The New Megan Fox Is Hubba Hubba

So we all know Megan Fox is out of Transformers 3. And Michael Bay has been looking for Sam Witwicki’s new love interest. So here she is. Meet Rosie-Huntington Whiteley. The good news, she’s a Victoria’s Secret model. The bad news, she has no previous acting experience. So what do you think? Straight swap with Megan Fox? Hot for hot, but no acting talent? We’ll just have to wait and see.

She’s been offered the role but not quite confirmed yet. I would think we’ll know pretty soon since Transformers 3 will start shooting in about 2 weeks. Appropriately, I’ve included a few pictures of this Rosie-Huntington Whiteley. Enjoy. =)

Megan Fox Leaves Transformers 3, Says Her Decision

So Paramount have said that Megan Fox will not be in the next Transformers movie. Hooray! No more useless acting. There is speculation that it was director Michael Bay’s decision not to hire Fox for the third film. It makes sense since she went on that rant about him and calling him Hitler in the process.

But Fox’s reps have come out and given a statement on her behalf saying “Megan Fox will not be starring in Transformers 3. It was her decision not to return. She wishes the franchise the best.”

But I’m sure she was fired. Or at least I’d like to think so. Makes things more fun that way. Heheh. Gemma Arterton is rumored to take Megan Fox’s place in the movie but not as Mikaela. Instead, as Sam Witwicki’s new love interest. Yes, this will be interesting. Transformers 3 is set for a July 1, 2011 release.

Robin Hood Review

I liked this movie a lot. I really did. It’s unfortunate that I couldn’t stay for the whole film and had to leave 20 minutes before the end. So this review will be based on the some 2 hours of it that I did see.

If you’re looking for a Robin Hood wearing tights and a story filled with him stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, look elsewhere. This version is not for you. Ridley Scott basically plucked Maximus Decimus Meridius in Gladiator from Rome and set him in the middle of England in the Middle Ages and re-named him Robin Longstride. The movie is about the beginnings of Robin Hood and how he came to be, more like a prequel, if you may. This just makes Robin Hood not so much the tale of Robin Hood but an epic medieval war epic. I believe that this will be a love or hate type of movie. It will completely depend on what you’re looking for in watching this movie. In any case, here’s my take on the film.

The opening half-an-hour or so of this film is great. There’s a good amount of top-notch action choreography that just gets you going. The screenplay balances out the action to character development ratio. Ridley Scott found a way to introduce and develop characters early on in the midst of a flurry of scenes full of horse-riding, sword-fighting, explosions and arrows whistling through the air.

This gives Scott plenty of time to further elaborate the screenplay in the middle portion of the film, which for me, is where the film sunk a little. After the opening 30 minutes, the action dies down and politics takes center stage. Although the middle part of the film didn’t maintain the buzz given by the action in the beginning, the screenplay kept things fresh and interesting. Never once was I bored or felt the film was dull. I was actually surprised by the amount of wit and humor that was thrown in the film. There were several times when the theater I was in erupted in laughter. Some jokes, the whole crowd didn’t get but I found myself and a few people around me chuckling to. Ultimately, the comic-relief in Robin Hood is unexpected and is a great inclusion to the film.

Robin Hood is the fifth time Ridley Scott has worked with John Mathieson as his cinematographer, the first four being Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, Matchstick Men and Hannibal. I just loved the way the film was shot. Exposing such incredible scenery in the background, really taking advantage of the beautiful filming locations. Something I noticed was the zooming in the film. Unlike the typical slow and subtle approach, the zooming in this film was quick and sharp, bringing a sense of nostalgia because it made the film look like it was shot in the 90’s. Not many people might like this or even notice it, but if you do, it only makes the movie that much better for you.

The weakest link in the movie is surprisingly Cate Blanchett’s character, Lady Marion. Instead of having an arousing romance with Robin Longstride, Lady Marion is more involved in the fighting and politics of the movie. I don’t think Blanchett fits the role at all and her character seemed very apprehensive and awkward.

All in all, the film was shot well, acted well, written well and scored well, with most of the movie having a score that sounded somewhat like flutes. Something like this. If you’re looking for an movie filled with well choreographed action this weekend, this is it. So this weekend, between Robin Hood and A Nightmare On Elm Street, go see Robin Hood. It will be worth your money.

I give Robin Hood 7 out of 10 Popcorns.

I WANT TO WATCH THIS MOVIE RIGHT NOW!

I really cannot express in words my the level of anticipation and excitement I have for this movie. I’ve been interested ever since the movie started casting and now we’re full swing into the post-production. Have I mentioned yet how excited I am. Ahhh who am I kidding. Cut the crap, show the trailer. Here it is. It is AWESOME!

Inception is both written and directed by acclaimed Oscar nominated British filmmaker Christopher Nolan, of Memento, Insomnia, Batman Begins, The Prestige and The Dark Knight. Nolan previously co-wrote the scripts for Memento, Batman Begins, The Prestige, and The Dark Knight with his brother Jonathan Nolan. Inception stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page, Cillian Murphy, Michael Caine, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Ken Watanabe. Warner Bros is bringing Inception to theaters starting July 15th this summer.

Source: FirstShowing.net

Crazy Inception Poster

I’m seriously loving this poster right now. I can’t remember the last time I was this excited for a movie. Inception is going to be crazy. This poster already is. Chekkit.

Inception hits theaters July 15

Inception Poster and Tron Legacy Banner

For your viewing pleasure. I know I like them.

A Nightmare On Elm Street 3D Sequel?

All together now…groan. So I didn’t like the reboot. And now they’re going to make a sequel. In 3D? Come on. Don’t make me hate something I already dislike. I honestly cannot wait until the we come out of this saddening 3D phase we’re in with movies right now. 3D only wastes your money and ruins a good movie experience or makes a bad one even worse. If Hollywood wants to make 3D films, STOP converting them from 2D. Actually shoot the damn movie with 3D cameras. But until they do, I’m a firm believer that 3D movies nowadays are a waste of effort.

But for business, it’s all good. It attracts a bigger audience who are willing to pay more money than they normally would for the 2D version. Apparently A Nightmare On Elm Street had the biggest horror film opening for the April/May bracket with $32.9 million in it’s first weekend. That has obviously convinced Warner Bros. to make a second one. Here is what producer Bradley Fuller had to say:

We think that 3D movies have to be designed and written as such. If Eric (Heisserer) and Wesley (Strick) came to us with a Nightmare sequel script that is for a 3D movie, we’d be fools not to make it. Using 3D for a Nightmare sequel has to work conceptually for us, though. I don’t want to shoehorn the story just so we can use 3D technology. I do really think this movie and the visual style would work well within a 3D environment, though, so you never know.

There you go. We’re going to get another crap horror film in crap 3D. I just hope Jackie Earle Haley doesn’t agree to do the sequel. He’s just too good for a movie like this.

Source: /Film

A Nightmare On Elm Street Review

The 2010 reboot of this franchise is just a complete mess. For a horror/terror film to be neither scary nor terrifying isn’t so good. I didn’t once jump or twitch in my seat, expecting every shock, surprise and scare from Freddy. I didn’t leave the theater thinking I’d never be able to fall asleep soundly again. The movie just did not deliver on what looked like promising potential in terms of having Oscar-nominee Jackie Earle Haley play Freddy Krueger. The film was, at the end of the day, like a typical, bad, B-grade slasher movie. The typical stuff, you know. A bunch of incompetent, eyeliner-wearing teenagers getting slashed in their dreams by Freddy one by one.

Speaking of Freddy Krueger, you just can’t recreate such an iconic villain. You just can’t. I was hoping for Jackie Earle Haley, who’s one hell of an actor, to be able to pull it off. But at the end of the day, no matter how good an actor they got, it would not have made a difference. This Freddy Krueger was not just not scary but boring as well. Every time he showed up on screen I groaned a little. I was a little disappointed to see that the current Freddy Krueger looks the same as the 1984 version. There were no improvements whatsoever in the makeup, further diminishing the scare factor. The only thing I enjoyed about Freddy Krueger is what I now call the ‘Rorschach voice’. The low growl of Jackie Earle Haley is very distinguishable and I love how it fits in with the character of Freddy.

The movie did one thing for me. It kept me guessing what was real life and what was a dream. I caught it early a couple of times but otherwise I didn’t know if the protagonists were awake or asleep until it was revealed. I wished there was more to the story line. There were absolutely no significant twists or surprises in the plot keeping it dull the whole way through. Even when the story of Freddy Krueger was told towards the end of the film, there was a ‘this doesn’t really matter, we’re just telling you for the hell of it’ vibe.

At the end of the day, the movie doesn’t do anything for me. I was bored, unafraid, uninterested and could not wait for it to end. Go watch this film only if you have a low-threshold for terror. If you don’t, just don’t bother. You’ll be wasting money and time.

_______________________________________________________________________

Here are some more pics to look at. (Just because I got the press kit. Hehe.)

Batman 3 Release Date Announced

Warner Brothers have just announced that the 3rd installment of the most recent Batman franchise is going to get a July 20, 2012 release date. Both Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale are confirmed for the project and I’m sure more of the other cast members will return as well.

Nolan will have to step it up a gear with this one as Batman 3 will be competing against films like The Avengers, Battleship, Star Trek 2, and the Spider-Man reboot, all opening around the same weekend. And he has just about 2 years to get the movie done and dusted. It’s going to be a monumental task to come up with a movie better than that of The Dark Knight. But Christopher Nolan is, after all, a monumental director.

Until 2012, I’m very excited for Nolan to wrap post-production on his latest project, Inception, starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

First Official Thor Photo Released

Check this out. Hot on the heels of the release of Iron Man 2 in cinemas this past weekend, Marvel have just released one picture from their next film, Thor, scheduled for release next year. Playing the lead role is Australian actor, Chris Hemsworth. Name sounds familiar? That’s because he played George Kirk, Jim Kirk’s dad in last year’s Star Trek.

So what do you think of the casting of Hemsworth as Thor and what do you think about the photo below? Leave your thoughts.

Thor hits cinemas May 6, 2011.

Iron Man 2 Review

[This review may include tiny spoilers]

Coming up with a sequel following a massive success for the first installment for any franchise is never easy. Marvel has had some hit and miss in this regard with Spider-Man 2 being the better of the first two and somewhat failures with Fantastic Four and X-Men sequels. Following last year’s major disappointment with Transformer’s: Revenge of the Fallen, I thought I would have been at least a little apprehensive about Iron Man 2. But fortunately for me, I loved it, even more so than the first movie. And I’ll tell you why.

The one mistake Michael Bay made with the sequel to Transformers was that he gave the audience more than they wanted. We were happy with the amount of CG giant-robot battle scenes in the first one. But in Revenge of the Fallen, it was just overkill. The excessive robot battle scenes were unnecessary and I wish he had focused more on the plot and characters. Something Jon Favreau does very well in Iron Man 2.

In the past couple of days, I’ve been seeing people complain about how Iron Man 2 was not as good as the first one because there were fewer actions scenes and more of what people call ‘talky-scenes’. I completely disagree with them and I think the sequel is the better of the two. I love how in this one, there is more focus on both Tony Stark and Pepper Potts. Robert Downey Jr. gives another outstanding performance, more so than in the first movie. He manages to pull of the charismatic persona without looking too cocky.

Another thing this movie does well is it sets up the S.H.I.E.L.D. story brilliantly. As you probably know, Marvel has this plan for some sort of continuous storyline in every one of their films, also known as the “Marvel Cinematic Universe”. As seen in the trailers, Nick Fury (Sam Jackson) plays a more substantial role in this film which is a bonus. I’m grateful Marvel didn’t hold back too much on the teasers for the upcoming films. I won’t tell you what they are so don’t worry about spoilers. But I will tell you there is a good amount about S.H.I.E.L.D. in the movie.

Another thing I found myself loving was the cameos. Just to list a few, there was Stan Lee (as always), the late Adam ‘DJ AM’ Goldstein, director Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan and not to mention the several superhero hints/teasers/cameos. As for the villain/s, Mickey Rourke is quite convincing from his Russian accent to his evil laugh. However, Sam Rockwell does a great job as the idiotic, rich, bad guy, just like how @techsupremo said.

A couple things I don’t like about the movie: Scarlett Johansson doesn’t ‘act’ enough. She’s capable of good acting. Which is why it’s such a pity she’s being used as a ‘Megan Fox’. Just stand there, look pretty/sexy/hot. OK la, she pulls that off well. I don’t like Don Cheadle as Rhodey, but I like War Machine. I don’t like how Whiplash was defeated so quickly.

All in all, I think Iron Man 2 is a worthy sequel to what is turning out to be an incredible franchise. Now bring on Iron Man 3 and The Avengers!

P.S. Because you read this review all the way to the end, you get to be reminded to stay back AFTER the credits for a little surprise. [HINT] It's got something to do with Marvel's next films, releasing next year.