New "Nightmare On Elm Street" Poster

If you don't know by the newest horror movie to be remade is Nightmare On Elm Street. This time starring Jackie Earle Haley ( Watchmen, Little Children) as the four bladed glove wearing serial killer Freddy Krueger. I honestly think this movie has a lot of excellent potential, considering Haley is an absolutely perfect choice for Krueger. They took a guy who is naturally creepy on his own, threw some sick make up on him, gave him a bladed glove , and somehow made him even creepier. Hopefully the writers and director of it don't screw up this remake like the past ones ( Friday The 13th, Halloween, Texas Chainsaw Massacre).

Marlon Wayans Role Of A Lifetime?

Marlon Wayans begins shooting a film this fall that may propel him from Scary Movie/White Chicks type reputation to a real actor people take seriously. The famous person he is portraying is Richard Pryor in the bio pic about him. I was take back by the idea at first but the L.A. Times published a big piece on him and how he has prepared for the role and it has convinced me. Initially it was Eddie Murphy who was suppose to portray Prior, and from his spot on impressions of him it made sense. After a lot of deliberation and researching it was decided he did not fit the role. This may be the role of a lifetime for Wayans, consider the other actors as of late who have played famous people in bio pics. Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles....Oscar win..... Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash....Oscar Nomination.....Will Smith as Ali....Oscar Nomination...these 3 were not considered serious actors until these roles came up (Phoenix being exception with Gladiator, but wasn't lead role until Walk the Line). I hope the best for Wayans, if this proves to be a success it will be great for him and us movie goers. We no longer will have to watch crap like White Chicks, Little Man, or Scary Movie 200.

Bootlegger gets jail time!!!

Slow weekend in terms of movie news...however one interesting tid bit has popped up. Back when The Dark Knight first came out someone got busted video tapping it in the theater. It was discovered they had done it before and planned on doing it with this film. His punishment?????? 2 YEARS IN JAIL!!! The he also gets the gift of paying $24,378 in fines!!! What the hell?!!! 2 years for bootlegging a movie?!!!! Pedophiles get less than that and then they get put in therapy....doesn't seem to fair.

Wall Street 2 Trailer

In the mid 80's and unfortunately most likely in today's world almost every money hungry person tries to think and act like Gordon Gekko and I am sure use his saying "Greed, for lack of a better word, is good" on a daily basis. Who is Gordon Gekko you may ask? Well actually....HE is a fictional character, a fictional character brought to life by Oliver Stone and played by Michael Douglas in the 80's hit Wall Street. The role nabbed Douglas an Oscar for Best Actor and to this day is considered one of if not his best role. The original Wall Street is about Gekko taking a young up and coming stockbroker Bud Fox ( Charlie Sheen) under his wing and teaching him that "GREED IS GOOD". Long story short....greed turns out to be bad and Gekko ends up in jail. That's where Wall Street 2 picks up...well sort of. It picks up 25 years after the original ends....Gekko is leaving prison and is back in the real world. The plot is still relatively unknown completely, but it involves the recent stock market crash the United States had and I'm sure Gekko gets involved with it somehow. Oh yeah, and there is Shia LaBeouf, seemingly taking Charlie Sheen's role. Watch the trailer and decide for yourself.

Esquire's Piece on Roger Ebert

Anyone over the age of 10 knows who Roger Ebert is and has most likely read one of his movie reviews. Starting off as a sportswriter at the age of 15 he has become one of the world's most respected film critics. Unfortunately he has had to overcome bouts with cancer and as a result lost his lower jaw....his ability to eat...and his ability to talk. However that has not stopped him from writing reviews weekly and critiquing movies despite it all. Not enough can be said about Roger Ebert....and if you don't know much about him or what he is going through you should truly read the piece Esquire did on him. It is a very well written piece and makes you appreciate him even more, movie fan or not.

http://www.esquire.com/features/roger-ebert-0310

Defendor

Above is a trailer for the movie Defendor, a new movie starring Woody Harrelson. He plays Arthur Poppington, a man who thinks he is a super hero and wants to clean up the streets and take down "Captain Industry". The fact of the matter is he is NOT a super hero and he may not actually be sane....who knows. I have watched this trailer numerous times and I'm still not quite sure how I feel about it yet. Given the second wind that Woody Harrelson's career has had as of late, I wouldn't count this movie out. His performance alone can carry this movie. Will this win Oscars? No....will it be a huge box office hit? Most likely not...but it has potential to develop a cult following. With that being said watch and leave your comments below.

In Theatres This Week ( Feb. 19th)

Opening this week are two really exciting movies, much better than the past month or more of releases. The first one up is the most recent film by Martin Scorsese, followed by the latest from former free man Roman Polanski. These two directors have collected a combined seven Oscar nods for their iconic films. Their film's coming out this week hope to carry on their glory and maybe add to their trophy cases.

The first film coming out is Martin Scorsese's newest shot at horror titled " Shutter Island". This isn't the first time he has dabbled in the horror category, in 1991 he released "Cape Fear" starring Robert Deniro. The film was a huge success and was nominated for 2 Oscars, "Shutter Island" hope to achieve that same success. The films stars Leonardo Dicaprio as U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels, this marks the 4th time Scorsese has called upon Dicaprio to be a star in his film (Gangs Of New York, Aviator, The Departed). Teddy Daniels is investigating the disappearance of a murderess who escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane and is presumed to be hiding on the remote Shutter Island. After discovering a lead but not getting any help from the hospital a hurricane hits the island and forces Daniels to stay much longer than he would like. That's just a rough rough outline of the story......If Scorsese's name nor Dicaprio's name being attached to this isn't enough for you then the awesome trailers should do the trick. This movie WILL be awesome. Both Scorsese and Dicaprio do not make bad films anymore....they just don't. The last crappy movie for Dicaprio came wayyyy back in 2000 with The Beach....and Scorsese's last "flop" well shit you have to go all the way back to 1972 when he directed to "Boxcar Bertha" to find it. That really says something, they both have proven that they put in the time and effort to make a truly great film every single time. That is something rare and something that is missing in Hollywood these days......my vote, yes absolutely go see this movie at all costs, you will not be disappointed.

The other big movie coming out this week is Roman Polanski's "Ghost Writer", no it is not a big screen version of the shitty 90's childrens television series. It is a real movie, with real actors, with real upside to it. It stars Ewan McGregor and Pierce Brosnan, essentially it is about a ghostwriter ( McGregor) hired to complete the memoirs of a former British prime minister (Brosnan)uncovers secrets that put his own life in jeopardy. Now, all child molestation/rape charges aside Polanski is an awesome director. Remember, he did give us one of the best movies ever made in "Chinatown", so we have to at least give this movie the benefit of the doubt. But I think I will go one step further and say this will be a good if not great movie. Polanski was working on this film when the shit hit the fan for him. So he may have realized how fucked he truly is and put everything he had into this as his legacy. So don't be a bit surpirsed if this movie is amazing. Given who is in the film and who is behind it, it has a ton of potential....my vote, go see it.

Special Effects Suck

I am thoroughly convinced special effects have ruined movies completely. Think about it, the last 20 years or so movies have focused wayyyyy more on special effects in movies than they have casting or the script. Studios are way more concerned about blowing shit up and making thinkgs look cool than they are about the story. Look at the AFI Top 100 movies list....there are maybe 10 movies on the list that use serious special effects....and that's pushing it, hell there are none in the top 10 that use any! Doesn't that say something? Have special effects killed the movie industry in terms of making overall excellent movies? I think so....I think they should implement a rule in the movie industry...kind of like they do in college sports. You must work on a film for a certain number of years in order for it to be released and if you want to use a ton of special effects the length of time you must work on it is extended. Maybe Transformers 2 would have been a lot better if they worked on it for more than 10 months?

You can find the AFI List here if you'd like to check it out http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2007-06-20-AFI-movie-list_N.htm

Out this week

There are a lot of movies coming to theater week, some bad ones, some good ones, and some that are on the bubble. Opening in theater this week is, Valentine's Day , Percy Jackson and the long movie title , and The Wolfman .

The first film up on the chopping block is the romantic comedy Valentine's Day, a film that stars basically every single actor or actress that is popular and good looking right now. The plot is basically a bunch of people are intertwined together, break up and I'm sure eventually make up. This is going to be a terrible movie.....it is He's Just Not That Into You, set on Valentine's Day. I am tired of these movies where the scripts are just like fucking mad libs. "Blank falls in love with blank until blank pisses off blank and they break up for blank months. Just when things couldn't look worse blank realizes how much they love and need blank. Happy ever after" Dog shit. This movie is clearly catered towards women, and I am sure it will do very well in the box office just as all of these films do. It is quite sad that this movie will make $100 million dollars but films like Up In The Air won't break that mark after 6 months in theaters. For whatever reason people flock to bull shit like this and Dear John. My opinion is do not see it! Do not take your date to see it for valentine's day. Avoid it at all costs!!! Please......

The second film coming out this week is Percy Jackson and The Olympians : The Lightning Thief. Percy Jackson is about a teenager who discovers he is the descendant of a Greek God (Poseidon), and he sets out on an adventure to find the true lightning theif in order stop an impending war between the Gods. This film has some potential here, my only problem is that it seems to be riding on Harry Potters coat tails. A young kid who lives in the real world and has a mediocre life gets thrust into greatest upon discover he is the child of a God. It sounds old and used, however the story itself may be interesting because it is not exactly Harry Potter. The outline is there but different characters and storyline can be fun, maybe just as much fun as the Harry Potter franchise. The timing of it is also quite smart, with only two Harry Potter films left and no books left to be published it may just be able to steal all the fans who are disappointed at the fact that there is no more Harry Potter. Who knows.....my opinion, if you enjoy Harry Potter go see this.

The third and final big film coming out this week is The Wolfman starring Benicio Del toro and Anthony Hopkins. This film holds a special place in my heart, because I love horror movies, especially old ones. The original Wolfman (played by Lon Chaney Jr.) is one of the older horror films to be put on the big screen with its debut in 1941. The film is about a man named Lawrence Talbot, as a young man he is bitten by a Werewolf and thereafter becomes cursed by the bite. Every time a full moon rises he turns into a werewolf and wreaks havoc on everyone and anything in his way. I truly wish I could say this is going to be a good movie.....unfortunately I cannot. What this will be is a fun movie....a movie that entertains you in the same way a Transformers movie (one not two) does. It will not win awards nor get critical praise. None the less it will be a good date movie and a good movie to have in your collection when it comes to DVD simply for nostalgic purposes. My opinion...nothing to do on Valentine's Day? Bored? In the mood for a movie? Go see the Wolfman.

More Christopher Nolan News

You know you are a kick ass writer/director when a film studio comes to you and asks you to just "Oversee" their film. Not direct it, not write it, just over see it, because they know you can influence a movie that easily. Well the Superman people have done just that. They feel that Nolan can save their franchise by overseeing and helping the goons that effed it up the 1st time around. This in my opinion is the smartest thing they can do, given his resume of Both Batmans, soon to be a third, memento, and the prestige. All of these movies are very well done and what he would bring to the film can give it a much needed push in the right direction.

Amazing Rumor!!!

Nikki Frinke did an interview with David Goyer about his departure from Flash Forward. During the interview Goyer told Frinke he and Johnathan Nolan are currently in the early early stages of writing the 3rd installment in the Batman series. Hopefully this rumor is true, it is not a direct quote from Goyer though , just what Frinke is reporting he said. Either way I hope Goyer is just aiding in the bullet points of the film and is leaving the writing to the Nolan brothers as he did for The Dark Knight. This is huge and exciting news, especially if your are a fan of the series. Let the excitement and plot speculation begin!! Who will be the villain?!! Who will play that villain ?!!!

Kick-Ass

One upcoming movie I am really excited for is Kick-Ass. A film about a kid who loves comic books and gets picked on in High School. For the most part though he lives a relatively good life, and one day he decides to become a superhero despite having no actual super powers or training. He soon becomes a huge hit and finds that he inspires others to do the same "( as the trailer shows). The only downfall of this movie for me is Nicholas Cage, I am NOT a fan of him at all, but I do like that his character resembles Batman. Regardless it looks awesome and I am pretty excited to see it. It opens April 16th 2010 nationwide.

2 Terrible Movie Projects

Hollywood has been taking a lot of heat the last few years, due to the constant remakes and reboots and odd choices for movie ideas. Well theses two movies that are going into production next year may be the worst ideas ever.....1. A movie rendition of the board game " Battleship", I honestly don't see how they can adapt it into a movie. Will it be like War Games? The game doesn't have the same play as Clue does or something like that. It is guess where my ship is....hit or miss. Maybe they will get really good creative writers and make the movie loosely based on the game....who knows. The 2nd is far worse....Strecth Armstrong.....a film about a huge muscle bound white guy who, you guessed it is elastic. The news gets worse though. Who has signed on the play good ole' Stretch? None other than Taylor Lautner....I'm pretty sure when anyone thinks "Tall white guy, blonde hair, bodybuilder type muscles?" they think Taylor Lautner. This movie is just going to be him being a stretchy douche walking around with no shirt on and stretching to save people. They have over a year to stop production and change their minds....lets hope they do.

Latest Reboot...

Lately there have been so many reboots and re-thinkings and whatever else fits with the word re, that I actually want to vomit at the thought of one more. Especially the latest one.....can you guess? Ben Affleck did it originally.....total flop....DING DING DING DAREDEVIL!!! Yessssssss, who's excited?!! Hmm c'mon who is hyped?!!!! Nobody? Not even the blind guys who dream of being super heroes? I don't blame you, but maybe just maybe they can get it right. Consider the most recent reboots of the last 10 years or so.....Hulk ( Ed Norton Version), Spiderman ( Technically it is), Batman, All three of these failed at some point and then came back with huuuuuuuuugggggeeee success. So who's to say this can't fall into the same category. I feel it can....how? One rule....NO BEN AFFLECK!! Obviously they won't recast him as Daredevil, but still. With a new cast, writers, and director, this could be good if done right. There is a downside still, they only reason they are rebooting it it because they don't want to lose the rights to it to Disney ( Disney bought the rights to Marvel movies). So it very well may suck, as well as any other Marvel franchise Fox owns.....all I'm saying is hope for the best....but brace yourself for the worst.

Cop Out ( Red Band Trailer)

When I first saw a trailer for Cop Out it was still being called " A Couple of Dicks" and to be perfectly honest I was not at all impressed. It looked like a mediocre comedy that maybe I would go see if I was bored on a Sunday. That all changed after I saw the most recent red band trailer for it. (For those who don't know a red band trailer is a trailer that is uncensored) This movie went from looking mediocre to looking nothing short of hilarious. Tracy Morgan seems to be just as crazy and funny as he is in 30 Rock. Bruce Willis seems to be pretty funny as well, and there appears to be a large part for Sean William Scott which also appears to be as funny as the rest. So, as of now I am excited for the movie to come out Feb. 26th.

Sony finds new Peter Parker?

Spiderman?


According to Access Hollywood, Logan Lerman is in the early early stages of discussions with Sony to be Spiderman in the upcoming 2012 "reboot". You may or may not know who he is.....he was in "3:10 to Yuma" and the more recent Gerad Butler film "Gamer". However he is more likely to become known for being Percy Jackson in the upcoming film "Percy Jackson and the Olympians : The Lightning Theif". If this movie becomes successful as they are planning, that may put a kabosh on his plans to be Spiderman considering "Percy Jackson" is suppose to become a multi-film series. Only time will tell. Either way I don't think Sony will choose their next Spiderman this fast, and to be honest I am not a big fan of Logan being their choice.......not yet at least.

Fast and Furious 5?!

Universal has decided to allow another Fast and the Furious movie to begin production. Cleverly titled "Fast Five" GENIUS!! This franchise is so far past it's expiration date it actually makes me vomit when I see it. The best/worst part is, Vin Diesel and Paul Walker have BOTH signed on for the film. How desperate are these goons? The Pacifier didn't make Vin enough money?!! He is too talented of an actor to be doing terrible films like that.....oh wait scratch that....he is just terrible enough to have to do a film like this, same goes for Paul Walker. I am kindly asking that Paul and Vin both retire immediately and this film franchise shoot itself in the face, just so none of us have to be tempted to see it and want to do the same ourselves.

The Razzies

The Razzies are the awards given to the worst movie's of the year. Quite hilarious and true....check them out at Razzies.com Isn't it funny how Sandra Bullock is up for Worst Actress and Best Actress of the year? And so are her movies?! There should be a rule that if you make a movie as terrible as "All About Steve" then anything else you do that year is completely disregarded. I bet there would be a lot less big name actors doing shitty movies.

Worst Picture

All About Steve

20th Century-Fox

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Paramount / Hasbro

Land of The Lost

Universal

Old Dogs

Disney

Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen

Dreamworks/Paramount

Worst Actor

All Three Jonas Brothers

JONAS BROTHERS: THE 3-D CONCERT EXPERIENCE

Will Ferrell

LAND OF THE LOST

Steve Martin

PINK PANTHER 2

Eddie Murphy

IMAGINE THAT

John Travolta

OLD DOGS

Worst Actress

Beyonce

OBSESSED

Sandra Bullock

ALL ABOUT STEVE

Miley Cyrus

HANNAH MONTANA: THE MOVIE

Megan Fox

JENNIFER’s BODY and TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN

Sarah Jessica Parker

DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE MORGANS?

Hahaha This is just a taste of the caliber of movies and actors/actresses that are on the list...really check it out just to know what to stay away from.

Avatar

I am tired of the over glorification of the movie "Avatar". All it is, is a juiced up version of Pocahontas....Let's see, native people in a strange new world? Check.....White men who want to take everything they have? Check......White guy who befriends and eventually falls in love with the princess? Well that's 3 in a row. Please of please stop giving James Cameron and Avatar all this credit for a film that is a copy of a film made 15 years ago. I will give credit where credit is due however....the 3D and special effects are very good and change the game in terms of movie technology. I honestly feel if everyone wouldn't have given Titanic as much credit as they did, and inflated James Cameron ego as much as they did, this film would not be as successful. Before this movie came out it was called "James Cameron's AVATAR!!!", "His first film since Titanic!!", which makes people want to see it more. Hence letting them overlook the fact that it is a slightly above mediocre movie and story. The love affair with Avatar must stop.

Inception

Oscar Nominations

The Academy Award nominations were announced this morning and there is much to be excited about. There are many categories so I will only touch on the main eight, which are the only ones anyone really cares about anyway....

Best Adapted Screenplay

• District 9
• An Education
• In the Loop
• Precious
• Up in the Air

I am yet to see "In the Loop", and to be honest I haven't heard anything about it before the awards season, nor have I seen Precious but I hear good things about it.I have seen the rest though and my pick in this category is "Up in the Air", really an incredible movie in every aspect. Some of the best parts in the film are the writing and the dialogue between the characters. The writing style of Jason Reitman really is second to none this year.

Best Original Screenplay

• A Serious Man
• The Hurt Locker
• Inglorious Basterds
• UP
• The Messenger

Fortunately in this category I have seen every movie nominated. I can safely say "The Hurt Locker" will win this award, and rightly so. This is about as perfect of a movie that has been made in a few years. The movie keeps you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. It makes you feel every imaginable emotion. It truly deserves an award for every category the movie itself is nominated for , and I say that despite my bias and love for "Up in the Air".

Best Supporting Actress

• Penelope Cruz ( Nine)
• Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air)
• Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air)
• Mo' Nique (Precious)
• Maggie Gyllenhaal ( Crazy Heart)

Here I would really like to see either the ladies from "Up in the Air" win, however Mo' Nique is almost a guarantee to win here. I am yet to see "Precious" but from what I have heard Mo' Nique does deliver an incredible performance.

Best Supporting Actor

• Matt Damon (Invictus)
• Woody Harrelson (The Messenger)
• Christopher Plummer (The Last Station)
• Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones)
• Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds)

If you have seen Inglorious Basterds then you know who is going to win this award. Christoph Waltz is so very good in this movie, there really is no other choice for Best supporting actor. However on the off chance that someone pulls an upset here I would have to pick Woody Harrelson.

Best Actress

• Sandra Bullock ( The Blind Side)
• Helen Mirren (The Last Station)
• Carey Mulligan ( An Education)
• Gabourey Sidibe ( Precious)
• Meryl Streep ( Julie and Julia)

I have only seen one of these movies ( An Education) and given what I saw Carey Mulligan would be a fine choice as Best Actress. With that being said, Sandra Bullock won the SAG and Golden Globe for her performance in The Blind Side. It is safe to assume Sandra Bullock will be taking home her first Oscar as well.

Best Actor

• Jeff Bridges ( Crazy heart)
• George Clooney ( Up In the Air)
• Colin Firth ( A Single Man)
• Morgan Freeman (Invictus)
• Jeremy Renner ( The Hurt Locker)

This category is going to be one of the most exciting ones to follow and see unfold. Jeff Bridges won the SAG and Golden Globe for his role in Crazy heart. So most of the time one can assume he will win the Oscar as well. There is a twist though. Given his performance in "Up in the Air" and his contributions to the disaster in Haiti, George Clooney is just as likely to win as Jeff Bridges is. The sleeper here may be Jeremy Renner, he was very, very good in "The Hurt Locker". The Academy may have too tough of a time deciding between Clooney and Bridges and give it to Renner. Any of the three are just fine with me.

Best Director

• James Cameron (Avatar)
• Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)
• Quentin Tarantino (Inglorious Basterds)
• Jason Reitman (Up In The Air)
• Lee Daniels ( Precious)

Other than Lee Daniels (Sorry), any one Director nominated here has a good chance of taking home the Oscar. The real storyline here is James Cameron vs. Kathryn Bigelow. Not only are both of their movies nominated for 9 Oscars each.....they use to be married! Ex vs. Ex.....what a great story. The academy may give it to Cameron due to Avatar's record breaking success throughout the world, and considering the technology Cameron developed for the movie. Now in terms of directorial excellence it turns into a 3 person race between Bigelow, Reitman, and Tarantino. All 3 movies were very well, and all three are very good movies. However, if I were voting I would choose Bigelow as the winner. You have to watch the behind the scenes and interviews and obviously the movie itself to realize how great of a job she did. She put everything she had into this film and very likely will never direct another as good as "The Hurt Locker". Therefore she should and will win.

Best Picture

• Avatar
• An Education
• The Hurt Locker
• Inglorious Basterds
• The Blind Side
• District 9
• Precious
• A Serious Man
• Up
• Up In The Air

Let's be honest here, usually the Best Picture movies go hand in hand with the ones attached to Best Director. That doesn't mean that the other 5 are not great movies because they are. It just means that they are there just to get credit for being some of the best of the year. In reality the only ones with a real shot are Avatar, The Hurt Locker, Up In The Air , Precious, and Inglorious Basterds. I would like to see the award go to Up in the Air, but the more likely winner is The Hurt Locker. Which is not a bad choice at all.

In theatres this week (Feb. 1st - 5th)

Let's see, what's opening this week that is worth seeing....Nothing. There are no movies opening this week that I would suggest to anyone over the age of 13. That being said if you are 13 or under feel free to go see "Dear John". This movie is clearly catered to pre-teen girls who love Channing Tatum, and not for his acting abilities. "Dear John" tells the story of someone cleverly named John who comes home from war for awhile for spring break or some nonsense like that. During his return he meets a girl and falls in love with her. Too bad his time is limited and he has to return to Iraq. They write each other letters and long for each other.....yawn, yawn, yawn. There is literally nothing good about this movie.

The other movie opening this week is John Travolta's "From Paris With Love". A movie about an aide to the U.S. Ambassador in France , James Reese, who gets paired up by the CIA with John Travolta's character Charlie Wax to stop a terrorist threat. Of course Charlie Wax is a loose cannon who follows nobody's rules but his own and makes everyone especially Reese. All is good until the terrorists turn their attention to Reese and make him a target. Who can save and protect Reese you ask? TRAVOOOOOOLLLLLTAAAA! With his unorthodox style and antics he saves the day! Garbage.....the only thing this movie has going for it is Travolta's appeal to movie goers. Despite terrible movie after terrible movie they still support him (Even after Old Dogs). So if you are a John Travolta fan go ahead and see "From Paris With Love" , if not then don't waste your money or time.