Wreck-It Ralph Trailer Promises Awesome, Retro-Gaming Fun

While it doesn't have the benefit of instant attention like Pixar's filmography (To be fair, they earned that reputation on goodwill). Wreck-It, Ralph has the kind of hook to grab the 70s/80s born retro-gamers in us who still rock our 8-bit NES and long for the days of arcade gaming.

A video game villain (voiced by John C. Reilly) is tired of being the bad guy and decides to try at playing on the other side. Here's the trailer, courtesy of MSN:

Ray Bradbury RIP

Ray Bradbury, a legend in science fiction literature, is gone. The renowned author passed away last night his family revealed this morning. No other details are available at this time.

We could talk about Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man and countless others. Many will. That's the best to do. Get Bradbury's life-time of great work back into the conversation. Maybe some kid, with a keen interest in science fiction, will notice and take a liking. That's what happened to me. And who knows? Perhaps his work might plant the seeds in his head and lead him to become a great, new voice in the genre.

I'd like to think that's what Bradbury would want.

For me, I'll always remember him dating back to his analogy series The Ray Bradbury Theater, on the USA Network (It wasn't until years later I found out it originated on HBO). A tall old man with thick rims walking into his office, filled to capacity with toys, maps, books, pictures from his youth. And a typewriter at the center:

"People ask, 'Where do you get your ideas?' Right here! All this is mine! Martian landscape. Somewhere in this room is an African belt. Just beyond perhaps is a small Illinois town where I grew up. And I'm surrounded in every side by my Magician’s toy shop. I'll never starve here. I just look around, find what I need and begin."

That's who Bradbury will always be to me. We've lost a visionary. One who's talent and influence few will ever match.

Jon Favreau Up for Jersey Boys

Going for a theatrical version of a Broadway smash is hit and miss. For every Mama Mia! (My seven-year old niece's favorite) or Hairspray (Her other favorite!), there's your fair share of Rent, Phantom of the Opera or, worst of all, Nine. Graham King is hoping for the former as he gears up a film adaptation for Jersey Boys, the hit focused on Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons.

As the top of the directorial short-list, Variety reports, is Jon Favreau.

Don't think there's anything in his background as a director or actor (People forget he had a good career in supporting roles before Elf and Iron Man). But that's a plus. I like Favreau trying something new, and what could be a bigger challenge than doing a musical.

Guess this means The Magic Kingdom, the excellent wish fulfillment adventure at Disney, is dead?

Is the X-Men: First Class Sequel Going Back to the Future?

Days of Future Past is one of the most revered stories in X-Men history. Iconic imagery, from the cover art of The Uncanny X-Men #141 and #142 to the brutal end a gray-in-his-whiskers Wolverine, meets at the hands of Sentinels. Painted a bleak outcome of what our outcast protagonists always feared – a future where mutants, the ones who aren't dead, are round up in internment camps. Darker stuff many weren't used to in their comic-fodder, even the allegorical X-Men.

It has the plot mechanics common for comics (time-travel, changing the future, etc.) But that stuff is better suited for Star Trek. Exactly what J.J. Abrams & Co. did to reboot the then-DOA franchise a few years back. Could the same be applied to the similar-bogged-down-in-continuity X-Men film franchise? AICN suggests its a possibility for the X-Men: First Class sequel:

"One of my little birds Weapon X recently dropped me some information that 20th Century Fox had recently registered the title DAYS OF FUTURE PAST with the MPAA Title Registration Bureau. The Bureau exists for studios and productions companies to stake their claims on certain titles that they intend to release and distribute, so that others can stray from using a similar title."

That title's been registered for years as a matter of fact. It doesn't necessarily mean the heavy-on-verisimilitude X-Men will suddenly veer in that direction. Too out there for my tastes, and yes, does reek of Fox's way of aping Star Trek.

Iron Man 3 First Official Look

Subtract the clapboard-blocking the $50 million earning neck of Robert Downey Jr. and we're left with a first look at Iron Man 3 not too far off from our initial glance at Iron Man 2 circa May 2009.

The picture, perfectly fine my li'l smart-mouthing aside, is Marvel's way of announcing the start of production. FYI it started last week.

Fox Set to Welcome My 30s with Style

In 2014, I will have reached my third decade of existence. Such commemoration brings feelings of feebleness and inadequacy when one reflects on their time in years' past. Thankfully Tom Rothman, remembering yours truly doesn't consider him Satan's spawn and has said so on many a platform, remembered this* and decided today 20th Century Fox would announce their big 2014 tentpoles for my amusement:

• A 3D reissue of Independence Day for July 3, 2013. I couldn't sit through this when Ed Hocken picked it for Movie Moan. If I couldn't do that on home video for $5, you think I'm going to shell out $15 just so Brent Spiner's corpse can jump out at me?
• Steven Spielberg's Robopocalypse moves from July 3, 2013 to April 25th 2014. That sound you hear is God smiling down on Guillermo del Toro, whose similar-themed Pacific Rim opened the following week. Now he's been spared the wrath of Spielberg and possibly the breakthrough commercial smash long deserved. And hey, Robopocalypse gets the big day-and-date The Avengers slot.
• When there's no more room in Hell, the Apes will walk the Earth. Sorry, couldn't help it. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes will unleash Caesar & Co for Memorial Day weekend (May 23). How long till the inevitable announcement James Franco and Freida Pinto are no shows?
• The X-Men: First Class sequel, the one I still don't want frankly, has no title. But it has everything else, including a release date - July 18. Two summers in a row, Fox takes the coveted late July slot from Warner Brothers. Is this a pattern?
• There's also release date shifts for some (the Percy Jackson sequel moves from March to August 2013) and other first-time commitments (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty with Ben Stiller for Christmas 2013). But it's big genre fare you care about.

*Thanks, Tom!

The Bourne Legacy Trailer

If this fails, Tony Gilroy can't blame Paul Greengrass, can he? The full trailer to The Bourne Legacy is here. Take a gander.

Too soon to tell if Universal's decision to commence without Matt Damon, interestingly his mug is onscreen which means Damon gave clearance which (to break it down further) suggests he's not entirely against returning without his pal helmer Greengrass, will pay off.

I like the timeline splicing for Legacy to take place during the events of The Bourne Ultimatum (a move Greengrass played in Ultimatum using the ending of The Bourne Supremacy). The action looks good, wisely more Doug Liman, less Greengrass. Jeremy Renner seems to be a capable lead (He's a two-time Oscar nominee after all!)

But it still leaves a problem they can't overcome. Renner is not Matt Damon. By showing Damon's face and referring to Jason Bourne during the two minutes of action/plot exposition, you're not making it any easier for audiences to stop asking, "Where’s Matt Damon?"

It's All Channing Tatum's Fault G.I. Joe 2 Got Delayed

Not a spoiler at this point to reveal Channing Tatum's character Duke (the only non-mask-wearing, kung-fu fighting holdover from G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra) was supposed to kick the bucket in the opening minutes of G.I. Joe: Retaliation. Don't look at me with those vengeful "Spoiler Alert!" eyes. They gave it away in the trailer!

It might look like a boneheaded call now. But Jon Chu's follow-up was in development before Tatum's career took an upswing with the recent batch of 2012 hits The Vow and 21 Jump Street. We shouldn't forget Dear John from 2010 (First film to unseat Avatar!) or Tatum's good critical notices from Haywire either. Seemed like a good idea on paper to eliminate the perceived weak elements from Rise of Cobra. In this case, everything that wasn't Snake Eyes or Storm Shadow.

Well, two new reports, one from THR, the other "TOLDJA," piggy-back on what AICN's The Kidd reported last week. In the event you were paying attention, amid the craziness of Paramount's call to yank Retaliation from theaters a month till release.

Test audiences got peeved by the lack of Tatum. So those big, 3D-enchaned scenes Dwayne Johnson was referring to last week? Expect more of the Channing One's presence. Too early to tell how far the reshoots (which we hear are already underway) will change what we've come to expect from the barrage of trailers, TV spots, production stills, Hell even poster art for the original June 29th release.

One thing is for certain. Duke will have a pulse at the end.

Simon Pegg Playing the Khan Denial Game Too

Those Khan rumors never let up.

If it was as simple as set picture leaks, as the case where pictures appeared of Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Zoe Saldana between takes on Star Trek 2, then J.J. Abrams can react by building his own Berlin Wall blocking the Paparazzi. But with the ever-pressing rumors of Khan Noonien Singh causing trouble for the U.S.S. Enterprise again, it's all about the denial game.

But who's going to believe Mr. Mystery Box Abrams? Why not, in STEALTH-like mode, send out a good will ambassador to geekdom who happens to be a co-star in your movie to also "debunk" those pesky Khan murmurs (because "he would never lie to us")?

In an otherwise nice profile from the UK's Telegraph on his career, Simon Pegg (AKA Scotty) has done just that:

"'It's not Khan,' replies Pegg, annoyed. 'That's a myth. Everyone's saying it is, but it's not.'"

Much as it pains to say this, and I really want to believe him, I'm not buying the denial. He has to say this. Walking the same line, following the same narrative as everyone else as production on the as-yet-titled sequel wraps

Is That The Lizard or Dino the Dinosaur?

The Amazing Spider-Man is on the cover of the latest Entertainment Weekly. Courtesy of Super Hero Hype, here is a scan taken from the issue featuring a full-on look at the Lizard, the mutated baddie facing the web-slinger.

Is he supposed to look like Dino from The Flintstones?