I’m sure everyone has heard of the fairly famous anime series known as Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z or Dragon Ball GT in their life time. Not only was it a pretty violent 80s-90s anime series, but it was also one of the longest running series ever to grace the television screen. We all love, remember, and adore all those infamous beam-spamming scenes and unrelenting hollering matches.

Much to my surprise I discovered back in March and April that they created an actual live action rendition of Dragon Ball…this movie being titled Dragon Ball: Evolution. If you don’t want anything divulged about this film because you haven’t seen it yet, then I would advise against reading this unless you like spoilers.

Overall I really liked the movie for its entertainment value; however, I found a lot of it to be quite inaccurate with the TV series…granted we all know that not every movie created (that has its own TV series) fits the history correctly. First and foremost…I do not remember seeing Goku’s grandfather ever making an appearance in the Dragon Ball or Dragon Ball Z series…by the time Goku was born…or at least 3 years of age, his grandfather was killed and this movie displays him as a teenager. So technically that aspect of the film sort of contradicted the rest of the Dragon Ball Universe—yeah that does bother me a lot, only because I grew up attuned to the series. Not to mention they kept pronouncing “Gohan” (Goku’s grandpa) wrong.

Anyway, other little pet peeves in the movie that really bothered me. First of all, Piccolo did not have any noticeable antennae…he’s a Namekian, you’d think those would be mandatory to have. Even though that was a major disappointment for his character I am really happy about the actor that was hired to play him. James Marsters; if most of you don’t recognize the name, you may remember him as the vampire Spike from the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I was very impressed with his performance because he fit the character perfectly.

The other characters were done superbly as well. Goku seemed to have the exact same personality as his anime counterpart granted they mentioned nothing of him being a Saiyan, Bulma, Master Roshi, Chi-Chi and Yamcha also had personalities similar to that of their anime counterparts. One thing that really angered me though was the absence of the character Krillin…who is technically supposed to be Goku’s best friend and the most powerful of the human fighters.

Overall, I found the movie to be very entertaining; however, it has received a great deal of negative reaction from a lot of die hard Dragon Ball Z fans. Voting on IMDb has given it a rating around 3.3 out of 10. So if you are the type of Dragon Ball fan who isn’t to concerned with the movie following the anime universe, then you’ll probably like it. Although if you are a die hard fan who wants it to fit the series exactly, you’ll likely be disappointed.

Perhaps my opinion stems from my love of Tarantino’s work so far, but Inglourious Basterds was easily the best film I’ve seen this year.

Inglourious Basterds

Starring: Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, B.J. Novak, Sam Levine (“Freaks and Geeks” represent!), Christoph Waltz, and many more.

Rated: R (for violence, language, a brief (but hilarious) sex scene, and lots of Nazi-killin’.

IMDb Rating: 8.3
RottenTomatoes: 82%

The film is told in the standard five chapter plot that viewers have come to expect from Tarantino (see: Kill Bill). It begins in the Nazi-occupied French countryside, where a dairy farmer must choose between the safety of his family and revealing the whereabouts of a missing Jewish family.

From there, the film flash-forwards four years to 1944, to the last struggles of the war. Aldo Raine, played by the continually surprising Brad Pitt, gathers a team of very angry Jewish Americans to show the Nazis just how angry they are. There is some excellent violence, and, of course, the by turns funny and grave dialogue that audiences have come to love.

The film definitely kept me guessing. Just when I was busting a gut laughing, someone would be killed off, or a tense scene would be cut with something funny and I couldn’t help but laugh. I loved that I was never really settled into the movie. Another thing that I loved was that this film featured two very strong female characters.

The movie’s greatest strength was the acting. I mentioned that Brad Pitt was great, but Diane Kruger, who played a turncoat actress named Bridget Von Hammersmark, surprised me as well. She spoke German through much of the film, and when she switched to English she maintained a beautifully subtle accent. Not only is she stunning, her acting was remarkable. Even director Eli Roth, who plays the vengeful “Bear Jew,” was not as awful as I predicted!

But the actor who stole the show was Christoph Waltz as the “Jew Hunter” Hans Lander. He is the lead villain, not Hilter as I initially thought. He played the role brilliantly: frightening, perceptive, ironic, sardonic, and even humorous. He toyed with almost everyone in the movie, but in the end got what was coming to him. He won the best actor award at Cannes Film Festival this year. Expect him to earn a nomination, if not win, for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars.

A great film, and one that I will surely be adding to my collection when it is released on DVD. I may even go to the theater to watch it again. It’s well worth the price of admission and then some.

I tried to see this film at the midnight showing, but a score of nerds beat me to it. The line wrapped around my local cinema, and many kids and young adults were wearing Potter-esque costumes. So, I had to wait until the evening to see the movie, and people were still dressed up. While some aspects of the movie were disappointing, on the whole I really enjoyed it.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Rated: PG (I strongly suggest that young children not be taken to this film because of a scene described below…Spoilers Ahead!)

Starring: The usual cast of Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, (the lovely) Emily Watson, (the brilliant) Alan Rickman, (the acceptable) Michael Gambon, and an assortment of various British actors in lesser roles.

IMDb Rating: 8.2

There are three intertwining plotlines in the book: Harry and Dumbledore’s journey through various memories involving Tom Riddle and their search for the Horcruxes, Draco and Snape’s missions, and the mystery surrounding the moniker, “The Half-Blood Prince.” While I felt that the first two plots were sufficiently portrayed in the film, the final one, from which the film derived its name, seemed as though it was merely an afterthought. There was no mystery, no build-up, and it didn’t even really fit into the film very well, especially the big reveal at the end.

That said, I did enjoy this movie. The acting, especially, was great. Tom Felton, who played Draco Malfoy, really impressed me this time around. Before, he was simply the school bully, a brat with no real reason to be the jerk that he was. Here, there is plenty of motivation for him to be moody and withdrawn, and he portrays Draco with such burden and doubt that it can even be seen in his eyes. This is the first time I’ve really noticed Felton’s acting as anything other than annoying. He did a terrific job.

Another delight was Alan Rickman as Severus Snape. Not since the first film has he really been given a chance to shine as the character, and here, while he doesn’t say a whole lot, his face is simply stricken with grief over what he must do in order to save the Muggle and Wizarding worlds. And, of course, the rest of the cast was good, with notable turns by Evanna Lynch as the brilliant Luna Lovegood, and the appearance of my favorite characters Lupin and Tonks.

While there were some strange pauses in the movie (which I can only attribute to poor editing or direction), this is quite a funny film. But the film is also an emotional roller coaster, dragging the audience down into the darkest depths of Harry’s life. I mentioned in the film outline that this film is rated PG, and I sincerely believe that was a mistake, an attempt by the industry to lure in more ticket sales through unsuspecting parents bringing their younger children.

One scene in particular shows Harry forcing Dumbledore to drink an obviously painful potion to the last drop, while Dumbledore begs him to stop, almost to the point of death. It was an incredibly emotional and traumatizing scene, and the young children in the audience could be heard gasping and crying. I might have shed a few tears myself…

On the whole, if you can forgive the wonky plot and the strange pacing of the film, this is a great addition to the series. It really paves the way for the film, The Deathly Hallows, which has been split into two parts. Since The Deathly Hallows was my least favorite book, I imagine I won’t like the films much either. But hopefully they suprise me.

After the wonderful success of the first Transformers movie back in 2007, I knew that I was going to see the second installment of the apparent trilogy as soon as it came out in theaters.

Overall I was fairly pleased with every aspect of the film—the musical score, the characters, the plot. There were a few things that I was a bit disappointed with though, but the entertainment factor in this film negated its annoyance a bit.

Conveniently, the movie picks up where the first film left off, although if you haven’t seen the first I would recommend it so you know how the characters have developed. The movie jumps right into the action, in fact; most of this entire movie is one big action packed fest of machines, brawling, and gun fire. Not that I don’t enjoy that, but it seemed extremely different from the first movie because of the drastic action content. I almost felt as though the plot was a bit rushed with all the destruction, but later in the movie it seemed to all balance out.

Another thing that bothered me was how the writers seemed to just throw characters from the first movie into the mix without much explanation. If there is anything I despise in a movie, it is characters with lose ends.

One thing I especially loved in this film were the slow-captured scenes. Or in other words, the climactic scenes where just the music could be heard in a background of explosions, yelling, and fighting. It makes the movie so much more heartfelt and beautiful when there are scenes such as those. Not to mention it kept me wanting more and more. Again those scenes were graced with a wonderful musical score similar to the one in the previous movie.

Overall, just so I don’t give too much of the movie away, it was a pretty good film. Lots of action, believable characters, wonderful musical score, great plot, and a highlight—tons of humor! Outside of a few small issues, I can honestly say that this film will probably spark the life in a third movie, so us Transformers fans will have more eye candy in the future!

IMDb Rating: 6.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 3.9/10

Rotten Tomatoes’ consensus:

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a noisy, under plotted, and overlong special effects extravaganza that lacks human touch.

Obviously, there are mixed feelings about this film, despite what positive or negative things you may hear online, give the movie a try.

Don’t let the advertisements fool you. Drag Me to Hell is no serious masterpiece of horror cinema. But it is a welcome return to what made Sam Raimi a camp genius.

Drag Me to Hell

Starring: Alison Lohmen (of White Oleander), Justin Long (who will forever be the nerd from Galaxy Quest and Drew Barrymore’s sometimes boyfriend), David Paymer, among a few others.

Rated: PG-13 (for violence, language, and kitten abuse)

IMDb Rating: 8.4 (Wow.)
RottenTomatoes: 93% (Double wow.)

Sample Review:

Think of this as Night of the Demon on amphetamines as reimagined by the Three Stooges.

For fans of Evil Dead and Army of Darkness, Drag Me to Hell will be like a trip to the past. To a better time, when movies didn’t take themselves so seriously, and even satire wasn’t self-serving. This movie is a horror-comedy, unafraid to go there on the big screen, where so many of its ilk are relegated to direct-to-DVD release.

It tells the story of a young woman attempting to escape her past as a chunky farm girl in order to live a more yuppiefied lifestyle. She has a good job as a loan officer, but is eyeing the newly vacant assistant manager’s position. She has a psychology professor boyfriend, but still hasn’t lived up to the expectations of his wealthy parents. It’s a common story.

Until an old woman asks her for help with an extention on her loan. She has already had two extensions, and now the bank is threatening to claim the old woman’s house. Do you think the young woman makes a good decision and extends the woman one final loan? Or do you think she ruthlessly denies the woman in favor of a promotion?

What follows is an epically awesome and hilarious decent into madness involving seances, talking goats, and other assorted looniness. If you have a weak stomach for body fluids, this might not be your film. But if you enjoy the camp classics of yesteryear, give this movie a chance. I laughed heartily throughout.

Motor City Comic Con featured table upon table of talented artists, whose styles ranged from comic book to airbrush to portrait. One such artist was Mike Calandra, a man who is certainly not afraid to dabble in watercolors, Eddie.

Mike’s work features striking models in a variety of themes and poses. He focuses on science fiction and fantasy, and has provided artwork for Heavy Metal magazine, Art Scene, and numerous commissions including The Night of the Living Dead memoir. He specializes in dark, sexy motifs, and that is what caught my eye.

I purchased two pieces from Calandra Studios: one entitled “Cthulhu’s Bride” which bears a forlorn woman entangled in a macabre snare of tentacles, and an infamous scene from the original Night of the Living Dead featuring, what I like to call, the Gentleman Zombie as he gazes viciously up at the camera after his first kill.

I urge you to stop by Calandra Studios’ website for a peek at some of Mike’s amazing artwork.

When most people put the words “Japan” and “TV Series” together I’m fairly sure the only thing that comes to mind is some sort of anime series, or perhaps some television comedy with horrific English dubbing. Well those were two things I generally thought of when thinking about Japanese Television series…until I was recently proven wrong, that is.

Most people know by now that I have a strong affection for Kaiju movies (Japanese Giant Monster Movies), and I managed to stumble across a television series dedicated to Giant Monsters titled Ultraman Nexus. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Ultraman, granted most people I’m sure have heard of it at one point in their lives, it is a story revolving around good light and evil light finding a home on the planet Earth from deep in space. Both lights infect certain people, and the good light who is meant to fight the evil light is named “Ultraman”. While it may sound odd to most, it actually has some great plotlines and wonderful characters.

In this series, the main focus is around the leading character Kazuki Komon—who is a typical adolescent who is trying to find his way in life. His passion is for helping people and when his usual job seems to go wrong, Komon is approached by a special organization dedicated to fighting off evil monsters (the dark light) and decides to join them in their noble cause. That is all I’ll divulge of the pretty enjoyable story.

Anyway, at first I thought Ultraman Nexus was going to be some cheesy Japanese drama or whatever, and I was proven wrong! Which I am glad that I was because this is my newest addiction! What I enjoy most about Nexas is the believable characters…the in depth development whether it be the plot or the actual people. Not to mention it has great special effects, and a phenomenal musical score!

Overall, I have high praise of this series, and I definitely recommend it for people who are either Kaiju fans like myself, or fans of Japanese entertainment in general!

Along with my latest Star Trek obsession, the beloved movie industry decided to revive yet another one of my favorite movies, X-Men, this time with X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

I was expecting this movie to be different than the original X-Men trilogy due to the fact that it took place before those movies, much similarly to the Star Trek movie being a prequel to the original series. Again, if you haven’t seen this movie and do not want spoilers, I recommend not reading this post. Thank you!

Anyway, the movie starts out very slowly—which did kind of bother me because I’m used to most X-Men movies starting out rather quickly. For some odd reason it seemed to really lag in the area of introducing Wolverine and his brother. Despite that slight set back the movie tends to pick up after awhile.

One thing I enjoyed about this movie over the other three is that the government seemed more involved secretly in the plot. It was a nice twist and it once again gave humanity almost a villainous attribute that remained a constant theme throughout the rest of the film. Another thing I enjoyed was getting to see Patrick Stewart on screen once again, reprising his role as Professor Charles Xavier. Not to mention like the other movies, it has a powerful musical score that is very dynamic and exhilarating!

For the sake of the movie’s story, plot and characters that’s all I’m going to say because I don’t believe in giving out too many spoilers! But I will say that I really enjoyed the film, yet another wonderful installment of the X-Men series!

It did maintain a steady balance at number one in the box office until it was trumped by Star Trek, lowering it to number two. Here are the current online ratings for this movie:

IMDb: 6.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 5.1/10

Unfortunately this movie isn’t receiving very hefty ratings from online fans, although I would not let that detract you from giving this movie a chance. After all, everybody finds something they like and dislike in everything.

It was a fantastic weekend of comics, artwork, and media guests at the Motor City Comic Convention this past weekend at the Rock Financial Showplace in Novi, Michigan. Amidst the vendors, I spotted a table showing a low-budget indie horror film called Zombie Apocalypse. Of course, I had to check it out!

The table was set up amidst artists and comic vendors. They were showing their independent film on a tiny television, and were selling copies of their DVD and an accompanying comic. The funds, the filmmakers revealed, are going toward producing a sequel.

I love independent horror. Often it is funny, silly, and creative. Zombie Apocalypse, in particular, contains in jokes that Michiganians (or Michiganders) will instantly recognize, and it was filmed completely in this state.

Hopefully these guys will be able to raise the money and produce their kickass sequel.

Catch the trailer and buy the DVD here:

http://www.zombieapocalypsemovie.com/

If you haven’t seen the new Star Trek movie and do not want spoilers—I recommend that you do not read this post because it may contain a few small spoilers. Since I am a die-hard Trekkie, I thought it’d be logical (Ha! Spock moment) to post something pertaining to the movie’s current standing.

Seeing the premier of the newest Star Trek movie directed by J.J. Abrams has been the first time I’ve set foot in a movie theater in nearly three years. I must say that I am very happy that I finally did break that relatively boring trend. While I assumed that this Star Trek movie would be similar to the ones before it, I was clearly mistaken. This movie greatly surpasses what all Star Trek fans are used to, yet it manages to capture that original feeling that Gene Roddenberry (the creator) conveyed.

Overall, I love how the characters were portrayed in this movie. From time to time it is easy to see an echo of the characters that were prominent in the 60s as well as the movies in the 80s. We get to see the origins of pretty much all the characters, especially Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Uhura. Not to mention they have a very believable villain, which is always nice. Another plus to the movie is the strong musical score, plot, and several appearances of the original Spock (Leonard Nimoy).

Despite many of the strong points to this film, many people will find it difficult to grasp since the story has a lot to do with temporal paradoxes and alternate realities—something well-known to many avid Star Trek fans. Just remember when watching the movie that it is an “alternate reality”, which is a good thing because if it wasn’t it’s safe to say that everything that has happened in the rest of the Star Trek series would not exist in the way in which we are aware. (I’ll leave it at that, I don’t want to expose too many spoilers)

Here are some of the latest ratings this movie has received:

IMDb: 8.5/10

Rotten Tomatoes: 8.1/10

Also, this movie maintained a position at Number 1 in the Box Office for quite some time.

Overall, Star Trek has appealed to both dedicated long-time fans, and new fans alike! If you haven’t seen it already, I definitely urge everyone to give it a try. It is an exciting adventure that introduces the original characters most of us fans are fond of. I mean…heck… I’ve seen it twice already and enjoyed it even more the second time!

Villaintech continues to keep you abreast of the news surrounding George R. R. Martin’s “Song of Ice and Fire Series.” This installment will reveal casting news from the upcoming HBO pilot based on the first book, A Game of Thrones.

Peter Dinklage, the world’s best short actor, will play the crucial role of Tyrion Lannister. This part is a phenomenal opportunity because Tyrion is a fan favorite, and requires just the right look and attitude. Playing the Imp would require humor, cunning, pathos, and just the right amount of sadness. Having seen Dinklage’s work in films such as The Station Agent (which shares its director with the upcoming pilot), I can safely say that he is an excellent choice.

Peter Dinklage cast in ‘Game Of Thrones’
Wednesday, May 6 2009, 6:47am EDT

By Dan French

Peter Dinklage has been tapped for a key role on HBO’s Game Of Thrones, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The show, which is set in a violent fantasy kingdom, sees an epic struggle for power between the main characters.

The Station Agent star will play Tyrion, the Queen’s brother who is treated as an outsider because of his size.

Tom McCarthy, who previously directed The Station Agent, has come aboard to direct Game Of Thrones.

Source.

If anybody wants a good laugh, the first and foremost movie I recommend is the Larry Charles satire film Religulous (2008) starring the political comedian Bill Maher.

This entire movie focuses around the idea of religion being satirized. The title is the first root that signifies that the film is one giant comedic joke, being derived from the words “religion” and “ridiculous.”

I found the film to be quite entertaining, I definitely recommend it for people who are especially not affiliated with any sort of religion. If you do have any religious beliefs, it is likely that you’ll be greatly offended by this movie because Bill Maher drills each religion with a slew of difficult questions.

Here are some of the ratings:

IMDb: 7.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 6.3/10

Due to the film’s controversial content, it has received both positive and negative acclaim. If you watch it, you’ll either love it or hate it.

After resurrecting his career from the depths of child-actor hell, Jackie Earle Haley has been cast as the new Freddy Kreuger in the upcoming Nightmare on Elm Street remake.

J.E. Haley has had one of the best comeback stories of the last twenty years, especially for a guy whose face is made for character acting. He was excellent as the child predator in Little Children, and a revelation in Watchmen. Can he bring that same twisted, utterly human appeal to Freddy?

Samuel Bayer is directing the relaunch, which was written by Wesley Strick. The movie starts filming on May 5 in Chicago.

The Haunting in Connecticut star Kyle Gallner has been cast as Quentin in the film as well.

Platinum Dunes’ Andrew Form and Brad Fuller are producing. John Rickard is co-producing.

“Looking at his performance in ‘Watchmen,’ here’s a guy playing a character under a mask yet you feel tremendous empathy for him,” Bayer told The Hollywood Reporter. “And in ‘Nightmare,’ he is going to be under prosthetic make-up. You have to feel something for the character. The greatest villains are multi-dimensional and I think he will bring that to the character.”

Bayer called this take of Krueger “Nosferatu meets Ed Gaines.”

I’ve said it before, and I’m not afraid to say it again: I love kids’ movies. I especially love kids’ movies that are aware that adults are watching, too.

Monsters VS. Aliens

Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, Stephen Colbert, Rainn Wilson, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett, Kiefer Sutherland, and the fantastic Seth Rogan.

Rated: PG

IMDb Rating: 7.3
RottenTomatoes: 70%

Sample Review:

[The voice cast] really delivered funny line after funny line throughout this. In what other movie do you get shout-outs to “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “Beverly Hills Cop” in the same frame. “Monsters vs. Aliens” might be a better time capsule of kitsch than an actual movie.

The 80’s references alone are worth the watch. A pair of teens are having a make-out session in a Trans Am, overlooking the vast city lights, listening to Journey’s “Two Hearts.” I couldn’t help but chuckle aloud, and other older people in the audience could be heard frequently laughing.

Plot-wise, the story isn’t brilliant. A woman named Susan (Witherspoon), is struck on the head by a meteor the day of her wedding to selfish weatherman Derrick (Rudd). A green substance in the meteor makes Susan grow to a monstrous size, and she is scooped up by the government, locked up in a cell, and renamed “Ginormica.”

There, she meets a colorful group of monsters:

The Missing Link – Voiced by my favorite illusionist Will Arnett, is something of a ladies’ monster.
Dr. Cockroach – A mad scientist who was formed in a scenario resembling something from The Fly.
Insectosaurus – A giant, nonverbal grub.
B.O.B. – The crowd (and my) favorite. Seth Rogan gives B.O.B., a giggly blob of acidic goo, a very cuddly and confused personality. Since he has no brain or identity, he’s constantly confusing himself with others in the group, hence he develops quite a crush on Derrick.

With some fantastic voice work, and some fun pop culture references, this is a movie that is great if you’re in the mood for a light-hearted film or one that you can watch with the kids and still enjoy.

A bearded and bespectacled Egon Spengler chatted with MTV News regarding some very interesting aspects of the new Ghostbusters film, including casting and directing. Ghostbusters 3 is currently in the script-writing stage.

Ramis promised that all the old core players will take part in the updated version, including Bill Murray (Dr. Peter Venkman) and Dan Aykroyd (Dr. Raymond Stantz), who co-wrote the original films. “We’re all going to be in it in different kinds of roles,” Ramis said. “We’re going to be the sage mentors. There are going to be young Ghostbusters.”

As of now, no decisions have been made about just who those new Ghostbusters will be. But with Judd Apatow signed on as a producer, the Internet has been buzzing with gossip that comedians from his cinematic universe, such as Paul Rudd and Seth Rogen, will join in.

At the moment, Ramis is waiting on a first draft of the script, which is being penned by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, two writer/producers on “The Office,” who also wrote “Year One.” “Gene and Lee, both of whom I mentored, are now writing the new ‘Ghostbusters,’ ” Ramis said. “I’m consulting with them, as is Dan Aykroyd and [original director] Ivan Reitman.

“Bill Murray is just waiting for the truckload of money to arrive to get him out of his office,” Ramis joked.

After taking a jab at his old friend, Ramis assured us that Murray is definitely “in,” even though the two haven’t communicated directly about the project. “I haven’t talked to him about it,” Ramis said. “I want to talk to him about it eventually. I think we just need a script, because he’s the thorniest of the group.”

At this point, it’s unknown who will direct the movie, as Ivan Reitman and Harold Ramis, who is 63, have not expressed interest.

I have been excited for this project for a long while. Because of the talent circling the script, there’s a good chance that it won’t completely suck.

Many eyes, whether it be on fan message boards or beyond the Internet, have been intently focused upon the new Star Trek movie hitting theaters on May 8th. After a several year hiatus succeeding the 10th film Star Trek: Nemesis, J.J. Abrams (producer of Cloverfield) decided to pick up this everlasting franchise and is boldly going where no one has gone before with Star Trek.

Across various communities online there has been a great deal of positive feed back regarding this movie—hopefully it won’t be a disappointment. Abrams is trying to accomplish something very difficult because it isn’t often one can take completely new actors and actresses and convey the feeling the original stars produced. I’m relatively positive about this.

Apparently, Leonard Nimoy (actor who played the original Spock for those of you who don’t know) is rumored to be apart of this movie somehow. Which is definitely exciting!

I’ll keep everyone updated on this movie, and when it comes out I’ll definitely make a review!

Let us celebrate my fellow Trekkie fans!

By now, I’m sure everybody has heard about Christopher Paolini’s best selling trilogy called the Inheritance Trilogy. (Granted apparently there is a rumor out there of a fourth book, which would negate the trilogy concept). But the point is that these books have been out on store shelves since the latter part of 2001, and now they’ve even made a film out of the first book (in 2006), obviously titled Eragon.

Okay I am going to be straightforward with this. The film was very ridiculous when comparing it to the actual book—mainly due to the fact that the movie is rushed when the book in all actuality is Lord of the Rings-sized. Obviously the directors thought they could take a gigantic novel and squash it down into a 104 minute movie.

This film received pretty low ratings across the internet:

IMDb: 5/10
Rottentomatoes: 84% rotten with a rating of 4.1/10

If you do end up watching this movie, make sure you definitely read the book first. Or if you prefer movies over books, I suppose you could just watch the film too. Nevertheless, personally I don’t find this movie to be that bad when it comes to acting and stuff; however, I do feel that it has a very weak musical score. A film like this should have a very epic and adventurous score, yet it seemed somewhat bland to me.

Overall the movie is alright, nothing spectacular, nothing down right ridiculous. It’s a good flick to watch on a rainy day.

The Japanese action/horror/comedy/epic Battle Royale is set for a Hollywood remake to be released in 2011. Here’s my advice to Hollywood: don’t screw this up.

Plot:

Sure, the plotline is a little far-fetched. A group of high schoolers are selected by random lottery to battle to the death on a highly monitored island. Their deaths are punishment for the millions of rebellious Japanese teenagers, a warning to their peers.

What made the original believable was that the movie didn’t really delve into the plot so much as hint at it with some screen text and a bit of exposition. Hollywood would do well to remember that sometimes subtlety is best.

Characters:

The film is primarily character driven, which is what most fans will be looking for. Battle Royale thrives on fleshing out many characters in a short span of time, making the audience understand the kids and their reasons for why they die. Short flashbacks to the characters’ lives are interesting tidbits and help further the plot without feeling heavy-handed.

The most important characters should be played by talented young actors. I am thinking kids like Anton Yelchin, Emily Browning, and Jamie Bell, instead of the mindless Hollywood choices like Hilary Duff or Zach Effron. This might help give the film more credentials.

Violence/Subversive Themes:

We know that American movies don’t shy away from violence, which is a relief. Brutal, creative death may be the one thing that can be assured for the remake. However, it is important that the movie remembers to include the more unsavory aspects of the film, including flashbacks to child molestation, suicide, and a present time attempted rape. The movie should be gritty, raw, and in keeping with the original.

I can’t say for sure that I’m looking forward to the remake, but if they heed my advice I’ll be first in line.

Many people consider me to be a fan of movies that have the knack of becoming box office failures. Granted I don’t enjoy looking at it from that perspective. However, there generally tends to be an ounce of truth in what those people say. Unfortunately, one movie that many people deem a “box office failure” is the film directed by Rob Bowman dedicated to the Marvel Comic character Elektra (2005), which technically is a continuation of the 2003 film Daredevil.

The premise of the movie follows the character Elektra Natchios (played by Jennifer Garner), who is resurrected from the dead in order to fulfill a quest. Technically she is given a second chance at life and ends up being an assassin until she receives an assignment to assassinate a family. Eventually, Elektra develops an emotional bond to this family of two (a father and daughter) and ends up unable to perform her task. So instead of continuing her work as an assassin, Elektra eventually develops an attitude that places her more in the heroine category that pits her against a great evil that rises.

I will be honest, when I first watched this movie it was not in theatres, instead I bought the DVD. I would have never known how large of a box office flop this movie was until I actually looked it up online. Here are a couple ratings I found:

IMDb Rating: 4.9/10
RottenTomatoes: 3.7/10 – 9%

I was originally astonished because I really enjoyed this fascinating film. Apparently, most people who despise this film are quite familiar with the archaic comic series in which this film was derived from. Since the movie doesn’t play along with the original story the comics possessed, people got angry because of the difference.

When I look at a film, I enjoy looking at the positive aspects. It is true that each movie has its downfalls and setbacks—but what’s the point of focusing on those when there are clearly good points? Elektra may not conform to the original story arcs; however, the movie still has a great story with amazing actors and actresses portraying the characters, wonderful special effects, and a phenomenal musical score.

I definitely recommend this movie especially if you are NOT familiar with the comic series. Sometimes we have to take a gander beyond the numbers and see the actual quality in a film.

Classic horror films were some of the most memorable cinematic features to grace the television screens back in the 50s. One familiar film I sat down and watched the other day was the original classic monster movie, Rodan (1956). It definitely reminded me just how creative and meaningful films like these are despite the modern consensus regarding archaic special effects.

Rodan was created by the Japanese film company, Toho, a couple years succeeding the original Godzilla movie. Similarly to Godzilla, Rodan’s focus honed in on the story of a giant creature (this time the creature being a giant pteranodon/pterodactyl) being eradiated as a result of nuclear testing. Granted this movie seemed to have no relation to the Godzilla film, and purely was in its own universe.

As much as the main concept between the two movies was similar, Rodan differs from Godzilla in many varying ways. One of the main obvious reasons is that Rodan was released in color—when many movies during the time were released as standard black and white films. So this film marked the introduction of the Kaiju (Giant Monster) Franchise into the new world of color.

In order to be the astonishing success that Godzilla was, special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya knew that he had to climb toward new goals in order to flabbergast the audience. For example, a lot of the destruction demonstrated in the film is more aerial than actual physical destruction as seen in Godzilla. It gives the movie the same feeling of ‘nuclear disaster’, just in a different, more unavoidable manner.

This movie became fairly well-renowned and still is today along with other classics like previously mentioned Godzilla (1954) and Mothra (1961). In fact, the monster Rodan became such a well-revered character that he was brought back in several other movies, granted all of which were appearances in Godzilla films.

Rodan is absolutely fun to watch. It has action, horror, romance and even some comedy mixed in! I’m sure there is something in this production that everyone can enjoy, it’s just a matter of looking beyond its age and accepting the fact that it is one of the original monster-flick masterpieces.