DOOM Movie Trailer on IGN.

An exclusive teaser trailer for the upcoming game-to-move adaptation of DOOM has been posted on IGN Filmforce. The Universal Pictures film is set for a October 21st release and stars The Rock. This is the same teaser that was shown at comic-con. The trailer "feels" like DOOM, with its dark confining hallways and jumpy action. The creatures show in the trailer seem very true to the games and should be very impressive in the final film. One of the trailer highlights shown at Comic-Con that was not included in the teaser online was the scenes shot from first-person view, just like your view in the game. You can view the trailer here.

Nicole Kidman Set For Invasion !

The movie remakes just keep on coming. The newest announcement is a big-budget remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The movie at this time is titled Invasion and will be directed by German director Oliver Hirschbiegel and star Nicole Kidman. Shooting is set to begin in October, with no release date set yet. With the box-office flop of some of Kidmans' latest films, hopefully this one will bring her back to blockbuster status.

Star Wars TV Rumors Abound.

Since Celebration 3 back in May, rumors have bee flying around about the proposed Star Wars TV series announced by George Lucas. Some early reports attached Kevin Smith to the live-action project with Lucas taking a back seat and a release in mid 2006. The latest news now states that Lucas will be handling most of the writing and directing himself and the release could possibly be pushed all the way back into 2008. A lot of this delay time could be attributed to the planned 3-D versions of the Star Wars movies and the long awaited new Indiana Jones movie. The other animated TV series could arrive sooner, but again no solid dates have been announced.

Watch The First 10 Minutes of Sky High.

Walt Disney Pictures has posted the first 10 minutes of their new movie Sky High on its' official website. The film is directed by Mike Mitchell and stars Disney main-stay Kurt Russell and Kelly Preston. It looks to be a mix between a live-action Incredibles and the X-Men movies. After watching the preview I now will be going to see this movie when it opens this weekend. It looks fun and I am sure will appeal to kids and adults alike. And any movie with Bruce Campbell in it has to be good. You can view the first 10 minutes here.

Star Wars Ep III DVD Release Date Set.

The release date for Star Wars Episode III Revenge Of The Sith has been set for November 1st. The 2-Disc DVD will include a brand-new, full-length documentary produced by Lucasfilms, 2 new featurettes--one exploring the prophecy of Anakin Skywalker and the other providing an in-depth look at the movies stunts, and a 15-part web documentary. Now we can finally sit and watch all 6 movies in a row. This date is also the release date for Star Wars Battlefront II. It will be released on the PS2, Xbox, PC and PSP.

Transformers Movie Film Site Online.

The official film website for the new live-action/CGI version of The Transformers is now up and running. The site has a weblog, a news section and a photo-gallery. The gallery is just shots from Comic-Con and there is no news on the board right now except that the movie is in post-production. The big plus for the site is a video by the films executive producer Steven Spielberg in which he states the following :

"We're now starting our first but certainly not our last Transformers movie that I hope will be an enduring franchise and we're going to be making many, many more Transformers movies in the future. But we're going to make the best one first because we want the best one to inspire everybody to not only play with these toys but to want to know about the further adventures of all of these characters, both human and machine alike. So I'm just really privileged that I get to be part of this."

This link will take you to The Transformers movie site.

V For Vendetta Trailer Online.

The trailer for the graphic novel adaptation of Alan Moore's V For Vendetta has been released online. The movie is directed by James McTeigue and written/produced by the Wachowski Brothers, the creative team behind The Matrix movies. The trailer is very cool and gives many glimpses of the main character in full mask and is played by Hugo Weaving. Natalie Portman plays Evey Hammond and looks just like the character is pictured in the novel. The trailer shows lots of action and the backdrops and cut scenes look they they really grasp the concept originally put forward by Alan Moore. Moore signed away the rights to V for Vendetta and Watchman back in 1988 to Joel Silver, and has publicly spoken out against the film. You can follow this link to the trailer.

"Remember, remember the fifth of November."

Goodbye Scotty.

James Doohan, who played Scotty on the original Star Trek and 7 additional feature films, died on the morning of July 20th at the age of 85. James had been suffering from Alzheimer's and his death is attributed to pneumonia. James was one of Trek's most recognizable characters and he spent the last 35 years speaking at conventions and other Trek events. I met him about 3 years ago at a convention in Chicago and he was a very pleasant and friendly man. he took time to speak with fans and take pictures. he was already wheel-chair bound at that time, and appeared very tired, but never let his fans down. James lived a full life and will be missed by fans all over the world.

Ben Foster Cast As "Arcangel" !

Ben Foster, who played the very creepy teenage Kidnapper in Hostage, has been cast o play Warren Worthington III in X-Men 3. The story from Variety states that he will play Arcangel, the later/daker version of Angel (after his altercation by Apocalypse, for you comic buffs). IGN FilmForce posted that the character will still go by the name of Angel in the movie. Also the filmmakers are once again changing comic history by not making Angel a original member as he appeared in the comic. The same can be said about the character of the Beast (Kelsey Grammer). And for those who didn't recognize Foster without his facial hardware, he also played Spacker Dave in the Punisher movie.

Davey Jones,,And Not the Monkees One.

At Comic-Con last week we were given a first glimpse of the villain from Pirates Of The Caribbean:Dead Man's Chest. The characters name is Davey Jones and will be CGI created and played by Bill Nighy. The film is due out July 7th 2006 with Johnny Depp stepping back into the boots of Captain Jack Sparrow. This time Jack owes a blood debt to the ruler of the deep and Captain of the Flying Dutchman, Davey Jones. Jack must figure a way out of his debt, or be cursed to an afterlife of eternal servitude and damnation. This will be the 2nd of a proposed trilogy of movies.

It's The Smurfiest Smurfing Movie Ever !

Hollywood must really be running out of ideas when they announce a CGI remake of the 80s cartoon The Smurfs. Paramount has acquired the rights and will market it thru Nickelodeon Movies. Jordon Kerner will produce with a script by Herb Ratner. It is slated for a 2008 release, just in time for the Smurfs 50th Anniversary.

Logan's Run Re-Make.

Last week at Comic-Con, Bryan Singer finally let out a little info on his upcoming re-make of the 70s sci-fi classic Logan's Run. Singer stated that the movie is already in the design phase and that he will start on it after finishing Superman Returns next year. Singer says that the movie will be a mix of the original film and the book, with some of his own ideas thrown in. It is also confirmed that the palm crystals and the "renewal" will remain in his version. It is unknown which age he will use for renewal, the original movie age of 21 or the TV series age of 30.

Sin City DVD Update.

Back in June I posted about the Aug. 16th release of Sin City on DVD. It was toted by Robert Rodriguez as a ground-breaking DVD with new cutting edge features. Well, now it appears that we will be hit once again with the old double-dip on this title. The Aug. 16th release appears to be a bare-bones disc with a single BTS feature. The deluxe 2-disc edition with all the extras will not be released until late 2005 or early 2006. One of the big draws originally was that all the deleted scenes would be added back into the movie contained on the 2nd disc and the stories could be viewed separately in their entirerty. So now buyers will have to make that hard decision. Do you plop down the $19.95 for the 1st disc and then again later, or just wait for the deluxe? I will probably just hold out for the deluxe edition for my collection, and just pay the old movie store a visit on Aug 16th for the 1st release.

Transformers....Movie in Disguise!

It looks like some of Hollywoods big-wigs are jumping on board for the new Transformers movie. The toy/comic/cartoon franchise first appeared in the early 80s and has long since been rumored to be making a feature film. The new movie will be directed by action mogul Michael Bay (Armageddon) with Steven Spielberg listed as a Executive Producer. The screenplay for the live-action/heavy CGI film will be handled by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. Dreamworks is bankrolling the production and is hoping to cash in with a big summer blockbuster with its release date set for July 4th 2007. As of yet no casting choices have been announced. I think Michael Clarke Duncan would be a great voice for Optimus Prime.

Ghost Rider Set Picture !

The news coming in from the Australian set of Ghost Rider, the new Marvel Comics film is very encouraging. Production is going along smoothly and right on schedule for its Aug. 4th 2006 release. Above is one of the few pictures leaked out from the set of Nic Cage on the Ghost Rider bike. (notice the green screen on his head for the fire CGI) The bike just looks awesome, in its techno-organic sort of way. It was nice to get another director who is a true comic fan in Mark Johnson and Nic Cage himself is a giant comic fan. The supporting cast so far consists of Peter Fonda, Eva Mendez, Donal Logue and Wes Bentley. Marvel has been on a roll with its comic adaptations and this one looks like it will not disappoint.

New Halo 2 Maps Are Out.

The new map pack for Halo 2 is now officially released. You can purchase the game disc from any retailer for about $19.99 and it includes all 9 new maps, a bonus cinematic, a behind the scenes feature and all the past auto-updates that were sent over Live. Those who has access to Live can download the latest 5 maps for $11.99 via the downloadable content screen. If you are the patient type you can wait and all the maps will be available for free on live after August 30th. 4 of the maps where released on Live last month, the newest maps are Gemini, Relic, Elongation, Terminal and Backwash. All the maps offer something different and all are a welcome edition (except maybe for Gemini which is just like a bigger Midship) and will greatly add the the life of Halo 2. On July 11th the first 4 maps will be moved into the matchmaking free play lists and the 5 new ones will be available for play in the "preview" play lists. Bungie has also announced that a new auto-update will be coming out shortly which should help alleviate the problem of cheaters using hacked game files.

War Of The Worlds !!

After weeks of watching Tom Cruise fall apart on national television and the kidnapping of poor Katie Holmes (at least it looks that way when he drags her around) his high anticipated summer film hit theaters. This was a amazing movie showing Spielberg's usual flare for pacing and anticipation. Cruise is your average every-man and probably could be voted as worlds worse dad at the beginning of this flick. He's harsh, rude and seems uncaring to his own kids. Justin Chatwin plays the son, but the show is stole by Dakota Fanning. This pixie size actress has as much screen presence as some of Hollywoods' biggest stars. Another scene stealing performance is turned in by Tim Robbins. His part is small compared to the overall span of the movie, but is memoralble. The action just keeps coming from the first appearance of the tripods to the last scene. Spielbergs' pacing is spot on and keeps you on the edge of your seat. The special effects are what really brings this movie to life. The grand size of the alien tripods are magnificent and awe-inspiring. It was nice to see Spielberg go back to the original novel for his version of the tripods and not the flying ships from the 1953 film. He also included the "red moss" from Wells' original, something that was completely left out of the 1953 film. The sheer feeling of terror that permeates this movie is seen through the eyes of Cruises' character and the faces and actions of everyone else in the film. The ferry mob scene is a tragic glance at mans desperation to save himself over others. We see the whole movie from Cruises' point of view, and even though for some reason he leaves his kids alone multiple times throughout the movie, he always seems to find them ok and come away without a scratch. There are quite a few unbelievable parts in the movie, but that's what makes it a fun summer movie. You should not have to take it too seriously and just enjoy visual tour-de-force in front of you. There was one part that struck me as funny, when Cruise and family are inside their house and it is destroyed by a falling plane, they come out and find half the house gone and in ruins. Yet just feet away, their van has escaped without a single bit of damage. It was also nice to see Gene Barry and Ann Robison included in this film, their part is small at the end of the movie, but it is a way of Spielberg to pay tribute to the 1953 production. Overall this is a must see movie when it is at theaters. It just won't be the same when it comes out on dvd for home viewing.

New Release Tuesday !

I hope everyone had a Happy and safe July 4th. We have been very busy around here with my sons birthday and having a party. It is a pretty slow DVD week, so I am just listing a few of interest. Just click on the movie title and you will be directed to the Amazon post about the movie. I know this is a lazy way to get it done, but I wanted to get the new release out and just didn't have a ton of time. I will go back to the old way next week. Thanks for bearing with me.

Hide and Seek
Roughnecks-The Starship Troopers Chronicles-Complete Campaigns
Prozac Nation
Fantastic Four-Complete Animated Series

Don't forget to enter the Free DVD Giveway for a chance to win the Mystery Men DVD.

X-Men 3 (Hopefully not Rush Hour 3 with Mutants)

The X-Men and Spider-Man movies where the turning point for the comic-based Hollywood movie. Before those we where subjected to various low-budget attempts like Dolph Lundgrens Punisher and the somewhat watchable Swamp Thing. X-Men paved the way and showed that a comic movie could make big money and at the same time satisfy the already in place rabid fan base. Then X-Men 2 came out and it was in some ways better than the 1st movie. We were treated to more character building, a beserker Wolverine and the awesome, yet brief, appearance of my favorite character Colossus. Again it made big money for the studio and they jumped right into planning for number 3.

But then the unthinkable happened, Brian Singer, the director who was the driving force behind both movie left to direct his dream film, Superman. Not only did singer leave, but he took the screenwriting team with him. This was a devastating blow to to the production and a frenzied search began for a new director. Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake) was attached for about 3 weeks until he left for personal reasons. Now we have Brian Ratner (Rush Hour) at the helm, working from a script he has had no input on. I think 1 of the reasons the other movies where so good was because Singer was a comic fan, he knew the characters and their backgrounds. Ratner is new to the whole idea and is not as knowledgeable on the subject.

Casting has also been a rollercoaster ride. One day someone is in, the next they are out again. It appears now that most of the main characters have signed on for the 3rd movie. Halle Berry is officially back as Storm, with the agreement that her character will have more lines and a more prominent role in the story. Hugh Jackman (now a producer) will reprise Wolverine. Partick Stewart, Ian McKellen, James Marsden and Rebecca Romijn all return. Femke Jansen is also being listed in the credit as Phoenix. Kelsey Grammer (Fraiser) will be Hank McCoy/Beast and Vinnie Jones (Snatch) will be Juggernaut. Maggie Grace (Lost was first attached to play Kitty Pryde, but now she has left and appears to have been replaced by Summer Glau (FireFly). One of the biggest surprises is that Alan Cumming will not be back to play Nightcrawler. Nightcrawler was a awesome edition to the 2nd movie, his first scenes in the White House set the whole tone for the movie. It is unknown right now if another actor will take the role, or if he will be left out completely. It is also unkown if Daniel Cudmore will return as Colossus.

Filming is set to begin in August. That is unless Ratner decideds to jump ship like those before him. It has been said that he did not even have a copy of the script in hand for audition, so he was having actors read from copies of Joss Whedons' Astonishing X-Men comic. I really want to see another good movie come from the franchise, but it still looks like rough waters ahead. the release date is set for May 26 2006. They do have 3 off-shoot movies planned to go into production after X3. A Wolverine solo story, a Magneto origin and a story of a younger group of mutants at the school(ala New Mutants). I am sure that these are going to hang in limbo until it is seen if the new movie will live up to its predecessors and make enough money to warrant the others.