NEXT BOND FILM CANNED

With the continuing financial struggles MGM can't seem to shake, it has forced the next Bond film to go from delayed to cancelled. Sam Mendes, who is a brilliant director, was set to come on board and Peter Morgan who wrote The Queen and Frost/Nixon had developed what was described as a "shocking story".

Is this the end of the 007 franchise? Definitely not, but I am afraid that we will never see what this project was shaping up to be. This was on my most anticipated list since the moment I heard Mendes had signed on and once I heard about what a great story they had, it made me even more anxious to see it.

It's sad to think about how most times, when great films are shaping up, something happens that causes them to fall apart. How does that happen and then movies like Code Name: The Cleaner, Paul Blart, and Taxi happen?

I don't know what kind of financial issues MGM is facing, so I can't say much about what I think should happen. But I do know if they can't stay afloat, they need to sell it to someone who can. MGM has been around for years, and was once a very respectable studio, but they need to go out with dignity if this is the case and sell. The Hobbit, the Bond franchise and big budget films like the Red Dawn remake are all suffering for whatever is going on and this problem needs to go away asap. I want my Sam Mendes directed Bond film!!!!

MOVIE REVIEW: ECLIPSE

Eclipse is the third film in the Twilight saga. This time around, there isn't quite as much whining between Edward the vampire and Jacob the wolf as to who loves Bella more, but still enough to make you want to bash your brains out. The main storyline in this one is Gloria, the girlfriend of the vampire they killed in the first one, is building an army of "newborn" vampires to kill Bella in order to get her vengeance.

I'm pretty much going to go over the same stuff I went over in my New Moon review, because honestly, not a lot changed from that film to this one. We'll start off with miss Kristen Stewart. She better save every penny she makes off of these films, because the girl can't act. She comes off as socially awkward in real life as she does up on the big screen. A monotone voice with a brush of hair over her ear may win her a bunch of MTV Movie awards now, but if she doesn't gain a personality in real life, that is all she will ever get.

Then we have Taylor Lautner. He is even more terrible in this film than he was the last. Granted, it's not his fault he got dealt all the cheesy lines from a terrible writer, but just his presence on screen seems like a big joke.

What I don't understand is how all of the minor characters like Billy Burke who plays Bella's father and and Academy Award nominee, Anna Kendrick who plays Bella's best friend are so much more talented than the stars of the film. I would have much rather watched Kendrick play Bella.

It baffles me as to why these things are such a phenomenon with girls. As I'm watching the films, the last two in particular, I'm thinking to myself how the story plays out like all the characters are in middle school. I mean I get why middle schoolers would love this but grown women???? The constant arguing back and forth between Jacob and Edward is laughable in a pathetic way. I truly hope that everyone looks back on these films in five or ten years and wonders just what the heck they were thinking when they liked this stuff.

Eclipse was certainly a step up from New Moon, but far, far, far from being a good movie. The whole movie is building up to this big battle where Edward's family and the werewolves fight these "newblood" vampires, but it is over just as quick as it starts. They could have at least stretched it out a little longer for the male audience. We have three down and only two more to go and then we can let this thing end finally. I give it a three out of ten.

HEADLINES

For it to be the summer, there just hasn't been that much movie news to report. I think this has been one of the worst summers for movies that I can ever remember, so it would be nice to at least get some news to make me look forward to more upcoming films.




HERE IS YOUR NEW SPIDEY

Andrew Garfield has won over the role to be the next Spider-Man. He beat out big names like Josh Hutcherson and Aaron Johnson for the role. He has had no big roles as of yet. The only two things I'm familiar with on his resume are Lions for Lambs and The Imagination of Doctor Parnassus.

I think this is a horrible casting choice. They are taking Peter Parker back to high school with this reboot, and they decide to hire a 27 year old to play the part? Give me a break. Sony has destroyed a franchise that could have gone on for years to come. Now, I know most people aren't idiots, but a lot are. I think a lot of people will be confused when they go in to the theaters and Peter Parker is back in high school. They had a knockout cast minus Kirsten Dunst and I truly believe this is going to be a disaster. If this turns out good and really catches on with fans, I'll do a column apologizing for all the hate I will be pouring onto this movie from now until it's release, but I doubt that is going to happen.








SCREAM 4 GAINS ANOTHER AND LOSES ANOTHER

I have guilty pleasure actors and Adam Brody is certainly one of them. He has signed on to play a rookie police officer in the next Scream installment, while Lauren Graham has left due to artistic differences.

As a Scream fan, I am hopeful for this film. I like the cast they have gathered so far, I'm just a little nervous about the story.




PEE WEE IS BACK

It was reported today that Judd Apatow will be producing a new Pee Wee Herman film. No other details was released other than Pee Wee himself, Paul Rubens, is working on the story.

I loved Pee Wee as a child, but after what all Rubens has gone through over the past twenty years and the drastic change in times, I don't know that a Pee Wee reboot will catch on as well.





EDGAR WRIGHT TALKS ANT MAN

An Ant Man film has been in talks for a while and it seems that it may be finally happening. Wright says that he has finished the first draft and that Marvel seems very happy with it. He says that it will have an Iron Man feel to it. There is a chance that Ant Man may first show up in the Avengers film, and then getting his own big screen film. The long time name attached to play is fan boy favorite, Nathan Fillion.

I think this could be a really cool movie and definitely could be pulled off if it goes the Iron Man route which is mixing action in with a great comedic strip. I also think Fillion would be a great choice and I hope to see him in the Avengers film.





IT REMAKE NEWS FINALLY EMERGES

Two years ago, a feature film remake to Stephen King's "It" was reported to be in the works, but like most of King's projects, it just disappeared. David Kajganich gave some news regarding the project today. No, cast or relase dates were hinted at, but he talked about the challenges of taking such a huge book and downsizing it to a two hour movie and how he got the gig. It was also stated that this is becoming a major project for Warner Bros. and they are eager to get this rolling.

Kaiganich is one of the people responsible for the 2007 film The Invasion, which I though was terrible. As a big King fan, I don't get why his material doesn't get the attention it deserves. Books like Harry Potter and Twilight get two part films so I don't see why a book like It can't get a two part movie deal.

MOVIE REVIEW: KNIGHT AND DAY

Knight and Day is yet another spy thriller, with the same story we have seen countless times before. Tom Cruise plays Roy Miller, one of the country's top spies who is framed for trying to steal a special self charging battery referred to as the zephyr. The F.B.I. attempts to assassinate him on a plane and when he bumps into Cameron Diaz's character, June Havens, they put her on the plane as well to make sure she has nothing to do with the zephyr's whereabouts. Once they get on the plane, Miller's journey to clear his name begins while keeping the feds from getting to Havens at the same time.

This film is the exact opposite of The A-Team as far as movies trying to pull off good over-the-top action sequences goes. This film was unbearable to watch from the opening scene all the way to the end scene. I was blown away by how incredibly bad this film was, coming from director James Mangold, who has done so many great films like 3:10 to Yuma, Walk the Line, Girl Interrupted and Cop Land.

The two main problems of the film is story and script. The story has been done so many times before, you could sit there and pretty much map out the entire film after only viewing twenty minutes of the movie. I'm not opposed to simple plots. Just because something has a simple plot, doesn't have to mean that it's going to be a bad movie, but in this case it is way to simple and really leaves the story lacking. How much thought went into deciding that the plot of the film was going to be about a rouge agent framing a good agent and chasing a "powerful battery" around the world for two hours? They never tell what the battery is capable of besides saying it could run a small city. That doesn't sound like anything immediately threatening to me.

Then, they try and mess with the audiences mind a little bit by entertaining the thought that maybe Cruise's character really is a bad guy. That would have been fine except for the fact that all the trailers for the movie had scenes in it that hadn't happened yet so you immediately dismiss the thought of it. That was sloppy on the marketing part for the film and insulted me as a moviegoer.

The film was all over the place. How they got to all the different places on Earth they went to in so little time is beside me. They tried to be clever and made it to where hopping around the globe so quickly was ok because Diaz was drugged, but no one will buy into that.

The chemistry between Cruise and Diaz was ok. I feel that with a better script it wouldn't have been as bad of a disaster as it was, but they had a few funny scenes. I am normally a big Cruise fan and even a Diaz fan for the most part, but this is one of Cruise's worst films. There is nothing appealing in this movie at all and I wasn't surprised afterwards when I went to look at who distributed the film......of course Twentieth Century Fox.

Knight and Day is another disappointment in a summer that has been for the most part nothing but disappointments. I give this a one out of ten.

MOVIE REVIEW: THE A-TEAM

The A-Team comes from director Joe Carnahan and stars Bradley Cooper, Liam Neeson, Jessica Biel, Patrick Wilson, Sharlto Copley and Quinton Jackson. Based off the 80's television series, The A-Team is about a group of Iraq war veterans who are forced to go on the run after they are accused of a crime they didn't commit.

From the very beginning, you need to go into this movie with your brain turned off and ready to have some fun. Not all movies can pull this off, but The A-Team does it beautifully. Right off the bat, the film starts out pretty much with a fifteen minute long action sequence that sets the tone as to what you can expect for pretty much the rest of the film. I wasn't a huge fan of the opening sequence. I thought it was quickly rushed together and I found the dialogue horrible. But once it's over and the film starts moving along, it rebounded very quickly.

The film is over-the-top action with one liners sprinkled throughout, but what makes this all work is the cast. For years there was an A-Team film going around with John Singleton attached to direct and Tyrese attached to play B.A.. Thankfully, that film never got made. I was worried at first because of Quinton Jackson being an MMA fighter and having no real acting experience. I was hoping they wouldn't deck him out in gold necklaces and have him going around saying "I pitty da fool" the whole time. Now Jackson's performance wasn't great, but he pulled it off. They did a great job modernizing his character.

Then we have Sharlto Copley, whose only other film was District 9. How would he do in a roll like this? The answer is great. He was in my opinion the best part of the film, and I see many more roles coming his way in the near future. I never watched the television series, so I'm not familiar with the Murdock from the show. But he nailed how they were trying to portray his character in the film.

As for the rest of the cast, they all did great job, but they had a lot more acting experience than the Jackson and Copley. It's good to see Patrick Wilson in another big film. I think he has a lot to offer, but he hasn't had that breakout role yet.

As I said before, not every over-the-top action film can pull off a good end result. Films like Armageddon and Starship Troopers get away with it while films like Transformers 2 and Knight and Day somehow produce a horrible outcome. Why it works in this film I think is, that they actually show you these extravagant action scenes being planned out. To me that helped me buy into what I was watching a little more as opposed to just having long action sequences shoved in my face.

The A-Team is not a perfect movie by any means, but it works. The cast put this film on their backs and carried it to the finish line for a positive result. I give it a seven out of ten.

Toy Story 3

In 1995, a little company named Pixar released their first full length feature, Toy Story, and it forever changed animation. Since then, Pixar has consistently been the top animation studio in the business. Fifteen years later, they are still on top, and once more bringing their beloved Toy Story franchise back for another adventure.

Their latest adventure picks up several years since we last saw the toys. Andy is now grown up and moving to college. The toys have been desperately trying to get his attention for years with hopes of getting played with once more. Days before the move, his mother tells him to either stick his old toys in the attic or donate them. After careful consideration, Andy decides to take Woody with him and put the rest in the attic, but after a mix up, they end up headed for Sunnyside Daycare. Upon arrival, they meet several new toys who may, or may not have the best interest for the new toy in mind. Once there, Mrs. Potato Head sees Andy looking for them through her eye that got left behind at the left, and the toys begin to plan their breakout so they can get back to Andy. Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and the rest of the cast all return for the third film.







What I love about Pixar films, is the time and effort they put into making a film. When your watching a Pixar film, you are truly watching the best animation there is to offer. Everything looks smooth and perfect. All though they now convert their movies to digital 3D, it's not the hokey, throw things at your face, kind that I can't stand. They actually use the 3D to compliment the film rather than using it for cheap gimmicks. Toy Story 3 is no different. The animation is beautiful. I felt as if I was constantly looking around trying to take everything I was seeing in before the scene changed.

Another thing Pixar excels at is their creativity on screen. As I'm watching their films, this one in particular, I'm blown away by all the clever ideas they use in their films. Several times during the film, I was sitting there thinking to myself about how cool this idea and that idea was, like Mrs. Potato Head losing her eye and that being how they found out Andy was looking for them, the clever way they design their escape and probably my favorite part of the film, which was the opening sequence with Andy as a boy playing with the toys, but how he imagined it went on in his mind.








The new additions to the film were great as well. The main two were Michael Keaton and Jodi Benson joins the cast as Barbie and Ken, which caused for some funny scenes. Ned Beatty voices the old teddy bear, Lotso who is in charge of the daycare when no one is around. Whoopi Goldberg, Timothy Dalton, Kristen Schaal and Jeff Garlin all also join the cast as new toys.

Much like their creative ideas, Pixar is also known for their unique and creative way of story telling. Unfortunately, Toy Story 3 falls way short of unique and creative when it comes to the story this time. The is by far the only flaw of the film, but to me a significant one. When I read the synopsis for Wall-E and Up, I wondered how in the world they would be able to pull a story like that off, but they did. They always come through. But with Toy Story 3, they use the same stories from the previous two films and really just combine them for a third go around. As I watched the story develop I kept thinking to myself, "Oh they did that in the first one" and "That's the same thing that happened in the second film, only to a different character". I had read that Toy Story 3 took so long to get made because they could never get a story they liked down, and I would have much rather them postponed it a little longer rather than just bringing the same stuff to the table.








Aside from a repetitive story, Toy Story 3 will deliver on every other level. It's funny, beautifully done with some really cool scenes sprinkled in along the way. Whether you are seven years old, seventeen years old, or seventy, people will enjoy this film from beginning to end. I give it a four out five.

MOVIE REVIEW: KARATE KID

It seems that Hollywood has been running out of ideas these days due to the mass amounts of remakes being made. Some could use a facelift, but to people my age, Karate Kid is something that should never be touched or messed with. Hollywood did not feel the same because that is the latest remake that has hit the big screen, this time starring Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan.

The names and places have been changed, but the story remains the same. Dre is a twelve year old from Detroit, who moves to China after his father dies and mother is transferred out of the country. He faces many challenges upon arriving in China; learning a completely new language, dealing with a less than glamourous home and a set of bullies who wants a piece of him for some reason. Dre befriends the maintenance man of his apartment complex and he agrees to teach Dre kung fu so that he can enter a tournament to face his bullies after having to break up a fight in an alley. During Dre's lessons, he not only learns kung fu, patience and respect, but also teaches Mr. Han a thing or two about life as well.

I was really surprised by how good the film was. Like many, I consider the original a classic that should have remained untouched. And while I don't think it surpassed the original, it works as a great companion piece. Jaden Smith, son of Will Smith, will end up being as big a star as his father if he can keep his head on straight and not fall into the usual trouble that most young actors always seem to stumble upon. His father comes out in him all through the film. I have trouble watching most child actors because their lack of range in acting, but Jaden showed a comedic style, a sentimental style and was able to pull of being just a plain old kid.

I began to wonder if Jackie Chan would ever make a film worth watching again. Lately, he has made pathetic children's films and what I consider B-list comedies. I was very relieved after seeing this that he actually acted in the film. He doesn't come anywhere close to topping Mr. Miyagi with his wax on, wax off approach, but much like the film, he is a nice companion to Mr. Miyagi. In this film, the wax on, wax off approach has been replaced with a jacket on, jacket off which I really liked because it was something new and it fit really well into the film. In the film, Mr. Han struggles with the death of his family after they are killed in a car accident in which he was the driver. Much like Jaden, I was really surprised to see that Chan could actually show some depth other than the silly comedy and action sequences he is famous for.

The film is not without flaws. The mother in the film, played by Taraji P. Henson, was just about unbearable to watch in the film. She was over the top in all of her scenes, almost as if she was saying in every scene, "Look at me!!! I'm in a movie". The movie itself runs a little long at just over two and a half hours. This was entirely too long for a film that isn't necessarily a children's film, but is far from an adult film. Many scenes could have been left on the editing room floor, seeing that they didn't bring anything more to the film than a few laughs. And finally the bullies in the film really irritated me. It's 2010, it's time to ditch the way bullies are portrayed in film. Let's face it, nobody knocks lunch trays out of hands, no one steals lunch money and no one corners kids in a back hall and empties out their backpack. I feel that this area of the film could have used a little better writing.

As I said before, Karate Kid (2010) doesn't surpass The Karate Kid of 1984, but it works a new tale for a new generation to enjoy. Besides the long length of film and overacting mother, there isn't much to complain about here. I give it a four out of five.