Wed, December 12, 2012 All the talk of how cool it looks, how much we're gonna love it, all the pictures of Idris Elba and Charlie Hunnam in futuristic suits, the posters and the recent viral marketing and it all comes down to this.
The trailer for Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim is finally here:
Wed, December 12, 2012 
Ever since he wrapped his final Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises, earlier this year... Christopher Nolan has always been open and honest about his non-involvement with Justice League (still aiming for a 2015 release). That is, up until recently when asked by Movieline whether next year's Man of Steel would feature a cameo by Joseph Gordon-Levitt or any of the Batman actors, or whether he had any objections to a cameo to tie the Nolan Batman universe into the framework of Justice League.
Instead of a "No", it was a cheery "I can't talk about it. You know that." Even though Joseph Gordon-Levitt's emphathetically denied his involvement (we know how actors' reps lie, right?), it's an interesting development. Even Zack Snyder has changed his tune about whether Man of Steel would be able to lead into Justice League with the comment " [...]'The Man of Steel' exists, and Superman is in it. I don't know how you'd move forward without acknowledging it."
Perhaps Nolan and Snyder have agreed to produce the movie, and help find its director? Time will only tell.
Wed, December 12, 2012 All signs point to a turkey. You don't vacate your big summer release at the last minute for the vacancy of March 2013, slap on 3D and beef up, possibly resurrect, Channing Tatum because he suddenly became a movie-star and expect perception to stay good. Truth is none of this bad buzz will change things.
Either go with G.I. Joe: Retaliation and embrace the cheese or don't.
The new trailer, from Yahoo! Movies, isn't going to make new believers from those still unconvinced or who hated The Rise of Cobra. Take it or leave it.
Tue, December 11, 2012 
There's a wonderful quote from the Empire DVD review of Superman Returns that sums it all up. It's not in front of me, so I'll paraphrase. "Superman, like Mickey Mouse, Elvis Presley and Jesus Christ, is an icon forever standing above the ever-changing trends of pop-culture."
Funny then as every time a new incarnation of Siegel and Shuster's creation rears its head, that question is always asked. Is Superman still relevant?
I can only point to the King-daddy of Superheroes' (as Zack Snyder lovingly put it) seventy-four years in the public eye as proof. That's a long time. My father grew up with The Adventures of Superman on TV. He ran around my grandparents' house with blankets around his neck. He was "flying." He wanted to save people. In his eyes, George Reeves' benevolence was the face of Superman.
Close to thirty-years on, I did the same. This time with the strong and reassuring image of Christopher Reeve, from Richard Donner's magical Superman to the abysmal The Quest for Peace, who stood as everything Superman is for me.
Another near three decades later, I have a nephew. He'll be three when The Man of Steel flies into cinemas. Will Henry Cavill do the same for him as George Reeves and Christopher Reeve did my father and I?
Looking forward to finding out when I take him to see it. But that's six months away and for the time being, here's the trailer:
Mon, December 10, 2012 
Almost immediately when I got home from work today a friend posted a link on my Facebook page that led to the image you see above. I dismissed it as some sort of spam or virus, but later on noticed a tweet from TMT's own Jamie Williams about a potential Man of Steel viral marketing page. The two were one in the same.
You can find the page here, and notice the Warner Bros. copyright in the bottom corner of the screen. It's making rounds right now as viral for Man of Steel or potentially Del Toro's Pacific Rim and could go in either direction. The various available signals can be selected that lead you to another page which seem to be specifically made for unlocking new content for one of the mentioned movies.
Mon, December 10, 2012 It's easy to get caught up. I speak from experience. But can't take stand-alone production stills to heart and begin dissecting what they may or may not mean. No idea the context of that moment captured, what has gone on before or where the characters stand. But when it's J.J. "I heart Mystery Box" Abrams, it's even harder not to because so little else has been shown prior.
Omelete has this image from Star Trek Into Darkness:
It puts that moment from the Japanese trailer (blatantly echoing Spock's death from The Wrath of Khan) into better context. Though we still don't know what's going on. It also makes you wonder if this isn't another "The villain is captured so he can escape in an elaborate fashion!" plot twist.
Mon, December 10, 2012 
Uncle Ben's purpose has been, and will always be, to die. Beyond that, what else do you do with him?
Appearing on Irish Broadcaster RTÉ's The Late Late Show (via Coming Soon), Martin Sheen has confirmed he will return for the untitled Amazing Spider-Man sequel:
"Well they called me back, I don't know what the part's going to be but I'm going to be Uncle Ben once again in Spider-Man next year. We shoot in February."
Nothing unusual or what we haven't seen before. Cliff Robertson reprised his Uncle Ben duties for a dream sequence in Spider-Man 2 and that "Sandman really killed Ben" ret-con crap in Spider-Man 3.
Only reason for Sheen's return, I imagine, is more flashbacks to resolve the lingering plot thread of Peter Parker's missing, presumed dead, parents. That makes sense, right?
Mon, December 10, 2012 
Ironic.
The trailer for After Earth, courtesy of The Film Stage, keeps its director M. Night Shyamalan out of the credits (A sign the controversial filmmaker is that toxic to audiences). Yet it ends with his trademark twist. The exotic, alien planet Will Smith and son Jaden inhabit is a desolate Earth, and also suggested another twist in the making.
It feels like this is more Jaden's story than movie-star poppa Will. Does Smith eat it not too far into the narrative and it shifts into Jaden's survival? A bold move, if that's what Shyamalan has up his sleeve.
Sun, December 9, 2012 
Courtesy of Box Office Mojo:
1. Skyfall - $11 million
2. Rise of the Guardians - $10.5 million
3. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 - $9.2 million
4. Lincoln - $9.1 million
5. Life of Pi - $8.3 million
6. Playing for Keeps - $6 million
7. Wreck-It Ralph - $4.9 million
8. Red Dawn - $4.2 million
9. Flight - $3.1 million
10. Killing Them Softly - $2.7 million
So what happens when the only thing opening in theaters this weekend is a Gerard Butler romantic comedy? Everyone goes to see James Bond again. In what was basically a quiet weekend at the box office, Skyfall pulled off the rare feat of returning to the top spot with $11 million. With $918 million worldwide, it is now the highest-grossing film in Sony's history, and has a pretty good shot at becoming the first James Bond film to pass $1 billion worldwide.
Also climbing a spot this weekend was Rise of the Guardians, which finished second with $10.5 million. It's definitely taking advantage of being one of the few family films in theaters at the moment, but with just $61 million after three weeks, the animated holiday tale has been a disappointment so far.
The Twilight finale, Breaking Dawn Part 2, fell to third place with $9.2 million. The film has grossed $268 million domestically, and another $468 overseas. Oscar hopefuls Lincoln and Life of Pi continue to play well, earning $9.1 million and $8.3 million, respectively. The one new release this weekend, Gerard Butler's Playing for Keeps, bombed this weekend, earning only $6 million.
Next weekend, we return to Middle Earth when The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey opens in theaters. Joining it will be the re-release of Monsters, Inc. in 3D, and another Oscar hopeful, Zero Dark Thirty.
Sat, December 8, 2012 
Well didn't this just become an interesting project.
Sony's long in-development, big screen remake of the 1980s TV series, The Equalizer, has finally nabbed a director: Drive's Nicolas Winding Refn.
That's not all. The film is set to star Hollywood's own black version of Tom Cruise (doesn't age, no end in sight to his A-list career), Denzel Washington.
For those who are most unfamilar with the project, The Equalizer centers on the character of Robert McCall (Washington), a veteran covert operative who - wanting to make good on his dark past - quits his CIA-like job and puts an add in a paper, simply reading: "Got a problem? Odds against you? Call the Equalizer."
The film is set to go before cameras in the Spring with a set release date of April 11th, 2014.
Refn has become a hot commodity in Hollywood with last year's 'masterpeice' Drive, starring Ryan Gosling and his follow-up film, Only God Forgives, also starring Gosling, set to be released May 23rd.
Richard Wenk (The Expendables 2) penned the screenplay for The Equalizer.
Source: Heat Vision
