It’s 2012, The Queen has been killed and Hong Kong Kung Fu Supercop ‘Terry Phoo’ is seconded to London under American Police Chief Benjamin Benson to track down the killers.  Of course this being future London it is one in the grip of a mutant criminal gang going by the name of ‘The Freebies’ whos leader is little more than a massive row of teeth in a basketball head who’s henchmen sport an array of Mexican Wrestler masks.

I hope you can forgive the use of a cliche but our hero is ‘hapless’ in almost every sense of the word.  As he tears around the city in his awesome Stratos HF car failing to both find the killers and protect the Royal Princes he inadvertently teams up with Whitey Action, Police Chief Bensons disaffected teenage daughter who takes a shine to the ‘Buddhas Loin Cloth’ - a magical pair of hotpants that grant the wearer whatever they desire.

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Posted in Commentary, Television •

Samuel L. Jackson, who has been cast as supervillian The Octopus in Frank Miller’s cinematic adaptation of Will Eisner’s comic book The Spirit, has told Sci-Fi Wire that the fight scenes he’s filmed with star Gabriel Macht are real,  despite the digital backdrops -

‘Gabriel and I fight all the time,’ explained Jackson. ‘I fight with the Spirit. We had choreographed fights. We did them, and there’s no imagination. The big green is just for what the setting is, what the city looks like, for the mudflats where we’re at, and not for things that are coming at you.’

‘And I had some pretty big guns,’ Jackson added with a laugh. ‘Nice big guns.’

The Spirit,  which opens in early 2009 also stars Scarlett Johansson, Eva Mendes, Jaime King and Paz Vega.

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Posted in Movies •

Two new actors have joined the cast of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince according to The Snitch.

Dave Legeno will play the role of Fenrir Greyback, an evil werewolf who does Voldemort’s bidding. Legeno is a cage fighter and wrestler who’s previously appeared in films such as Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Batman Begins and Snatch.

The part of Death Eater Amycus Carrow meanwhile has gone to Ralph Ineson, who’s best known as Chris ‘Finchy’ Finch from The Office.

The sixth Harry Potter film adaptation premieres in cinemas November 21.

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Posted in Harry Potter, Movies •

With the Oscars approaching this Sunday we’re reaching the conclusion of this year’s awards season. Last week saw a few more guilds announcing their annual winners, here’s a summary:

• Cinema Audio Society (CAS) Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing: No Country for Old Men
• Art Directors Guild (ADG) Best Production Design for a Feature Film: There Will Be Blood (Period Film), The Golden Compass (Fantasy Film), No Country for Old Men (Contemporary Film)
• American Cinema Editors (ACE) Best Edited Feature Film: The Bourne Ultimatum (Drama), Sweeney Todd (Comedy/Musical)

The only remaining guild awards are those of the Sound Editors and the Costume Designers. The Joel and Ethan Coen masterpiece No Country for Old Men has won all the guild awards it’s been up for so far save Cinematography (which went to Robet Elwist for There Will Be Blood) and, surprisingly, Editing (The Bourne Ultimatum).

Posted in Awards, Movies •

AICN have pointed out a very interesting difference between the US and International Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull trailers-

At the :40 second mark of the U.S. version released last week, Indy (Harrison Ford) and his sidekick,  played by Ray Winstone are surrounded by armed uniformed men.  But in the international version of the trailer,  the duo are surrounded by more men and more guns.

This brings back memories of the digitally remastered version of Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial when the Motion Picture Association of America asked for weapons to be replaced by walkie-talkies to to make the film more family-friendly.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull opens May 22.

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Posted in Indiana Jones, Movies •

According to Anime News Network,  Timothy Harris has been recruited to pen the screenplay for IMAGI Studios’ CG-animated feature film Astro Boy.  The annoucement was made by Cecil Kramer, Executive VP of Production, and Maryann Garger, producer of Astro Boy.

‘I am thrilled to have the respected and gifted screenwriter Tim Harris on board’ said Kramer. ‘His proven track record in writing great entertainment makes him a perfect fit for bringing the timeless saga of Astro Boy, one of the best-known characters in the world, to the big screen.’

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Posted in Movies •

Filming on Zack Snyder’s Watchmen adaptation is about to wrap according to executive producer Herb Gains, who posted the following message on the film’s official website:

As we approach the last days of shooting Watchmen — yes, the end is nigh — it’s time to reflect on the whole Watchmen experience. I think back to January 2007 when I first met Zack and he walked me through his drawings for the title sequence. I remember my initial reaction was, How can we shoot all of it? Why do we have to shoot all that? And if we do, how do we shoot all of it? We spent the next two months scouting, researching and budgeting locations all over the world, including Australia, London, Prague, Spain — at one point we even considered New York — and, of course, Los Angeles.

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Posted in Movies •

Danny Huston (30 Days of Night) will play William Stryker in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, according to JoBlo.

The character was played by Brian Cox in X2: X-Men United. Huston joins Hugh Jackman (Logan/Wolverine) and Liev Schreiber (Victor Creed/Sabretooth) in the upcoming X-Men spin-off directed by Gavin Hood (Tsotsi, Rendition).

The film, out May 1, 2009, deals with Wolverine’s violent and romantic past, his complex relationship with Victor Creed, and the ominous Weapon X program. Along the way, Wolverine encounters many mutants, both familiar and new, including surprise appearances by several legends of the X-Men universe.

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Posted in Movies •

New Line Cinema has released a new trailer for its Journey to the Center of the Earth 3-D remake, which debuts in cinemas July 11.

Watch the trailer »

Based on the classic Jules Verne novel, the Eric Brevig-directed film stars Brendan Fraser as a science professor whose untraditional hypotheses have made him the laughing stock of the academic community. But on an expedition in Iceland, he and his nephew stumble upon a major discovery that launches them on a thrilling journey deep beneath the Earth’s surface, where they travel through never-before-seen worlds and encounter a variety of unusual creatures.

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Posted in Movies •

Matt Reeves’ Cloverfield has been playing in cinemas for a month already, but not until now were you able to see the film’s monster in all its glory.

Hasbro has finally revealed its full figure of the creature. The limited 14” collector’s edition features 70 points of articulation and incredible life-like detail, and authentic sound. It also includes 10 parasites, two interchangeable heads and a Statue of Liberty head accessory.

You can see a picture and order the toy at this link.

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Posted in Movies •