Screen Rant » beowulf

Robert Zemeckis Wants Roger Rabbit To Return

Heath McKnight — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 18:54:46 +0000

I was happily surprised to learn that director Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future, Forrest Gump, Beowulf) has been thinking about bringing Roger Rabbit back to the big screen. Holy cow, that would be fantastic! I’ve been waiting 21 years for a sequel to Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

At a recent red carpet event, which seems to happen everyday in Hollywood, MTV Movies editor Josh Horowitz asked Zemeckis, who has been focusing on 3D performance-capture movies of late (including the upcoming A Christmas Carol), about using the technology to revisit older movies. He was alluding to possibly a fourth Back to the Future movie. Zemeckis’ answer surprised Horowitz:

“I’ll tell you what is buzzing around in my head now that we have the ability—the digital tools, performance capture—I’m starting to think about Roger Rabbit”

Very unexpected answer, but not unwelcome! I remember seeing ...

Click to continue reading Robert Zemeckis Wants Roger Rabbit To Return

Are You Looking Forward To 3D Movies?

Bruce Simmons — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 05:59:31 +0000

3D. I remember the 1D headaches from watching some older 3D movies. Yet the entertainment industry thinks 3D is the new tech that will help sales. Not only is it coming to a theater near you, it’s coming to computer games and some TVs that are already set up for 3D movies. Or will this newest effort end up in the warehouse with the massive unsold collection of 10,000 Segways?

The Potential of 3D:
Anyone remember trying to sit through a 3D movie with those totally dorky cardboard “glasses?” Do you also remember the massive eye-ripping 1D headache that came from using those things, or was that just me? I remember the headache because I just got it again after watching the
Click to continue reading Are You Looking Forward To 3D Movies?

My Bloody Valentine Poster = Everything I Hate About 3D

Vic Holtreman — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 18:38:27 +0000

There’s a new poster out for the remake of the 80s horror flick My Bloody Valentine. In an attempt to lure audiences back into theaters for yet another remake, this version of the movie will be in 3D.

If you’re a regular Screen Rant reader, you’ll know that I’m a big fan and supporter of the resurgence of 3D movies. However my love of the format is based on it being used in a subtle manner – bringing the audience into the film and adding visual depth to scenes.

This poster however, represents everything I hate about 3D and is exactly the sort of gimmicky approach that is fodder for those who think the format will be a flash in the pan instead of the next generation of movie viewing technology.

Specifically, I can’t stand the “pop out of the screen towards the audience” effects in movies. One of the best examples ...

Click to continue reading My Bloody Valentine Poster = Everything I Hate About 3D

Let’s Talk 3D Movies

Heath McKnight — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 16:56:22 +0000

Beowulf in 3D did huge business, and with many more 3D movies on the way, this could very well be the future of entertainment.

What is most remarkable about Beowulf is the animation style: Nearly photorealistic. But what is also interesting is director Robert Zemeckis’ decision to make the movie 3D. The primary goal of Zemeckis, the producers and the studio was to make a 3D movie first, and a traditional 2D movie second.

According to the Denver Post, only 20% of theaters screening Beowulf were 3D, yet they accounted for 40% of the opening weekend gross of $28.1 million. And in it’s second weekend, IMAX theaters accounted for 17% of total box office grosses although they accounted for only 2% of total screens! Of course, theaters screening in 3D charged extra, but the attendance numbers were huge. With ...

Click to continue reading Let’s Talk 3D Movies

Movie News Grab Bag – 11/26/07

Vic Holtreman — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 14:23:31 +0000

I’m back from being out of town last week. Although I managed to post up a couple of reviews, a lot of news didn’t get covered. Here’s a summary of last week’s highlights:

- Ben Cross (Chariots of Fire) will play Sarek, Spock’s father, in the new and currently in production Star Trek movie. (StarTrek.com) Hey! They added another old guy to the cast!

- David Twohy, director of both Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick apparently wants Vin Diesel back to play Riddick again. (ComingSoon.net) I thought the first one was pretty dumb the first time I saw it, but upon repeated viewings it grew on me. I also thought that Chronicles was cool in a “guilty pleasure” sort of way.

- Bruce Willis will star the Disney/Touchstone sci-fi flick: The Surrogates. It’s about a society where ...

Click to continue reading Movie News Grab Bag – 11/26/07

Review: Beowulf (IMAX 3D)

Vic Holtreman — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 20:37:26 +0000

By Vic Holtreman

Short version: In 3D Beowulf is an incredible visual experience that you must see… but leave the kids at home.

I need to make a few things clear before I begin my review:

1. I have not read the source material in any form, be it the classic poem or any graphic novelization of it.

2. Folks, please ignore the PG-13 rating given to this film. This is an R-rated movie!! How in the hell it was given a PG-13 boggles my mind.

3. This is a review of the IMAX 3D version of the film, not the standard projection version and the review will reflect that experience.

The plot of Beowulf is pretty straightforward on the face of it: Monster torments the local kingdom periodically, the King finally says enough is ...

Click to continue reading Review: Beowulf (IMAX 3D)

New Beowulf Footage… Uh Oh

Vic Holtreman — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 17:49:34 +0000

There’s been a lot of online discussion regarding the upcoming CGI motion capture movie Beowulf by Robert Zemeckis. While there was some great buzz about it this summer based on the 3D footage shown at the San Diego Comic-Con, for the most part since then people haven’t exactly been talking this one up. Much of the discussion has been centered on the attempt at photorealistic CGI characters, which although it has progressed leaps and bounds, still has a creepy, living-dead quality to it.

Of course there’s also been the controversy surrounding the bizarre decision to release red-band trailers for a movie that will be rated PG-13 (wierdest marketing ever). I’ve commented here previously that I think this mixed-message promotion will come back and bit them in the butt. I’ve also stated that really the primary reason I plan on ...

Click to continue reading New Beowulf Footage… Uh Oh

Four New Beowulf TV Spots

Vic Holtreman — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 14:49:37 +0000

The Beowulf site has four new TV commercials you can view online (the first one is below). Interestingly, although all of us savvy movie website readers know it will be rated PG-13, the commercials state that “This Film Has Not Yet Been Rated.”

TV spot #2 includes the following text:

“Some temptations cannot be resisted, some sins cannot be forgiven”

Sounds like a PG-13 movie, doesn’t it?

Either they’re reconsidering rating it R (which it seems to me it should be rated) or they just didn’t have the info at the time they produced the commercials.

Beowulf opens on November 16th on regular screens, and in 3D in digital theaters and IMAX. I’ll probably pop for the full-on 3D IMAX option just for the experience. ...

Click to continue reading Four New Beowulf TV Spots

Top 20 Movies Anticipated By Rabid Movie Fans

Vic Holtreman — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 15:28:07 +0000

There’s a new list out (don’t we all just love lists?) of the 20 most anticipated movies coming out in the next 12 months.

Movietickets.com polled 2,000 active moviegoers to determine what movies they were most looking forward to. What’s an “active moviegoer” you ask? It’s someone who’s seen a lot of movies this summer. Over 50% of those polled have seen at least six films this summer, with almost 20% having seen 11 or more! So I would imagine that means that many of those polled were teenagers or in their early 20′s.

Before I get to the big list, here’s the breakdown by gender:

Top Five Films Guys Are Looking Forward To:

1. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
2. The Dark Knight
3. Iron Man
4. National Treasure: Book of Secrets
5. American Gangster

Top Five Films The Ladies ...

Click to continue reading Top 20 Movies Anticipated By Rabid Movie Fans

Beowulf and Sweeney Todd Ratings: A PG-13 And An R

Vic Holtreman — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 15:11:45 +0000

I guess CGI motion-capture nudity doesn’t count as much as live action, fleshy nudity: Beowulf has been given a PG-13 rating by the MPAA. On the other hand (and thankfully) the Johnny Depp starring film version of Sweeney Todd will be rated R. I’d say that’s appropriate for a movie about a throat-slitting barber that grinds his victims into meat pies.

Here are the detailed descriptions from the MPAA for the ratings:

Beowulf: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence including disturbing images, some sexual material and nudity.

Sweeney Todd: Rated R for graphic bloody violence.

So there you have it. Now let’s wait and see if the upcoming movie Hitman actually ends up with the R-rating that Fox says it’s shooting for or whether they’ll strip it down to a PG-13.

Thanks to Firstshowing for the heads up!

Click to continue reading Beowulf and Sweeney Todd Ratings: A PG-13 And An R

New Beowulf Trailer

Vic Holtreman — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 19:10:08 +0000

There’s a new trailer out for Beowulf. After seeing 300, I still can’t help but feel that the king in this movie is channeling King Leonidas…

And again, based on the Comic-Con footage, the first trailer and now this one, I still cannot fathom how they can cut this down to a PG-13 and have it be any good. It just looks like it should pull out all the stops and go for the R-rating. I mean heck, look at the aforementioned 300: That was rated R and still made bucketloads of money.

Anyway, on to the new trailer.

quality="high"
type="application/x-shockwave-flash"
bgcolor="#000000"
width="480" height="241">

There’s still just a touch of “House of Wax” to the closeups, especially Robin Wright-Penn who looks more like a character out of a Pixar movie to me.

Click to continue reading New Beowulf Trailer

Beowulf: R-Rated Trailer For A PG-13 Movie?

Vic Holtreman — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 23:24:37 +0000

I’m confused… Yet another “red band” trailer for the upcoming motion-capture epic Beowulf has been released (click on the image above to go see it). For those of you who don’t know, a red band trailer is one that is not suited for all audiences (as opposed to the familiar trailers that start with the green background). Red band trailers are considered “restricted” and contain R-rated material.

Why am I confused by this?

Because at the San Diego Comic-Con, the filmmakers stated that they’re shooting for a PG-13 rating for the film’s release this November.

Why would a studio market a movie that will be rated PG-13 using R-rated footage? This means that shots that are seen in the trailer will not be in the movie. Releasing ...

Click to continue reading Beowulf: R-Rated Trailer For A PG-13 Movie?

Beowulf Comic-Con Unrated Trailer

Vic Holtreman — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 02:01:47 +0000

It seems to be trailer day today. Both AVP2 came out and now the Beowulf trailer that was shown at the San Diego Comic-Con has come online. Sue me, but at the time I sat there at the Con watching the trailer I knew nothing about this movie, not even that it was a motion capture (aka “mo-cap”) CGI film. Not knowing that, it gave off kind of a surreal feeling. The fact that I thought I was supposed to be watching live action but seeing that something was “off” about it was causing my brain to overheat.

Of course eventually I figured it out when they did various closeups of the actors faces and they looked a bit like Tim Allen’s Santa robot in The Santa Claus 2.
Click to continue reading Beowulf Comic-Con Unrated Trailer

2007 San Diego Comic-Con Wrap Up & Thoughts

Vic Holtreman — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 20:32:12 +0000

Just, wow.

I hadn’t been to the San Diego Comic-Con in about seven years, and this was the first time I went as a member of the press. If I had to pick one word to describe my experience it would have to be:

Overwhelming.

I did have a lot of fun, especially at the parties held after the days’ events. In the photo above are some of the folks I met who run other movie sites that I visit every day. From left to right they’re Jessica from FirstShowing.net, Peter from /Film, John from The Movie Blog, Kevin (crouching) from Cinematical, then there I am in my Slusho t-shirt next to John from
Click to continue reading 2007 San Diego Comic-Con Wrap Up & Thoughts

July 26th Comic-Con Report:

Vic Holtreman — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 20:24:48 +0000

This post will be continually updated.

At the Paramount panel:

Hot Rod

The three leads from Hot Rod introduced a clip from the film. It was a hysterical parody of a classic scene from Footloose taken way over the top. I have to admit it was pretty damned funny.

Stardust

Neil Gaiman was there to introduce a clip from the upcoming film. It was quite an extended clip showing Michelle Pfeiffer as the Witch turning two goats into men in order to help her staff an inn that she also creates in the clip to trap the young woman (Claire Danes) who is quite literally the star of the movie.

The effects were quite elaborate with everything being created from magic flames. It’s kind of hard coming into a scene like this without much context… one thing that I thought was kind of wierd, was that when the ...

Click to continue reading July 26th Comic-Con Report:

New Beowulf Talent List Is Pretty Impressive

Shane — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 19:36:44 +0000

I’m not sure if anyone has seen anything on this but the new Beowulf movie coming out has quite a lot of talent attached to it. The cast includes Angelina Jolie, Brendan Gleeson , Anthony Hopkins, John Malkovich, Crispin Glover, Alison Lohman, and Robin Wright Penn. This is quite an impressive cast for any movie, let alone a new version of one of the most famous fantasy stories ever.

It also has one of the best fantasy writers out there, Neil Gaiman. He wrote the story that was the basis for the upcoming movie Stardust. He also wrote the award winning comic series, Sandman, which is one of my personal favorites. It even has Robert Zemeckis directing, how can this movie go wrong?

Well, I have two reservations about this. The first is that Robert Zemeckis directed The Polar Express which used the same ...

Click to continue reading New Beowulf Talent List Is Pretty Impressive