223 replies to this topic

[Call Billy Bob]

 

I just don't know how I'll feel seeing Arnie in god-knows how many CGI enhanced scenes with body doubles and probably less screen-time than we expect.
 
And the grey hair? I don't know. It just doesn't excite me, which is a huge shame as I ADORE Schwarzenegger and his films.

You do know that on the outside, Terminators age, right? That explains the gray hair....

 

100% correct. As Kyle Reese explains in T1: "The Terminator is an infiltration unit, part man - part machine. Underneath it's a hyperalloy combat chassis, microprocessor-controlled, fully armored, very tough. But outside it's living human tissue. Flesh, skin, hair, blood, grown for the cyborgs."

[Safari Suit]

It looks a little better than Salvation at least, can't help thinking it would have been more fun if they'd brought Robert Patrick back too though.

[Call Billy Bob]

It looks a little better than Salvation at least, can't help thinking it would have been more fun if they'd brought Robert Patrick back too though.

Agreed. The T-1000 is my favorite thing about any Terminator entry ever.

[thecasinoroyale]

I know about the aging tissue, of course!

 

I just don't get the flow of the film. I figure it will jump forward many years as we have the 1984 Terminator with dark hair blowing away...himself, sort of. And then other scenes he has grey hair, so that's some serious aging.

 

But I just hate the obvious dye job going on, it looks too much a statement to acknowledge Arnie is older, so we have to make the Terminator obviously older with the grey hair job.

 

I'm just finding it hard to get excited about what looks like more recycled elements - the amount of lines repeated from the older films, and just the general look of the action doesn't seem new with Arnie back on a bike in a chase, even the T-1000 again isn't something I can get excited about because it's been done, and to be honest, looked better in the 'T2' trailers.

 

*sigh*

[tdalton]

I actually like the track that they appear to be on, even though I would admit that the inherent complexity in what they're trying to do is somewhat inviting disaster.  When they first announced that they were doing a new Terminator film, they sold it as being this standalone trilogy that was going to do its own thing.  I wasn't really on board with that, as I wanted to see them continue pushing forward with the original storyline and see where the war with the machines ended up.

 

Now, though, it looks more like they're fitting Terminator: Genisys in with the rest of the Terminator franchise, and that's something that I very much welcome.  Not sure about a couple of the new plot points, like Sarah Connor being raised by a Terminator, but the implied idea behind some of the changes in the mythos of the series (whether it's intentional or not), that all of the time travel done has considerably changed the past, is an interesting way of moving the franchise forward.

 

The more and more I see of the film, the more I find myself looking forward to it.  It's not going to rival The Terminator or Terminator 2: Judgment Day, so the expectations are already lowered, but that doesn't mean that it can't be a good piece of entertainment that finally brings Schwarzenegger back into the frame as a viable screen presence again.  There's a lot to like in Terminator: Genisys, the presence of Emilia Clarke, Schwarzenegger (pulling double-duty no less), and Jason Clarke all show that at the very least, the characters we know and love from the original films are in good hands, and they have a director on board in Alan Taylor who has worked for the Marvel juggernaut, so he at the very least has has an idea as to how not to mess up a lucrative property.

 

Regarding Schwarzenegger's hair, I'd rather that they put the effort into making him look older than doing it the other way and putting a ton of effort into making him look younger.  If the older Terminator was the baseline, meaning that they used Arnold looking as he actually does right now, in that role, then they'd have to try to make him look younger to portray the Terminator role that he's actually reprising in the film.  By putting extra effort into making the guardian Terminator look even older than Schwarzenegger already is, they don't have to put that effort into making him look younger to reprise the original Terminator role he'd played in The Terminator, T2, and T3.  

[tdalton]

Trailer for the Poltergeist remake starring Sam Rockwell:

[x007AceOfSpades]

Blackhat - 2015 - 4.5/5 - Directed by Michael Mann - starring Chris Hemsworth and Wang Leehom

"That's what you're doing. Isn't it, you son of a b****."

 

Finally, I have been able to catch Michael Mann's latest outing Blackhat. I had been quite busy and had a full plate when this initially came out on the sixteenth of January, and after it bombed at the box office, I pretty much knew my time was extremely limited to seeing this on the big screen. Well, I finally got that chance, strangely, and I'm still in awe. What have I just witnessed? Blackhat is simply outstanding, another impressive feature from such a brilliant filmmaker like Mann.

 

At a nuclear plant in Hong Kong, China, a hacker causes coolant pumps to overheat and explode. Soon after, the trade exchange in Chicago is hacked. The Chinese government teams up with the FBI and comes to the determine that the hack was done remotely. Chinese military officer, Chen Dawai (Wang Leehom) looks into the code and sees that it uses pieces that he built with his old friend, Nicholas Hathaway (Chris Hemsworth), who is currently serving thirteen years in prison for cyber crimes. The FBI agrees to Hathaway's terms and he is brought onto the investigation team to locate the cyber terrorist(s) involved, led by paramilitary, Elias Kassar (Ritchie Coster), as they travel throughout the States and Asia.

 

The timing couldn't have been more perfect. With the massive Sony hacks/leaks still looming in the air and cyber terrorism becoming increasingly more relevant, Blackhat was perfectly timed. Unfortunately, It also received the dreaded January dumping zone for films. Universal had set a January 2015 released well over a year before release, and while it was still fresh in post-production. Did they not believe in the film? That's the only case I could've seen. They must've figured it wouldn't have resonated well with viewers. It was marketed as a just an action/cyber thriller, and I couldn't tell you how many people laughed at the trailer for this when I saw John Wick.

 

Blackhat is an action film, and a very smart one at that. It plays to it's strengths very well, and never tries to come off as introverted. It's another visual feast for the eyes from Mann, but what really drew me in was the story. Blackhat could have been a tiresome, basic film, but it's story is highly intuitive and expertly told. It's not simple, despite being, and the story is always developing, and new information is swept across the screen. Despite what critics say, Blackhat really is a smart, taught thriller, and one that is perfect for this generation and time. Technology is ever changing and terrorism and warfare is always evolving to new grounds. Blackhat in my opinion, couldn't have been better.

 

There's a certain beauty to watching violence in a Michael Mann film unfold on screen. The man doesn't just know how to film the action, but rather submerse you. Mann really knows how to film a fricking shootout. I recently watched Miami Vice on Blu-Ray and that climatic shootout, still gives me goosebumps. The three major action sequences in Blackhat were probably the most intense time I've had during a movie. The muzzle flash engulfs the screen, and gunfire just takes over, all that surrounds is just chaos. The Shek O shootout was crazy and the climax was intense as hell.

 

I was really surprised from Chris Hemsworth here. Who says hackers can't be tall and muscular and are supposed to be nerdy? I thought Hemsworth was perfect as Hathaway, and it's definitely some of the finest acting I've seen from him. Hathaway is a character that is driven by emotions. Nearly every character here is driven by their emotional instinct. Hathaway finds himself drawn to Lien Chen (Tang Wei), as does she. It's easy to dismiss it and view it as a way of trying to humanize Hathaway easily. I found it to actually be refreshing and not forced, and I understand what it meant for the two of them.

 

No one does digital cinematography in my opinion, better than Michael Mann. They just have such a raw, visceral look that in my opinion only makes the experience all the more real and exciting. Mann captures each locale beautifully, and the climax, the Balinese Nyepi Day celebration is probably one of the finest shot edited scenes I've seen from Mann yet. Blackhat is stylistic as hell, and I would say it echoes some shades of Miami Vice a bit and has some fantastic compositions. The soundtrack, though comprising mainly of Ryan Amon's score from Elysium matches the film. I'd still like to hear what Harry Gregson-Williams and Atticus Ross had initially prepared, but I'm happy with the final soundtrack used.

 

I don't want to continue going on, because I'll start rambling, if I haven't already. Ultimately, I absolutely loved Blackhat. I think it's yet another impressive outing from the auteur that is Michael Mann, and through time, others will come to love it and greatly praise and appreciate it, much like Miami Vice. Michael Mann may have been away for nearly six years, but he was never gone. Does Blackhat spell the end for his career? Absolutely not. Mann definitely isn't showing any signs of slowing down or delivering a less than stellar product. He'll always be a brilliant filmmaker. One that I am proud to have met. One that I will always flock to see his work.

 

Blackhat is outstanding.

 

"It's not about money, or ones, or zeroes, or code."

 

Wild Card - 2015 - 3/5 - Directed by Simon West - starring Jason Statham and Michael Angarano

"You're not supposed to love Vegas. It's just this creeping virus people catch sometimes."

 

Looking at the poster for this, you'll be quick to assume that Simon West's Wild Card is just another action vehicle for Jason Statham. You're partially right. It's a remake of the 1986 Burt Reynolds films, Heat which is in turn based on the novel of the said name by William Goldman who wrote the screenplay for both films. Wild Card is part crime drama and part action film, with some iffy choices in direction, but all around, a solid film under Statham's belt.

 

Nick Wild (Jason Statham) is a recovering gambling addict in Las Vegas, Nevada. To support his addiction, he takes on odd jobs, such as showing around a self-made millionaire, Cyrus Kinnick (Michael Angarano) around town and serving as a bodyguard while he gambles. Nick gets himself caught up with a deadly plot of revenge after a friend, Holly (Dominik Garcia-Lorido) is attacked and raped by Danny DeMarco (Milo Ventimiglia) and his men. Nick agrees to help Holly find DeMarco, all while trying to support his addiction and eventually leave town for good.

 

I had originally been set to attend a screening of this back in February of 2014 when it was originally titled Heat. Some stuff happened, and long story short, ended up not being able to see it. Instead I ended up seeing RoboCop for a second time, because there was fucking nothing else playing. Anyways. I was under the impression this was going to be more of a crime drama film, than just a straight forward action film from Statham. That's what attracted me to it, since it's be something new for him, and would jump-start him in a different light. Unfortunately, for seasoned director and writer, Simon West and William Goldman, they don't know what to do.

 

The film works at it's best when It's focused on anything but the action scenes. When it's all about Nick Wild, and Statham's great performance, that's when it works best. It really becomes this character driven film, about a man taking odd jobs, trying to cope with his addiction, all while trying to get out of this hell known as Las Vegas. The tone of the film shifts dramatically when the action seeps in. It's entertaining, yeah, but it is incredibly silly and really unnecessary. We know Nick Wild is a badass, so why do we need to see it? It feels as if it was just shoehorned in once Statham came on board as a means of making it much more entertaining and viewable by audiences. The acting is just okay, with the only strong performances coming from Statham and Stanley Tucci, the latter of which has just a small performance. Everyone else feels just average and only there to boost Statham's performance up much more. It's well shot and edited, though the film could have toned down the usage of slow motion. There's a few fun sequences, well mainly the Blackjack scene at the casino, which I thought was great.

 

I could only imagine how Wild Card would have turned out if Brian De Palma directed this. While I did like it, I think De Palma would've done a much better job of handling the story. As for Jason Statham - I still love the guy. Not because we happen to share the same birthday (July 26th), but because he's one of the view modern action heroes that I still enjoy watching. No matter how the film looks. However, after seeing the Super Bowl ad for Furious 7, you can safely bet that I will not be spending any money on that at all. Even if Statham is in it and as the villain.

 

"I'm a licensed pilot, took karate in Tokyo, lectured economics at Yale, I can memorize the front pages of the New York Times in five minutes and repeat it back to you in five weeks."

 

Vice - 2015 - 0/5 - Directed by Bryan A. Miller - starring Thomas Jane and Bruce Willis

We have a contender for worst film of 2015, everyone. Sadly, I'm not sure if it'll be beat. Vice beat out Taken 3 for worst film of 2015, and we're only in February. I'm not really sure why I ended up seeing this. The ads on tv didn't look particularly good, but I was still interested because Thomas Jane and Bruce Willis were starring in it.

 

Vice takes place in the future where a man, Julian Michaels (Bruce Willis) has built a reality resort known as "VICE". Where you, the customer, can do anything you please, and live out your wildest fantasies in an environment with artificial humans, who think just like us. One day, Kelly (Ambyr Childers) escapes from "VICE" and enters the real words. Veteran detective, Roy (Thomas Jane) is against "VICE" and all that Julian Michael stands by and is looking for anything that he can use to take down Michaels and "VICE".

 

Vice plays out like a lazy version of Blade Runner. Ambyr Childers is the artificial inhabitant that escapes from the reality of "VICE" only to slowly discover real, human emotions. Almost like Rutger Hauers' Roy Batty, the replicant from Blade Runner. Bruce Willis is almost much like Tyrell from Blade Runner and Thomas Jane is just a lazy, half-assed Deckard. The idea isn't even intriguing, it's just half-assed, much like everything else in the film. I'm not sure why Bruce Willis is all of sudden doing straight-to-DVD. It's quite sad, but then again, would a major studio really want to pay him loads of money to deliver a lazy performance like he did in this film? I don't think so.

 

I can't think of anything else that is remotely worth mentioning about Vice, and that includes the negatives, which this film is full of. The action and the plot is terribly contrived and awfully acted. It's just another typical straight-to-DVD & On Demand film.

 

LOOKING FORWARD TO - MOST ANTICIPATED ARE HIGHLIGHTED IN RED & BOLD

Sicario

Spectre

The Martian

Pan

Knight Of Cups

Sinister 2

Straight Outta Compton

Crimson Peak

St. James Place

Mission: Impossible 5

Jane Got A Gun

Hitman: Agent 47

Chappie

In The Heart Of The Sea

Child 44

Mad Max: Fury Road

Black Mass

Midnight Special

The Revenant

Carol

HAVE SEEN

Taken 3 - 1/5

Blackhat - 4.5/5

Wild Card - 3/5

Vice - 0/5

[tdalton]

Not really "2015" news, but since we no longer have a general movie news thread:

 

Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton hired for Halloween "recalibration"

Filmmakers are not referring to the film as a "reboot", "re-imagining", or "remake".

First draft due October 30th

 

Angelina Jolie could direct Captain Marvel

[x007AceOfSpades]

Trailer for Hitman: Agent 47. So much for being a "silent assassin".

[tdalton]

Neill Blomkamp talks more about his Alien film idea

 

I wasn't a huge fan of District 9, but I wouldn't mind seeing him take on the Alien franchise.  Certainly it couldn't turn out worse than Alien Resurrection, and it would seem like he'd be able to get Sigourney Weaver on board, which would be a huge plus.

[tdalton]

Neill Blomkamp to helm new Alien film

 

Film is essentially Alien 5, not a sequel to Prometheus.

Release date is currently set for March 4, 2016

Edited by tdalton, 19 February 2015 - 03:46 PM.

[x007AceOfSpades]

It isn't Alien 5, and there is no release date. Fox is still moving forward with a sequel to Prometheus which is due in 2016, and Blomkamp's film is the follow up to the second Prometheus film. I don't know why comingsoon.net is reporting that Prometheus 2 is canceled - No other source has come forward or even begun reporting the same thing.

[tdalton]

Variety reports that it IS an Alien sequel and separate from Prometheus 2, which is the film with a March 2016 release date

 

http://variety.com/2...amp-1201436551/

 

Time and other outlets report the same:

http://time.com/3714...p-alien-sequel/

http://blogs.wsj.com...new-alien-film/

[x007AceOfSpades]

Okay, that's cleared up now. Other sites I checked had it as a Prometheus 2 follow-up, but that's been settled, hasn't it.

[x007AceOfSpades]

First look at Jason Momoa as Aquaman in Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice.

Kind of reminds me of Momoa's Game Of Thrones character, Khal Drogo.

Interesting look they went with.

[tdalton]

deleted

[thecasinoroyale]

87th Academy Award Winners:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk...t-arts-30835975

 

 

Nice range of winners in all I think. Pleased with the results.

[x007AceOfSpades]

At least Boyhood didn't win. Really wasn't much of a selection for me personally. 2014 was the year of Oscar bait and Biopics. Hopefully 2015 is a different story. Then again, it's not like awards shows matter in the first place to begin with.

[x007AceOfSpades]

Warner Bros. Pictures joins MGM for Tom Raider reboot. Evan Daugherty to write screenplay.

[tdalton]

Harrison Ford to star in Blade Runner sequel

[Call Billy Bob]

Harrison Ford to star in Blade Runner sequel

 

Seriously, so so happy about this news! Blade Runner is in my top 5 sci-fi films list and a continuation brings so many possibilities.

[x007AceOfSpades]

I was a little bummed that Ridley Scott isn't going to direct, but then Denis Villeneuve came into the picture. Now I'm excited as ever. Scott is producing and taking a "Story By" credit (I believe), but Blade Runner is without a doubt one of the greatest science fiction films ever made, and one of cinema's finest. I look forward to seeing this unfold.

[tdalton]

Jessie Usher, Liam Hemsworth, and Jeff Goldblum confirmed for Independence Day 2

Usher said to be playing the part of Dylan Dubrow, Will Smith's stepson in the original

Hemsworth thought to be playing the part of President Whitmore's son-in-law

Goldblum confirmed to reprise his role from the original

[Call Billy Bob]

Nice to finally see some concrete news about ID4 2. Optimistic because Goldblum is back - he's the best part of the first film.

[x007AceOfSpades]

Shot under the working title of St. James Place, Steven Spielberg's Cold War thriller officially titled Bridge Of Spies. Opens October 16th.

[thecasinoroyale]

Gotta be a better 'Bridge Of Spies' than this:

 

[x007AceOfSpades]

I really can't think of the last film Spielberg made that I thought was actually very well made, and quite impressive. I'd say Munich, but it's been a very long time since I've seen it. Schindler's List is the only that comes to mind, and that just over twenty years ago. The Cold War is by far one of, if not my absolutely favorite topic in history and it's completely fascination, so we'll see how the film turns out.

[x007AceOfSpades]

First look at Ed Skrein in The Transporter Refueled. The fourth installment in the franchise - Skrein replaces Jason Statham as Frank Martin and the film is set to arrive on June 19th. Doubtful the film makes that date as there has literally been no marketing and we're just three months away from release. I smell a bomb.

[thecasinoroyale]

Not 2015, but not sure where to put this:

 

http://www.empireonl...y.asp?NID=43718

 

Sam Jones Says New Flash Gordon Is A Sequel

 

It's almost exactly a year since we last heard anything about the new Flash Gordon currently developing at Fox. Speaking to 1980's Flash and recent Ted star Sam Jones, however, Den Of Geek's US wing have quietly picked up a possible scoop. They've chosen not to trumpet it, probably because it sounds, if not ridiculous, then hugely unlikely. But according to Jones himself, the Fox Flash Gordon is not a reboot or a remake, but a possible sequel.

 

"Matthew Reilly [VP of production at Fox Studios] acquired the screenplay rights to Flash Gordon last year," says Jones, "and he hired [producer] John Davis and his staff to write the script. They’re looking to bring out a sequel actually. I met with Matt, we’re in talks about that. A lot of people over the years, including Stephen Sommers and Neil H. Moritz, have acquired the screenplay rights, but for whatever reason they did not do a follow up on the option. So I’m very excited about it."

 

We're in talks? Jones declines to say exactly what that means, so it's unclear if he genuinely thinks he's in contention for another shot at the title or just up for a cameo. But, he says, "I told Matt, however he wants to use me, keep one thing in mind: whatever a younger, leading man can do, I cannot only match him, I can do more! If he does 20 pull-ups, I can do 30 pull-ups. If he can do 100 push-ups, I can do 150 push-ups. Just keep that in mind!"

 

Back last April, the word on the street was that Bad Robot-ites JD Payne and Patrick McKay, part of the writing process for the third modern Star Trek who have since been replaced, were working on Flash Gordon's screenplay. Their take, it was said, was to rescue Flash from his current reputation as something stupid but much loved, and restore his reputation as a more serious space adventurer.

 

Has that changed? Decades-belated sequels are, of course, not without precedent: see Tron: Legacy for a recent example. But whether Flash Gordon could pull off the same trick is, let's say, questionable... And the idea that Jones could play Flash again, unless it's a smaller elder-statesman role in some sort of Son-Of-Flash narrative, would seem impossible

[Call Billy Bob]

Flash! Ahh! Savior of the Universe!

 

Flash! Ahh! He's put on a bit of weight!