Theater or Renter: June 2010 includes 6 SF movies Marmaduke, Splice, The A-Team, The Karate Kid, Toy Story 3, Jonah Hex.  Will we watch? Will we rent? or do we even care?

Rules of the Game: Watch the trailers. Rate the Trailer. Then share with us your comments: does the movie, it’s trailer and buzz make you want to watch it in the theater, rent it, or not interested at all, and why?

Marmaduke:

Release Date:  June 4th 2010

Listed as:  Fantasy, Family

Studio:  20th Century Fox

Director:  Tom Dey

Produced by:  John Davis, Tom Dey

Written by:  Vince Di Meglio, Tim Rasmussen

Stars:  Owen Wilson, George Lopez, Fergie, Kiefer Sutherland

The Plot / Story: Based on the comic strip of the same name by Brad Anderson.  The Winslow family moves from the country to Orange County, California and has to adjust to the new environment.  This is particularly difficult for the lovable yet awkwardly large Marmaduke, who tends to wreak havoc in his own oblivious way.(Wikipedia) (The Official Site)

First Impressions:

Marmaduke is a renter at best for me.

Positive

It has a good cast.  The trailer made me laugh at times.

Negative

I have concerns that it may be more kidsey then a family movie.  All of the early promotion materials gave me the impression this movie is more fluff.

Splice:

Release Date:  June 4th 2010

Listed as:  Sci-Fi, Horror, Thriller

Studio:  Dark Castle Entertainment via Warner Bros. Pictures

Director:  Vincenzo Natali

Produced by:  Steve Hoban, Guillermo Del Toro

Written by:  Vincenzo Natali, Doug Taylor, Antoinette Terry Bryant

Stars:  Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley, Delphine Chanéac

The Plot / Story: Elsa and Clive, two young rebellious scientists, defy legal and ethical boundaries and forge ahead with a dangerous experiment: splicing together human and animal DNA to create a new organism. Named “Dren”, the creature rapidly develops from a deformed female infant into a beautiful but dangerous winged human-chimera, who forges a bond with both of her creators – only to have that bond turn deadly.  (Wikipedia) (The Official Site)

First Impressions:

Probably theater definitely renter.

Positive

Guillermo Del Toro.  Premiered at Sitges Film Festival winning Best Special Effects and Best film.  Also had a showing at Sundance and was then fought over by several studios in a bidding war to get distribution rights.  The trailer looks very interesting.  and Guillermo Del Toro.

• Exploring Splice

The A-Team:

Release Date:  June 11

Listed as:  Action, Adventure

Studio:  20th Century Fox

Director:  Joe Carnahan

Produced by:  Ridley Scott, Tony Scott, Jules Daly, Stephen J. Cannell

Written by:  Joe Carnahan, Brian Bloom, Skip Woods, Michael Brandt, Derek Haas

Stars:  Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Quinton Jackson, Sharlto Copley, Jessica Biel, Patrick Wilson, Brian Bloom

The Plot / Story: (Wikipedia) (The Official Site)

First Impressions:

I'm on the fence if this will be a theater or a renter for me.  This is a niche movie that will probably have a limited appeal with the chance of also attracting the action movie going audiences.  I grew up watching A-Team on TV.  I loved what they stood for:  justice and helping those in need.  I can only hope those elements are in the movie.

Positive

The casting looks the part.  Trailer impressed me, it looked good and has a very A-Team feel to it.  Derek Haas did a good job with wanted so hopefully he brings some of those elements to this project.

Negative

Initially I thought a movie of this was a bad idea but after watching the trailer that has changed.  The Loosers was so disappointing that it has left great concerns for the A-Team which is a similar style of movie.

The Karate Kid:

Release Date:  June 11

Listed as:  Action, Drama, Family

Studio:  Columbia Pictures

Director:  Harald Zwart

Produced by:  Jerry Weintraub, Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, James Lassiter, Ken Stovitz

Written by:  Christopher Murphey

Stars:  Jackie Chan, Jaden Smith, Taraji P. Henson

The Plot / Story: This is a remake of The original Karate Kid.  A 12 year old Detroit kid moves to China with his mother.  Due to cultural differences he makes the class bully and enemy.  With no friends, in a strange land, Dre has nowhere to turn but maintenance man Mr. Han, who is secretly a master of kung fu. Han teaches Dre that kung fu is not about punches and parries, but maturity and calm.  (Wikipedia) (The Official Site)

First Impressions:

Skeptical of the remake, I have concerns that those values from the original will not be maintained.  I may have to wait for early reviews before I can make a decision on whether I will even watch it.

Positive

Loved the original film.

Negative

Concerns over how they will keep some of the spirit of the original film due to some of the fundamental changes.

Toy Story 3:

Release Date:  June 18th

Listed as:  Fantasy, Family

Studio:  Pixar Animation Studios

Director:  Lee Unkricha

Produced by:  Darla K. Anderson, John Lasseter

Written by:  Michael Arndt

Stars:  Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, John Ratzenberger, Don Rickles, Estelle Harris, Wallace Shawn, Blake Clark, Jodi Benson, Michael Keaton, Ned Beatty, John Morris

The Plot / Story: Andy is now heading off to college and plans to put the toys into storage in the attic but his mom accidentally donates them to the Sunnyside Daycare.  Woody, Buzz and the whole gang meet new toys at the daycare for better and worse. Learning of Andy's sadness over their loss they must fight to find their way back to Andy's house before he leaves for college.(Wikipedia) (The Official Site)

First Impressions:

Theater

Positive

Really enjoyed the previous 2 Toy Story Movies.  The cast is stellar.   Trailer looks good.

Jonah Hex:

Release Date:  June 18

Listed as: Superhero, Westeren

Studio:  Legendary Pictures, DC Entertainment

Director:  Jimmy Hayward

Produced by:  Akiva Goldsman, Andrew Lazar

Written by:  Screenplay: Neveldine & Taylor  Story: Neveldine & Taylor, William Farmer  Characters: John Albano, Tony Dezuniga

Stars: Josh Brolin, John Malkovich, Megan Fox, Michael Fassbender, Will Arnett, Michael Shannon

The Plot / Story: Jonah Hex is a scarred drifter and bounty hunter of last resort, a tough and stoic gunslinger who can track down anyone... and anything. Having survived death, Jonah's violent history is steeped in myth and legend, and has left him with one foot in the natural world and one on the "other side." His only human connection is with Leila, whose life in a brothel has left her with scars of her own. But Jonah's past is about to catch up with him when the U.S. military makes him an offer he can't refuse: in exchange for his freedom from the warrants on his head, he must track down and stop the dangerous villian Quentin Turnbull. But Turnbull, who is gathering an army and preparing to unleash Hell, is also Jonah's oldest enemy and will stop at nothing until Jonah is dead.(Wikipedia) (The Official Site)

First Impressions:

On the fence between theater and renter.

Positive

John Malkovich a plus.  Superhero movie a plus.  The steamPunk elements borrowed for the film it makes for a more fantasy version of the Wild West but one that I enjoy.

Negative

The trailer was not terribly exciting border lining on the boring.

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[reus name="Fandango"]

[reus name="Netflix"]

Exploring: Megamind

Megamind's Humble Beginnings

Megamind didn't start out evil it was the fault of the jock boy Metro Man.  I love how they gave them a Superman type back story setting up their revelry early.

If you ever doubt that Megamind is evil just look at his Baby Seal Leather Boots.

I too fear Aracnus deathicus!

I'm excited about Megamind.  It is an animated comedy by DreamWorks Animation, a big plus they have done a lot of good movies from Prince of Egypt to Shrek to Kung Fu Panda.  Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt, and Tina Fey are in it too which are a plus.

Trailer

The trailer looks good, watch it above.  Megamind is an animated comedy by DreamWorks Animation, a big plus they have done a lot of good movies. Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt, and Tina Fey are in it too which are a plus.

Story

Megamind is the most brilliant supervillain the world has ever known. And the least successful. Over the years, he has tried to conquer Metro City in every imaginable way. Each attempt, a colossal failure thanks to the caped superhero known as 'Metro Man,' an invincible hero until the day Megamind actually kills him in the throes of one of his botched evil plans. Suddenly, Megamind has no purpose. A super villain without a superhero. He realizes that achieving his life's ambition is the worst thing that ever happened to him. Megamind decides that the only way out of his rut is to create a new hero opponent called 'Titan,' who promises to be bigger, better and stronger than Metro Man ever was. Pretty quickly Titan starts to think it's much more fun to be a villain than a good guy. Except Titan doesn't just want to rule the world, he wants to destroy it. (wikipedia)

• Release date     November 5, 2010

• Directed by       Tom McGrath


• Produced by     Lara Breay, Ben Stiller, Denise Nolan Cascino


• Written by        Alan J. Schoolcraft, Brent Simons


• Starring             Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Tina Fey, Justin Long, Bill Hader


• Studio                DreamWorks Animation

Thank you very much William Bittner for sharing the periodic table of Superhero Powers picture.

As a fan of and player of City of Heroes and Champions Online I spend a fair bit of time building superheros.  I have a lot of fun putting together various sets and combination of superhero powers.

If you were a Superhero what elements make up you?

(via Geekologie)

I was on Hulu the other day checking out NBC Fall Preview 2010-2011.  Watching each featured preview clip.  Growing ever hopeless for a good fall lineup from NBC I got to their “featured” clip for The Cape.

Thinking that featured meant this was the best preview I watched it.

After some colorful expletives I dismissed the show.  After all I don’t care for another cop drama show, just not a fan.

If NBC came to me and said:

“Hey, new comic / superhero show with Summer Glau in it!”

Now you have my attention.  Show me the lead superhero getting his mad skills from carnies and now an even bigger plus being a freak at heart.

That is a show that I would check out.

Watch what should be the featured preview for The Cape below.

A couple of people took me to task for my take on Iron Man 2. I like to think of myself as a simple man, but maybe that isn't true anymore.

Rethinking my expectations

I started reading comics as a kid.  Batman, Green Lantern, The Hulk, and the X-men were some of my favorites.  Growing up, superheroes were pure escapism.  Granted some of the characters had family problems, personal problems, and even Batman lost a Robin, but the stories were all larger than life.

Superhero flicks are still larger than life, but they have more "realistic problems."

• Batman is a male Paris Hilton who fights crime.


• Peter Parker wouldn't know what to do with the girl if he got her.


• Tony Stark is rotting away from a self-inflicted disease + he is a male Paris Hilton who doesn't fight crime, he is bringing about world peace.

Holding out for a Hero!

Ok, everyone knows that I am a huge Bonnie Tyler fan, but every time I watch one of these movies, I hear her in the back of my head:

Where have all the good men gone
And where are all the gods?
Where's the street-wise Hercules
To fight the rising odds?
Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?
Late at night I toss and turn and dream
of what I need

I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night
He's gotta be strong
And he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light
He's gotta be sure
And it's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life

I want a superhero who is, well a hero.  They don't have to be perfect, and well they can have basic human flaws, but at the end of the day, they need to be a hero!

Returning to Iron Man 2, I thought Whiplash made a good case against the Stark family, and Tony just acted like the spoiled brat Whiplash thought he was.  I actually found myself wanting Whiplash to win.  I can't stand whiny, self-important bitches, and that is all I saw in Tony.  His womanizing turned me off, and his self-pity made me roll my eyes.  He dug his own grave, and I was ready to see him lay in it.

Escapism and Realism

I think my biggest issue with the film is that I was really looking for some pure escapism from the movie. That is what I look for in a superhero movie.

I watch a superhero for action, mystery, and pure escapism. Watching a super hero struggle with illness was outside the realm of what I wanted to see, especially with people in my life actually struggling with various illnesses that do not have a magical deus ex machina serum.  It felt like salt in the wound.

The illness reminded me of my real life, and the magic cure just upset me.  I went to see a movie where a superhero and super-villain tangled with each other until the film climaxed in a super-mega-ultra battle.

The movie, like all (not so) superhero movies since Batman Begins, opened with scenes of stark realism... but it is a superhero movie!!  Superheroes just aren't realistic, and films cannot serve two masters.

I am not sure exactly when escapism became a bad word, but my life is complicated enough.  Sometimes I just want to walk into a dark cave and forget about my real life for a couple of hours.  It might sound petty, but that is it.

I want a great, escapist spectacle from time to time, but more than anything, I want filmmakers to be honest with me and with their material.  If the movie is not an action movie, don't tell me it is.  If the movie is not a smart, well written think piece, be good with that.  Just don't pretend one is the other, and stop telling yourself you can be both at the same time.

A half-assed story with half-assed action is just a half-assed movie.  Two half-assed jobs never make a whole.

I know some of you liked the movie.  Great!  I wish I was one of you.  Keep having fun, and sharing. It is good to hear contrary opinions.  Just remember, we don't have to love the same things, we just need to help each other find more things we can all enjoy.

Theater or Renter: May 2010 includes five SF movies Iron Man 2, Robin Hood, Shrek Forever After, Prince of Persia, Survival of the Dead.  Will we watch? Will we rent? or do we even care?

Rules of the Game: Watch the trailers. Rate the Trailer. Then share with us your comments: does the movie, it’s trailer and buzz make you want to watch it in the theater, rent it, or not interested at all, and why?

Iron Man 2:

Release Date: May 7th

Listed as:  Action, Superhero Film

Studio:  Marvel Studios

Director:  Jon Favreau

Produced by:  Kevin Feige, Avi Arad, Susan Downey

Written by:  Justin Theroux

Stars:  Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle, Mickey Rourke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Samuel L. Jackson

The Plot / Story: Sequel to Iron Man it's six months latter.  The world is aware that billionaire inventor Tony Stark is the armored Super Hero Iron Man.  Under pressure from the government, the press and the public to share his technology with the military, Tony is unwilling to divulge the secrets behind the Iron Man armor because he fears the information will slip into the wrong hands.  With Pepper Potts and James "Rhodey" Rohdes at his side, Tony forges new alliances and confronts powerful new forces, Whiplash and Justin Hammer.(Wikipedia) (The Official Site)

• Theater:  I will have to watch this in the theater because the first Iron Man was so good.  I have great concerns about this movie based on the Terrence Howard scandal and advertising.  I'm very unhappy with switching Rohdey from Terrence Howard to Don Cheadle.  This looks like a repeat of the first movie but with two Iron mans in it and multiple iron mongers as villains.  They even went to the point of making a rival weapons merchant who wants to do Tony Stark in through the business world, hrmmm sounds familiar.  Here is hoping that I am wrong.

Robin Hood:

Release Date: May 14th

Listed as:  Action, Drama, Fantasy

Studio:  Universal Pictures

Director:  Ridley Scott

Produced by: Brian Grazer, Ridley Scott, Russell Crowe

Written by:  Screenplay: Brian Helgeland   Story: Brian Helgeland, Ethan Reiff, Cyrus Voris

Stars:  Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Matthew Macfadyen, Mark Strong, Oscar Isaac, Kevin Durand, Mark Addy, William Hurt, Danny Huston, Max von Sydow

The Plot / Story: It is late 12th century England and Sir Robin Longstride, Earl of Huntington, has returned to his northern English village after fighting in the Third Crusade. Upon arrival, the nobleman and his servant discover the oppression caused by the new Sheriff of Nottingham. Sir Robin uses his intelligence  and military skills to free his home village from tyranny and corruption in England, by taking back what is rightfully his, and by taking back what rightfully is theirs, to restore justice and happiness to England. Robin must also win the affection of the recently widowed Lady Marian while leading his Merry Men of Sherwood Forest to victory and fairness. (Wikipedia) (The Official Site)

• Renter:  This looks like they are just trying desperately to capitalize off of gladiator and I'm not a big fan Russell Crow or his movies.  On the plus side: Cate Blanchett, William Hurt and a movie with sword play in it.  This is probably a renter though if I have time or the early reviews turn out to be good I may switch to Theater.

Shrek Forever After:

Release Date:  May 21

Listed as: Fantasy, Comedy

Studio: DreamWorks Animation

Director:  Mike Mitchell

Produced by:  Gina Shay, Teresa Cheng, Andrew Adamson, Aron Warner, John H. Williams

Written by:  Josh Klausner, Darren Lemke, Ryan Harris

Stars:  Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Walt Dohrn, Julie Andrews, Justin Timberlake

The Plot / Story: After all of his adventures, Shrek has become a domesticated family ogre. Instead of scaring villagers away as he used to, Shrek agrees to autograph pitchforks. Longing for the days when he felt like a "real ogre", Shrek is tricked into signing a pact with the smooth-talking deal maker, Rumpelstiltskin.  After signing the contract, Shrek discovers he has been tricked, and the day Rumpelstiltskin took out of Shrek's life was the day that he was born-meaning that he never existed.  Now, stuck in a twisted alternate version of Far Far Away where he has to gather the gang and fix everything. (Wikipedia) (The Official Site)

• Theater:  I have loved all of the Shrek movies and expect to really enjoy this as well.

Prince of Persia:

Release Date: May 21

Listed as:  action, adventure, fantasy

Studio:  Walt Disney Pictures

Director:  Mike Newell

Produced by:  Jerry Bruckheimer

Written by:  Jordan Mechner, Boaz Yakin

Stars:  Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina

The Plot / Story: Based on the game Prince Of Persia.  Dastan is a street urchin in 6th century Persia. Adopted by the king as his heir after showing valor in battle in hopes of keeping the king’s two sons from fighting over the throne.  Dastan teams up with Princess Tamina  to rescue the Sands of Time, a gift from the gods that controls time, from the hands of the villainous nobleman, Nizam.(Wikipedia) (The Official Site)

• Theater: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time only caught a passing interest from me.  Movies based on games tend to be a hit and miss venture.  Add to that Disney's involvement and this project had caution written all over it, that is until I watched the trailer above.  I’m now excited about Prince of Persia.  The effects looks good.  I like the use of a broader variety of weaponry especially the more exotic ones.  The trailer does a nice job of setting up the back and forth between Dastan and Princess Tamina, even if a bit cliche.

Survival of the Dead:

Release Date:  May 21

Listed as:  Zombie movie

Studio: Independent Production

Director:  George A. Romero

Produced by:  Paula Devonshire

Written by:  George A. Romero

Stars:  Alan van Sprang, Kenneth Welsh, Kathleen Munroe, Athena Karkanis

The Plot / Story: It's a desperate, nightmarish world where the dead walk the earth, relentlessly attacking the living. Plum Island is a beautiful refuge whose isolation allows two powerful families to maintain a semblance of order in the wake of the zombie apocalypse. Over time the two clans become sharply divided: The O'Flynns believe that the undead must be destroyed without exception, while the Muldoons insist that afflicted loved ones be kept "alive" until a cure is found. Added unto this situation wander a small group of National Guard soldiers who, after robbing the protagonists of the previous film, have decided to strike out on their own in an effort to survive.  Survival of the Dead follows the thieving National Guardsmen characters who briefly appeared in Diary of the Dead.  (Wikipedia) (The Official Site)

• Renter:  working against this movie is that it's a zombie flick which has been done to undead and like the creatures they feature just won't go away and give me a rest.  That said it's a George A. Romero movie, this is a huge plus.  Romero created the zombie genera and the best zombie movies.  This may be enough to move this movie to theater status and at least makes it a renter.

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[reus name="Fandango"]

[reus name="Netflix"]

If you are not familiar with Stephen Lynch you need to know that this song and video may not be considered safe for work.

But it is awesome!  I love Sims videos, and I'll probably have a Stephen Lynch sim in my game later tonight.  Should it be Superhero Stephen or Gay Stephen?  I bet you can guess.

Theater or Renter: April includes five SF movies Clash of the Titans, Date Night, Kick-Ass, The Losers, A Nightmare on Elm Street.  Will we watch? Will we rent? or do we even care?

Rules of the Game: Watch the trailers. Rate the Trailer. Then share with us your comments: does the movie, it’s trailer and buzz make you want to watch it in the theater, rent it, or not interested at all, and why?

Clash of the Titans:

Release Date: April 1

Listed as:  epic fantasy

Studio:  Legendary Pictures

Director:  Louis Leterrier

Produced by:  Basil Iwanyk, Kevin De La Noy, Richard D. Zanuck

Written by:  Lawrence Kasdan, Travis Beacham, Phil Hay, Matt Manfredi

Stars:  Sam Worthington, Mads Mikkelson, Alexa Davalos, Danny Huston, Gemma Arterton, Pete Postelthwaite, Ralph Fiennes, Liam Neeson

The Plot / Story: Based on the 1981 film Clash of the Titans
.  Born of a god but raised as a man, Perseus is helpless to save his family from Hades.  With nothing left to lose, Perseus volunteers to lead a dangerous mission to defeat the Kraken and then get revenge on Hades.  (Wikipedia) (The Official Site)

Theater: Liam Neeson as Zeus and Ralph Fiennes as Hades will be awesome.  I loved the original Clash of the Titans and have hopes that this one will be an epic like the first.  They even have a budget to make the effects look great but the trailers haven’t supported the hope.

More Clash of the Titans on dashPunk

Date Night:

Release Date:  APRIL 9th

Listed as:  Comedy

Studio:  20th Century Fox

Director:  Shawn Levy

Produced by:  Shawn Levy, Tom McNulty

Written by:  Josh Klausner

Stars:  Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Mark Wahlberg, James Franco, Mark Ruffalo, Mila Kunis, Kristen Wiig, Common, Ray Liotta, Taraji P. Henson, Leighton Meester

The Plot / Story: Claire and Phil Foster (Tina Fey and Steve Carell) are a suburban couple slogging through their daily lives and marriage. Even their "date nights" of dinner and a movie have become routine. To reignite the marital spark, they visit a trendy Manhattan bistro, where a case of mistaken identity hurtles them through the city at breakneck speeds, into non-stop adventure. Remembering what made them so special together, Phil and Claire take on a couple of corrupt cops, a top-level mobster—and a crazed cabbie—as their date becomes a night they'll never forget.  (Wikipedia) (The Official Site)

Between Theater Renter:  Date night will be a theater if I have time to catch it in the theater otherwise it is a renter.  The idea of Liz Lemon and Michael Scott together makes me laugh so much even if I realize these characters are probably not quite the same.  Tina Fey and Steve Carell crack me up so I expect this to be a fun and funny movie.  I'm also curious to see if Date Night is more like Adventures in Babysitting then the typical comedies we find in the theaters today.

Kick-Ass:

Release Date:  APRIL 16th

Listed as:  comic book movie

Studio:  Lionsgate

Director:  Matthew Vaughn

Produced by:  Matthew Vaughn, Brad Pitt, Kris Thykier, Adam Bohling, Tarquin Pack, David Reid

Written by:  Jane Goldman, Matthew Vaughn, Mark Millar

Stars:  Aaron Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloe moretz, Mark Strong, Nicolas Cage

The Plot / Story: based on the comic book Kick-Ass by Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr.  a typical teenage boy, wonders why no one has ever decided to become a real-life superhero like the heroes in the comic books.  Despite the fact that he has zero superpowers, he looks to reincarnate himself as a crime-fighting superhero named Kick-Ass.  His decision inspires a subculture of copy cats, put his life in danger, and unite him with a similarly minded father-daughter duo. (Wikipedia) (The Official Site)

Theater:  the trailers look really funny.  The premise of a regular person stepping up for what is right and inspiring others to take his lead is also a plus.

The Losers:

Release Date:  APRIL 23rd

Listed as: action based on comic

Studio:  Warner Bros.

Director:  Sylvain White

Produced by:  Joel Silver, Akiva Goldsman, Kerry Foster

Written by:  Peter Berg, James Vanderbilt

Stars:  Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Zoe Saldana, Chris Evans, Idris Elba, Columbus Short, Óscar Jaenada, Jason Patric

The Plot / Story: An adaptation of Vertigo and DC Comics' comic book series The Losers. Five members of an elite United States Special Forces team are sent into the Bolivian jungle. The team find themselves the target of a betrayal instigated from inside by a powerful enemy known only as Max. Believed to be dead, the group makes plans to even the score when they're joined by the mysterious Aisha, a beautiful operative with her own agenda.  (Wikipedia) (The Official Site)

Between Theater Renter:  I lovingly think of this movie as the B-Team copy of the A-Team m0vie.  The story and even characters are similar.  That said The Loosers trailer did make me laugh more which hurts a little to say as a fan of the A-Team.  I don't have big expectations for the film but from the trailer it looks fun so if I'm not able to catch it in the theater I will put it on the rent list.

A Nightmare on Elm Street:

Release Date:  APRIL 30th

Listed as:  Slasher, Horror, Reboot

Studio:  New Line Cinema

Director:  Samuel Bayer

Produced by:  Michael Bay, Andrew Form, Brad Fuller

Written by:  Wesley Strick, Eric Heisserer

Stars:  Jackie Earle Haley, Kyle Gallner, Rooney Mara, Katie Cassidy, Thomas Dekker, Kellan Lutz

The Plot / Story: A reboot of the 1980’s movie Nightmare on Elm Street.  A group of parents hunt down and murder a local stalker.  The children of the suburban parents are being haunted in their dreams by a horribly disfigured killer known as Freddy Krueger.  (Wikipedia) (The Official Site)

Theater:  I'm a big fan of Nightmare on Elm Street and in it's case a reboot makes more sense because Freddy was finally defeated in six.  I am concerned about my reactions to a non Robert Englund Freddy but the trailers look really good.

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[reus name="Fandango"]

[reus name="Netflix"]

Kick-Ass is an interesting looking movie.  I get a Mystery Men kind of vibe from it which is not the best movie but it is very entertaining.  Kick-Ass is in theaters April 16th 2010.  Watch the trailer above.

Plot:  KICK-ASS tells the story of average teenager comic-book fanboy who decides to take his obsession as inspiration to become a real-life superhero… Kick-Ass.  He assembles a suit and mask to wear, and gets to work fighting crime. There's only one problem standing in his way: Kick-Ass has absolutely no superpowers.

His life is forever changed as he inspires a subculture of copy cats, is hunted by assorted violent and unpleasant characters, and meets up with a pair of crazed vigilantes, including an 11-year-old sword-wielding dynamo, Hit Girl and her father, Big Daddy.

With the success of recent films like the Transformers movies and District 9 (and to a lesser extent, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which is the 26th highest grossing film worldwide), it seems like Hollywood is going alien crazy, giving the green light and putting a lot of alien-based stories in development — more than ever before. In a couple years, will aliens be the new vampires?  -(via /Film)

Will Aliens be the New Vampires?

No, the rise in interest in alien movies is just part of the Hollywood system.  The very same system that will also decide people aren’t interested in Aliens as much as Vampire’s.

Hollywood has a past track record for starting many projects to hedge their bet on what the next big fad will be.  Many of these projects get dumped or shelved after the sales numbers come in.

The sales numbers are not so good for alien movies.  Transformers and Indiana Jones are franchises in their own right and won’t be thought of by the studios as alien movies.

There are also a lot of superhero movie projects in the works.  Could the superhero movie be the next thing?  With such a diverse story and setting potential there is a lot more that could be explored in this area on the big screen.

Vampire movies are still bringing in a lot for the studios.  Do you think they will continue doing more of them?  I hope not, it pains me to say that but with so many bad ones out there I would like for it to be given a rest.

What would you like to see as the next movie phase?