Schwarzenegger Readying His Return to the Action Genre

For all the talk about how his cameo brought down the house in last August's The Expendables (and it's true – it did, especially the "He wants to be President!" line), people weren't exactly standing in line for all of Arnold Schwarzenegger's action vehicles from the late 90s and on. The last hit for him was Eraser and by the time Terminator 3 rolled along, he was just cashing all his chips in and, of course, all the attention of that was from his gubernatorial bid for California going on.

But the question is with him out of office and a clear desire to be return to the silver screen, can Schwarzenegger be taken seriously again as an action-star? Personally, I don't think so at face value. This Governator non-sense hasn't helped that cause (whether or not, the project was intended to be ironic – which I seriously doubt). All that did is adding more validity that he's merely a walking parody of his former self.

It's a challenge director Jee-woon Kim and the makers behind Last Stand face with the news of Schwarzenegger making the action-thriller his first starring role since the afore-mentioned Terminator 3.

First broken by Movie Web and verified by both /film and Heat Vision, he'll play a sheriff trying to bring down an on-the-run drug cartel leader. If their intention is to play up how much older he is now and how he's out of shape compared to those days where he served on President Bush the Elder's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, it could genuinely work. It'd make him human on-screen; something I can't recall seeing.

But if it's just him as the invulnerable, perfect physical specimen yet again, don't count on it.

You Can Pull That DeLorean Over Right Now, China!

Well, file this one under WTF news for the day.  It seems time travel-themed movies and TV shows have become all the rage in China recently.  So, natually, that kind of fun must be stopped.   According to Blastr, China's Bureau of Radio, Film and Television has sent out a notice discouraging this trend, releasing the following statment:

"The time-travel drama is becoming a hot theme for TV and films. But its content and the exaggerated performance style are questionable. Many stories are totally made-up and are made to strain for an effect of novelty. The producers and writers are treating the serious history in a frivolous way, which should by no means be encouraged anymore."

So it sounds like the problem isn't so much the time-travelling, it's the interacting with certain historical figures that might put those certain indviduals in an unfriendly light that may cause some kind of disruption to the space-time continuum. 

Since the rest of us can still enjoy time-travel stories in any medium, make sure to check out "Citizen Brown," Part 3 of the awesome 5-part Back to the Future video game from Telltale, which was released last week.  This chapter of the game, which features an evil version of Doc Brown, also makes the return of Claudia Wells, the original Jennifer from the first film.  You can check out the trailer here:  

Elsewhere, and most importantly, from the Back to the Future universe:  The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research is looking for friends.  Facebook friends, that is.  Ryan Reynolds has promised to donate $10,000 to the foundation if they can get 100,000 people to "like" their official Facebook page. 

Right now they're up to just over 23,000, so if you want to help out, make like a tree and click here to help them reach their goal. 

Anonymous Trailer

Ironic that I've been indulging on some tasty pepper-jack cheese sticks (from Sargento; my plug for the morning), and this hits.

While it's odd to hear the words "political thriller" in the same sentence as Roland Emmerich, this is the same cat who thought he was doing biting political commentary for The Day After Tomorrow. As in don't take it too seriously. It's the equivalent to Seth MacFarlane making fun of the lack-of-humor in other people's comedies.

Seriously though, here's the trailer to Emmerich's latest, Anonymous and you tell me. Does this feel like one of those parody trailers at the beginning of Tropic Thunder? I'll, of course, check this out. That's right because I love me some good-tasting cheese.

Movie Review: Arthur

 

Arthur is the “re-imagining” of a classic Dudley Moore comedy from the 80’s. Like most great films from that era now being pillaged and raped by Hollywood, Arthur continues the trend in failing to be better than or at very least as good as the original.

The story if you’re not at all familiar is about an irresponsible drunken billionaire heir to his successful families’ fortune. Arthur (Russell brand) is our drunken rich hero, who not only fails to appear somewhat believable in the role, but comes off as doing more of a ridiculous Moore impersonation than giving his own take to the character. He’s being forced to marry a woman he doesn’t care for in order to remain the heir to his family fortune. His mother, who played a very insignificant role in his upbringing, refuses to believe he’s capable of getting his shit together and representing their prestigious family name, so it’s her decision to have Arthurs' marriage arranged. She sets it up for him to tie the knot with one her most publicly well respected employees (Jennifer Garner). The only problem being that Arthur’s fallen in love with a “nobody” from queens that his mother won’t approve of.

As charming and funny as Russell Brand is at times it’s still very obvious the gig was strictly about the pay cheque. His humour would have easily suited an R rating much better than the PG13 cheese fest we’re given. The only real redeeming quality of the film was Helen Mirren’s portrayal of Arthur’s sarcastic and witty Nanny/surrogate mother Hobson.

I went in with high hopes of actually enjoying the film, but unfortanately I ended up more than disappointed. Not only did it feel like a pointless and failed remake, it was no different than any other recent rom-com. Had there been something to set it aside from everything else with a slightly more original take on the story, I think I might have had a different take coming out. Usually Brand finds a way to win the audience over, even when the character or story may be lacking. But without the freedom of an R rating It didn't fee like it was nearly as funny as it could have been.

Although there were a few good laughs throughout, they felt far and few between the drawn out and cliché plot. Not only was the story extremely obvious and predictable, it was also boring as hell. Sadly all Arthur really is, is a by the numbers romantic comedy, which also happens to be a poorly put together remake of an actually funny film.

Hugh the Huntsman?

People like Hugh Jackman.

As my cousin's husband put it (I’m paraphrasing), "He's just a normal kinda guy; not some Hollywood asshole." You know, he’s not with that assessment. Jackman is one of the few actors I can think of who has very high marks from both men and women. Women want him around the house and do handy work, and wanna fuck his brains out. Guys want to hang out and have a beer with him, and some wanna fuck his brains out too.

But he's still riding all that good-will from the X-Men films (Can't think of many hits outside that franchise; one or two maybe), and honestly that well is about to go dry. He's in his mid-40s now and can't imagine it'll be too much longer he sports those adamantium-claws. I feel like he's been pushing so hard on The Wolverine as he has because he wants to exit that universe with a bang.

Since that sequel's been delayed indefinitely thanks to the departure of Darren Aronofsky and the tragedy in Japan, Jackman's schedule is wide open for the time being. Someone's gonna come along with a meaty offer, and according to "TOLDJA" it's Universal.

The studio has reportedly made an offer to the Australian actor for the male lead in Snow White & the Huntsman. If you'll remember, that role seemed all but locked for Viggo Mortensen until he mysteriously backed out; whatever the reason whether it was money or a conflicting schedule. He fits a similar enough "type" as Mortensen albeit way more assessable for an audience and just his charm/likeability factor.

If he accepts, he'll co-star along with Kristen Stewart as the half-other of the title duo and Charlize Theron as the Evil Queen with Rupert Sanders directing.

More Deleted Scenes From Deathly Hallows Part 1

At this rate, there won't be anything new to watch when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 arrives on DVD/blu-ray next week, but it's still fun to get a look at the deleted scenes ahead of time.  Two more annoyingly subtitled scenes have appeared online, which you can check out below.

The first scene is between Harry, Hermione and Ron while they are hiding out in their tent discussing Horcruxes and the general creepiness of the one they have that they haven't yet figured out to destroy:

The second deleted scene is an extended sequence from the Ministry of Magic break-in, when a Polyjuice Potion-disguised Harry and Ron warn Arthur Weasley that he is being followed by Death Eaters:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 arrives in stores on April 15.

In the meantime, Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe, has not only been wowing audiences in the hit Broadway revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, but he's also been bringing in some serious cash for a good cause.  According to the NY Daily News, a post-performance auction this past Saturday night of two signed copies of the "How to Succeed" book Radcliffe uses in the show brought in a whopping $9000 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.  Way to go, Daniel!

I was at the matinee performance of How to Succeed that same day, and wow, it was terrific.  Daniel was absolutely wonderful in the role (as was equally awesome co-star John Larroquette), and the show itself was just a blast.  It's like a happy version of Mad Men.  You can check out some clips from the press reel here:

It's also worth pointing out that this was a million times better than Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark.

News, Rumors & 100% Grade-A Internet Bullshit - April 6, 2011

- If you're Andy Serkis and you've completed all your work on The Hobbit, what do you do now while everyone else keeps chugging along for the rest of 2011 and next year shooting? According to Heat Vision, help out Peter Jackson and take the brunt of second-unit photography over. Clever li'l way of keeping him around set (in the likely event of reshoots) and gives him a learning curve with 3D cameras as well as moving into directing on his own.

- While their leader Moe is still TBD, Variety reports Sofia Vergara is in talks to join The Three Stooges for Bobby and Peter Farrelly. The Modern Family star would play the female lead who will no doubt be the object of desire for Moe (*Shrugs*), Larry (Sean Hayes - I'm game, but it's taking time to sink in) and Curly (Will Sasso). Once again, good old Shemp gets the screw job.

- How do we know James Bond (2)3, thankfully with Daniel Craig turning up for his junior turn, for real? Because MI6 says the Broccolis and director Sam Mendes are currently in South Africa searching for filming locations. All power to the South African film-crews and local economy reaping the benefit of a massive, multi-hundred-dollar-production and all. But you know, they'll likely shoot in multiple countries, as is customary for that franchise, and I'll say it right here: come back to New Orleans. We've missed 007 since Live & Let Die.

- To be fair, this isn't on the level of awesomeness as having Syd Mead as your production designer. For us nerds, our ticket is as good as sold on that alone. But as per Variety, director Neill Blomkamp has tapped on the shoulder of character actor extraordinaire William Fichtner to join his newest sci-fi epic Elysium. One of the few flicks I'm genuinely looking forward to every nugget of information that gets out. Would love see the designs being cooked up for this.

- In no way does this suddenly spike its chances to click at the box-office. Not a shred of doubt in me, this is the bomb of the summer. But you know what? I get it; the big decision-makers think that by slapping on the brand-name that will strike up audience awareness. Comic Book Movie (I know! Who'd have thunk it? But they deserve credit here) and /film (who verified the item) say 20^th Century Fox has changed the title for Rise of the Apes to Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Yeah...I'm indifferent about it too.

The Unbearable Tightness of Being (A Superhero)

As long as there have been superhero movies, there have been comic fans complaining about costumes in superhero movies. The upcoming Green Lantern film from Warner Brothers has been anything but immune to the discussion. Their controversial decision to completely scrap their physical costume in exchange for showing off actor Ryan Reynolds CGIed physique has been met with concern and criticism, especially after initial images surfaced last year. To hear some tell the story, the production actually had a physical suit, and Reynolds wore it for camera tests before it was all scrapped in favor of the digital alternative seen in the image above. So why the decision to move away from everything we know about superhero costumes from movies past? I couldn't tell you what Director Martin Campbell's reasons were, but I can tell you why it was the right choice.

Simply put, the materials that exist in our real world don’t work the way that materials in comic books work. This isn't speculation on my part. We’ve seen it tried several times. The most famous attempt is likely Superman: The Movie. While cloth suits tend to fit into the "it's technically the same thing as the comics" category, they also have a tendency to look rather silly, particularly by the standards of todays audiences. When I can pick up a costume for $4.99 during a November 1st clearance that rivals the costume worn on film by Christopher Reeve, it's clearly time to try something different. For good or for ill, Hollywood has tried. From the rubberized Batman suits to the more subtle leather X-Men uniforms, Hollywood has spent millions on outfitting our heroes in cool, practical, and muscular ways.

But Tinseltown can't take all the credit for costumed expirimentation. Superhero fan films have have been wading in the choppy waters of "accurate" costume design for years, too. Sandy Collara is one of the best known fan film directors out there when it comes to Superheroes. He directed two very fanboy-service shorts – Batman: Dead End and World's Finest. In each short, he cast large bodybuilders in the roles of superheroes, and he relied heavily on fabrics similar to the 1978 Christopher Reeve costume. While these materials show off the volume of the actors, they do not allow the muscular details to show through. Under Armor sports apparel, shown below, is a popular choice among those who create superhero fan films, but even one of their most superheroic pieces of apparel still has the same problem – bulk, but only very subtle musculature.

Ultimtaely, it's a question of anatomy. The anatomy of the human body forms a series of peaks and valleys. Some valleys, like the one above the clavicle, are rounded. Some valleys, especially on very muscular people, create sharper intersections. The effect of stretching any fabric over and around these peaks and valleys is not unlike a child using chairs and a blanket to craft their own Fortress of Solitude (or Batcave, if you will). The fabric touches the high points – the peaks – but dips very little, if at all, into the valleys. The end result is a shirt that shows off more mass than muscle.

The Batman films should get some credit for their experimentation with rubber suits. The suits designed for each of the modern Bat-films (from 1989 onward) each endeavored to create something that gave the same muscular appearance as comic books. As a novelty, it worked relatively well, but the suits severely constrained the motion of the actors that wore them, and their overall lack of flexing and movement made it painfully obvious that the muscles were entirely for show. As the Bat-films moved on, the suit quickly began to integrate more armored elements, culminating in the most recent incarnation in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight. This suit had armor in groupings over major muscles, but it didn’t really resemble muscle anymore. It was clearly armor.

For the seasoned comic fan, the "muscle averaging" appearance of Superheroes isn’t entirely foreign. Artist Alex Ross, whose depiction of Superman is shown above, regularly portrays his heroes in this more "realistic" fashion. His heroes are large and barrel-chested. Their costumes display all of the wrinkling around the joints and the visual erosion of muscle definition that would really occur using materials we know how to use in real life. As much as comic fans drool over Ross' ability to make the super seem more familiar, his depiction of heroes is the outlier in the industry. Most other comic book artists opt to rendering superheroes in a way that appears as little more than body paint. They enhance the anatomy to demonstrate strength, athleticism, movement, and power. They show you muscles.

For the premise of the upcoming Green Lantern film, the idea of "real fabric" breaks the idea of the power ring, and we all know that the power ring is central to the plot. In Green Lantern, the costume itself is a construct of the ring. It isn’t made of any fabric at all. The byproduct of avoiding fabric and all of it's wrinkles is that the suit for the upcoming Green Lantern film is possibly the most comic-book-like suit we've seen in any Superhero film to date. The anatomic fidelity the filmmakers have achieved in response to a sea of uninspiring predecessors is not unlike Alex Ross' uniqueness among his contemporaries – albeit flipped on it’s head. In a world where Ross portrays Superheroes in ill-fitting, detail-losing fabrics, Green Lantern displays them in hyper-detailed, comic-inspired light constructs.

And I've got to say, it's winning me over. Is it photo-realistic? No. In a film about a man who finds a ring that takes him half-way across the known universe to join an alien-filled police force, I'm okay with that.

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED AT SIX OKAY

Dark Knight Rises Filming in Pittsburgh

Real Dark Knight Rises news, I tells ya!

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports the City of Steel will serve as the base of operations for Christopher Nolan's final hooray in his Batman trilogy.

And just to show this is for real, there's even an honest-to-Jesus quote from the one they call Nolan. The reporter in question may, or may not, have even gotten the chance to touch Nolan. In order to confirm there is fresh, blood and bone at work behind this popular Batman movies, until fanbitches turn on him which they will:

"Pittsburgh is a beautiful city. We have been able to find everything we were looking for here, and I am excited to spend the summer in Pittsburgh with our final installment of Batman."

Filming starts this summer where upon Bat-mania will officially kick off once again and us nerds will be annoyed outta our minds.

Curious to hear what the Hell happened to Chicago, a key base of shooting for Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Did the tax rates go up? Maybe somebody higher-up in the local government offices pissed off Lord Nolan? Or maybe they and the Superman people tossed a coin and they lost out?

Diego Gonzalez Boneta to Headline Rock of Ages

Director Adam Shankman and Warner Brothers are following a tried and true formula with Rock of Ages. Fill up the supporting cast with a bounty of well-known and recognizable actors and at the center of the piece is an unknown for your lead.

After a long search, Diego Gonzalez Boneta (whose credits consist of TV shows like 90210 and Pretty Little Liars) has been selected to headline WB's big musical, set for a June 1, 2012 release. He'll play lead character Drew Boley who moves out to Los Angeles to, what else, start a singing career.

He joins a cast that includes Alec Baldwin, Mary J. Blige, Russell Brand, Tom Cruise, Paul Giamatti and the equally lesser-known Julianne Hough.  Amy Adams remains a question-mark, but given her recent commitment as the new Lois Lane I'm not going to hold my breath. Since both are Warner Brothers productions and both dropping next year, it's altogether possible to work out a schedule for her though.