Terminator: The Franchise Refusing to Die

We can already imagine the narrative they'll go with in order to sell this:

"You see, we realized that when people think of Terminator, they'll always think of Arnold Schwarzenegger and since he wasn’t in the last movie and that TV show, that's why they didn't do well!"

Technically, he was in Terminator: Salvation (Motion-capture technology with the help of look-alike actor Roland Kickinger). Then there was Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, the first film in the series without writer/director James Cameron but still headlined by Schwarzenegger. That didn't light a fire at the box-office either. People were throwing around terms like "underperformer" and "disappointment" when that was released back in July 2003. Terminator's time in the zeitgeist is over. But that continues to fall on deaf ears when there's a buck (hypothetical or real) to be made...

Last month, What's Playing first reported interest was picking up for a fifth installment by Universal, with Arnold playing multiple characters and a "certain director known for helming one of their franchises."

"TOLDJA" confirms their scoop (minus giving due credit, of course, and you wonder why I refuse to link them) and reveals the identity of their franchise helmer: Justin Lin. They're high on him after delivering two Fast & the Furious installments and his third Fast Five will likely continue the trend of eating up money when it drops on April 29.

Another Terminator movie is inevitable at the rate studios are going. Looking around for any and all properties with name-brand recognition and the least amount of difficulty to sell to movie-goers. But again, did they just sleep through the past eight years? Two expensive films, either of which were mega-hits, and a television series that failed despite an initial strong start. I'd say that's proof in the pudding people just aren't high on Terminator anymore.

Find something else, fellas...

All Star Superman Blu Ray Review

 

The newest installment in the DC Animated series is All Star Superman. The film serves as not only an adaptation to the graphic novel of the same name, but also what felt like a throwback to Superman from his earlier days, while at the same time taking a much more modern and needed approach to the character.

The plot starts off with Superman saving the world once again only to find out that He’s been tricked by none other than Lex Luthor, and he is now slowly dying. Both Superman and his alias Clark Kent decide to keep the news to themselves while he attempts to formulate a cure or ultimately decides to come to terms with his fate.

The plot tries to give an observation of Superman’s story in his last days as opposed to being the all out action-fest which you might have expected. That’s not to say he isn’t kicking some asses and taking some names throughout, but more so it has to do with the revelation to Louis Lane that Clark Kent and Superman are one in the same. It even go as far as to explore a level of intelligence we rarely see from Superman on film. His fortress of Solitude is a prime example of this; loaded with full size navy ships and space craft’s he had apparently built as models for recreation and his team of numbered robot minions he built to work with him. 

The one real downfall was the step backwards DC seemed to take in terms of the quality of the animation. In comparison to Batman: Under the red Hood the animation is far less superior to what I've come to expect. The voice acting however was at least on par with what I would have expected. I would even go as far as to say Anthony Lapaglia who voiced Lex Luthor did a fantastic job in conveying the tone of evil genius with a hidden conscience. The plot also suffered from a few “filler” moments which felt like they were added only to lengthen the story, but added only cheese and none sense to the mostly witty dialogue.

All Star Superman is a film kids and long term diehard fans of the character are sure to enjoy. But for general audiences or just casual fans of Superman it might not be quite what you're looking for. Although it is passable as a Superman film it felt more like Clark Kent and Lois Lanes story.

As entertaining is it was for the most part I’m giving All Star Superman 6/10

Poster for Upcoming 'Arthur'

I still don't understand what exactly Russell Brand has done to deserve leading role status in Hollywood.  The guy seems to have capitalized on the fact he was in one of 2008's more funnier films (Forgetting Sarah Marshall), be it a small role, and his public relationship with Katy Perry.  I can think of plenty of seasoned comedians who have paid their dues and deserve the roles Brand seems to be getting.

Anyway, here's the poster for his upcoming remake of the classic comedy, Arthur, also featuring Jennifer Garner and Helen Mirren.  Ironic the film's tagline is, "No Work.  All play."  Pretty much sums up Brand's lifestyle of free-loading off his girlfriend's popularity and getting attention he hasn't earned.

Yeah, that's right.  I went there.

Irresponsible charmer Arthur Bach (Russell Brand) has always relied on two things to get by: his limitless fortune and the good sense of lifelong nanny Hobson (Helen Mirren) to keep him out of trouble. Now he faces his biggest challenge–choosing between an arranged marriage that will ensure his lavish lifestyle or an uncertain future with the one thing money can’t buy, Naomi (Greta Gerwig), the only woman he has ever loved. With Naomi’s inspiration and some unconventional help from Hobson, Arthur will take the most expensive risk of his life and finally learn what it means to become a man, in this re-imagining of the classic romantic comedy “Arthur.”

Weekend Box Office: February 11-13

Courtesy of Box Office Mojo:  

1.  Just Go With It - $30.5 million

2.  Justin Bieber: Never Say Never - $29.5 million

3.  Gnomeo & Juliet - $25.3 million

4.  The Eagle - $8.6 million

5.  The Roommate - $8.1 million

6.  The King's Speech - $7.2 million

7.  No Strings Attached - $5.8 million

8.  Sanctum - $5.6 million

9.  True Grit - $3.7 million

10.  The Green Hornet - $3.5 million

That deafening sound of screaming tweens at the multiplexes this weekend wasn't enough to beat out Adam Sandler, but it was close.  Just Go With It just barely took the top spot for the (Sandler's 11th first place weekend), earning $30.5 million, while Never Say Never, pop sensation Justin Bieber's 3D concert film settled for second place with $29.5 million.  So take that, Jonas Brothers.

It was a good weekend to be a garden gnome too, as Disney's Gnomeo & Juliet came in third with an impressive $25.4 million.  Granted, it's the first family film to open in theaters since the holidays, but it did look pretty cute. 

And then there's The Eagle, which limped into fourth place with a mere $8.7 million.  It was advertised to death over the last week or so, but it doesn't appear anyone cared.

Last week's champ, The Roommate, fell to fifth with $8.1 million, while the James Cameron-produced Sanctum proved that it's no Avatar, dropping to eighth place with $5.7 million.

It was still a good weekend to be an Oscar nominee, as The King's Speech brought its domestic total up to $93.7 million and True Grit reached $160 million.  Black Swan has dropped out of the top ten, but Best Actress frontrunner Natalie Portman's No Strings Attached had a seventh place weekend, bringing its total up to $60 million. 

Next weekend brings the release of Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son (seriously?!), the sci-fi actioner I Am Number Four, and the return of a hopefully badass Liam Neeson in Unknown.

The Spider-Man Reboot Has an "Amazing" Title

We can stop calling it "Marc Webb’s 3D Spider-Man reboot!"

The redo will hence forth be known as The Amazing Spider-Man, Sony today confirms. It's a title most of us suspected they'd go with. It makes sense given just how much the new web-slinger Englishman Andrew Garfield looks like the classic early 60s era Peter Parker.

Speaking of...Sony also went ahead and gave us a 100% full on look at young lad Andy in complete Webhead gear (i.e. mask on and all). Looks good just like the first look at him in suit we already got not too far back.

'Don't Be Afraid of the Dark' Has a Release Date

After the fallout of Disney shutting down its Miramax label, many were left to wonder what would become of the films that still had yet to be released.

Today, the last remaining film still without a distributor has finally found one, as well as a release date:

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

THR reports the Troy Nixey directed, Guillermo del Toro produced remake of the 1973 TV movie (which was originally suppose to open this past January) has been picked up by FilmDistrict and will be released on August 12th.

The film, starring Katie Holmes and Guy Pearce, follows the story of a young girl who moves in with her father and his girlfriend into a 19th century estate that is haunted by demonic forces.

Read the full synopsis and view the view the film's initial trailer below:

Introverted Sally Hurst has just moved in with her father Alex and his girlfriend Kim when she realizes that their sprawling estate holds its fair share of secrets. Ascending to the depths of the house, Sally gains access to a secret lower level that has lain undisturbed for nearly a century, when the original builder vanished without a trace. When Sally accidentally opens the gateway that kept the creatures locked up tight, she realizes that in order to prevent them from destroying her family is to convince her skeptical father than monsters really exist.

Die Hard 5 Has A Director

Back in February of last year, Bruce Willis told MTV a fifth Die Hard was in development. At the time everyone dismissed this as Willus' own wishful thinking. Then in May it was revealed that Fox's go to guy for action, Skip Woods was writing the screenplay.

Last year came and went with nothing else being added to even the Die Hard rumour mill let alone a set in stone release date or official title. Now THR is reporting that Willis himself has apparently found his "yes man" to stand behind the camera and make him look good in the yippee-ki-yay motherfucker title role once again. Commercial director Noam Murro has been brought on board to direct Die Hard 5. Nothing was specified as to whether or not he had signed on for more than one picture.

Willis has said before that he had plans of doing not only one more sequel but two and then retiring the character for good. At least as far as Willis goes anyways, there's nothing saying Fox doesn't wait five to ten years and then reboot the franchise after the purposed sixth installment should that actually happen as well.

Considering they've now found their director and plan to start production soon what could this mean for Willis presumed larger role in Stallones Expendables 2 should that actually get off the ground as well?

Marion Cotillard Joining The Dark Knight Rises?

 

As previously rumoured to be in contention for a role in the upcoming The Dark Knight Rises; Marion Cotillard may have been cast in a yet to be determined role after all.

It was long rumoured that Cotillard was a favorite to be cast in some capacity after having worked with director Chris Nolan on his most recent blockbuster hit Inception. Then came news that there would be not only one but two female leads to be cast in the film. Speculation and "independently confirmed"  info led a lot of people to believe the roles were that of Catwoman and Talia al Ghul. With little time allowed to speculate Warner Bros announced officially that Anne Hathaway would be joining the cast as Selina Kyle along with Tom hardy as Bane. With the core casting announced and in place, including the purposed addition of Joseph Gordon Levitt, a lot of people assumed there wouldn't be another female lead joining the cast after all, and therefore the film wouldn't feature Talia as well.

Now comes news from French newspaper  Le Figaro that Cotillard will in fact be joining the cast in Los Angeles this summer when filming begins. Now the obvious choice at this point would be to assume Cotillard must be Talia, but I would still suggest to consider it as rumour at least for now. However Le Figaro is actually France’s oldest and second largest newspaper, so it's even less likely they would have published the report if they didn't at least believe it to be true.

"Tron" & "Tron: Legacy" DVD/Blu-Ray Info

The Walt Disney Studios is proud to announce the release of its high-tech, action-packed adventure TRON: Legacy, available April 5th on multiple home entertainment platforms, including Blu-ray 3D™, Blu-ray™, DVD, Digital Copy, Movie Download and On-Demand.  Also making its long-awaited Blu-ray debut on April 5th is TRON: The Original Classic Special Edition.

Sure to light-up fans this Spring, TRON: Legacy providesconsumers with the ultimate Hi-Def Blu-ray experience with breathtaking 1080p visuals and superior 7.1 surround sounds that bring to life the visually stunning world of TRON.  Taking you further behind the grid, are also in-depth bonus features on the making of the film (i.e., creating the futuristic vehicles and world of TRON, storyline mythologies, actors/characters and more) and the all-new Disney Second Screen interactive experience.

Disney Second Screen transforms the movie watching experience by allowing viewers to explore the story behind the film perfectly synched on a second device, like an iPad™ or laptop, without interrupting their enjoyment of the movie. By simply accessing the Disney Second Screen companion application on their Internet-connected device, consumers are able to dive deeper into the film by engaging with elements including 360-degree vehicle turnarounds, interactive progression reels, and more. Disney Second Screen directions and access codes can be found inside the Blu-ray Disc packaging.Audio synching is powered by TVPLUS.

The original motion picture score for TRON: Legacy, released by Walt Disney Records on December 7, 2010, was composed and produced by the iconic and critically acclaimed Grammy® Award–winning French duo Daft Punk. The album peaked at No. 4 on The Billboard 200 and was the highest charting score soundtrack in over a decade. Walt Disney Records will be releasing TRON: Legacy RECONFIGURED, an album featuring 14 remixes of the original motion picture score on April 5th

John Lasseter Is John Lassetire In "Cars 2"

As I have mentioned many times in the past, I can't get enough of these CGI animated flicks. No matter what they are, I want to see them. "Cars 2" would obviously fall under that must see category featuring returning members of an all star voice cast that now includes John Lasseter. The Associated Press reports that the animators surprised the Pixar Chief by creating a character named John Lassetire in honor of their 25th anniversary which you can see in the sequel.

"It was news to me," said Lasseter, who is also serving as a director on the animated film. "I did not know about that, so I was a little surprised. I ended up voicing this character. It was just one line, but now I have a 'Cars' character. I'm very excited about that. He's a good ol' American pick-up truck, which I think is very appropriate for John Lassetire."