoked cigars and played spades until 3 a.m. then fell asleep. Total cost was $60 for the cigars. There were no strippers, drinking or hotel rooms and for sure no tigers; all of those items would have driven the cost up. But by how much?

Surely Vegas strippers and beer can’t be that expensive. As for hotel rooms, William “The Priceline Negotiator” Shatner is always telling me I can get a last-minute Vegas hotel room for under $100, and since thousands of people go to Vegas to get married every year, how expensive can that really be?

Well, a few weeks ago we posted a fantastic graph by Jack Satin, who claims to be everything Vegas, showing the best and worst bets on movie involving Vegas in the story. Today he has put together a receipt with a total estimated cost for the entire Vegas trip, including discounts, for the four guys from The Hangover. I sort of wonder how he managed to get a cost for a tiger, the GHB and getting tasered.

Either way, it’s a great list and the receipt basically runs you back through the movie. I found myself chuckling while reading it as I remembered each scene of the movie related to the cost.

How much did your bachelor/bachelorette party cost and do you have some wacky stories or pictures you’d be willing to share?

The Hangover comes out on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Copy December 15, 2009. Enjoy the picture below:

Source: Jack Satin

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Official Trailer for How to Train Your Dragon

Paul Young — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:44:07 +0000

A little while ago, a teaser trailer for Dreamworks’ How to Train Your Dragon hit the internet but it was such poor quality that it really didn’t do the film justice. This would probably be the reason why Paramount asked us a day or so later to pull the video. A couple of weeks later, a proper teaser trailer came out with the exact same footage and to say it was tons better would be an understatement.

Today, thanks to Trailer Spy, Dreamworks has released the official trailer for How to Train Your Dragon in glorious HD and it is beautiful. The story is based on the 2003 children’s book by the same name written by Cressida Cowell. The movie is set in the land of Vikings and dragons and follows a Viking boy named Hiccup on the island of Berk. For Hiccup and his people, fighting dragons is an everyday occurrence. The world Hiccup knows changes entirely as he ultimately befriends a wounded dragon instead of killing him, much to the embarrassment of his father.

How to Train Your Dragon is an animated 3D CGI movie helmed by Lilo & Stitch directors Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders with the screen play written by Dean DeBlois. Jay Baruchel (The Sorcerer’s Apprentice) is the voice of Hiccup with Gerard Butler (Gamer, Law Abiding Citizen) joining him as the voice of Stoick, Hiccup’s dad and the chief of the tribe. Recognizable names, America Ferrera (Ugly Betty), Craig Ferguson (The Drew Carey Show), Jonah Hill (Superbad), Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Kick Ass) and Saturday Night Live regular Kristen Wiig (Whiplash) all lend their voices as well.

Watch and enjoy the trailer below:

This isn’t a new story – a wise cracking son who just wants to be himself doesn’t live up to his father’s high expectations while still looking for his validation. It’s been told numerous times before but it’s never been told with dragons and who doesn’t like a good dragon story? I’m not a huge fan of 3-D technology but if it’s going to be used, then I feel like CGI animation is best suited for it. How to Train Your Dragon is following in the footsteps of this summer’s highly successful 3-D animated movie Up.

Did you enjoy the trailer for How to Train Your Dragon and what do you think about the use of 3-D technology for it?

How to Train Your Dragon flies into theaters March 26^th, 2010.

Source: Trailer Spy

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‘Tucker & Dale vs. Evil’ Red Band Trailer

Paul Young — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:36:31 +0000

Horror and comedy are two of my favorite genres and just like a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, I like when they are combined. Last month, Screen Rant writer Ross Miller did a series on horror films that were combined with other genres. One of those combinations was horror plus comedy and the movie he choose was Shaun of the Dead. Other great examples are the always popular Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness with Bruce “The Chin” Campbell.

Well today, courtesy of our friends at Bloody Disgusting, we have a new trailer for the upcoming horror/comedy film Tucker & Dale vs. Evil. If the film is half as funny as the trailer then I am really looking forward to seeing it. The movie stars Alan Tudyk (Firefly, Dodgeball) and Tyler Labine (Zack and Miri Make a Porno) as two redneck hillbillies that want to do nothing more than enjoy their new vacation cabin in the middle of the woods.

Of course, the mandatory horror staple of stupid, horny college kids are in the film and they think themselves better than our backwoods brethren. After Tucker and Dale rescue one of the kids from drowning, the teens accuse the guys of kidnapping or killing her and embark on a quest to rescue her. Through a series of horrific misunderstandings, the teens are killed one by one but not by the people you would think. Watch the red band trailer after the jump.

I like the fact that these are just nice, honest guys that aren’t trying to bother anybody but are stereotyped just by how they look. It reminds me a lot of those old Church of the Latter Day Saints commercials where the black guy dressed in hip-hop urban clothing walks up behind the white guy dressed in a business suit. Just when the white guy thinks he is about to get mugged, the black guy hands the white guy his wallet that he dropped instead. Moral of the story – you can’t judge a book by its cover.

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil is just like that LDS commercial; the film is directed by newcomer Eli Craig, produced by Thomas Augsberger (Waiting) and Deepak Nayar (Bend It Like Beckham) and also stars is Katrina Bowden (Sex Drive). It’s a nice change of pace to the see the jerky college kids as the bad guys instead of the turning the guys that like to hunt, fish and pretty much just be left alone into mindless blood-thirsty killers.

What do you think about this new horror/comedy concept for Tucker & Dale vs. Evil and do you plan on watching it? Do you think it could become as popular a cult favorite as Evil Dead and Shaun of the Dead?

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil slaughters it way into theater screens soon.

Source: Bloody Disgusting

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