28 November 2010

Movie and TV News # 1

This will be a series of posts commenting on various pieces of interesting movie and TV news that I glean from the interwebs.  The first one is short and sweet.

Daniel Day-Lewis to play Abe Lincoln

Spielberg has long been rumored to be working on a biopic of Abe Lincoln.  At one point, Liam Neeson was rumored to play the 16th President.  Apparently, that has changed.  I was excited about Mr. Neeson playing President Lincoln, but I am ECSTATIC about Mr. Day-Lewis playing him instead.  Mr. Day-Lewis is known as a method actor, one who stays in character even when not filming.  I have yet to see a bad movie with Mr. Day-Lewis, so I think this is definitely one to watch.

Wild Wild West Coming back to TV

Yes, before the Will Smith movie, there was a TV show called Wild Wild West.  I've seen only one episode of it, but I loved it.  For those of you who don't know, its about a US Marshall and his gadget creating sidekick solving the mysteries of the Old West.  I am VERY excited about this, and if they can pull it off as well as the Hawaii 5-0 reboot has been done, this is another must watch.

26 November 2010

And we're off....

Now that it is 26 NOV 10, my list is officially underway.  I've updated the page with what is in progress so far.  Not much, but right now, there are two in progress, and one completed:

In Progress:
750/1000 blog posts
100,000 grains of rice

Completed:
Start and maintain a blog

I have roughly 1000 days to tackle everything on this list.  Its going to be an interesting ride...

22 November 2010

Dear HBO...

Dear HBO,

Judging by the images below, you have mastered the high fantasy epic.  Your next assignment is to tackle Robert  Jordan's 'The Wheel of Time'

'Game of Thrones': Exclusive First Look! | Photo 10 of 11 | EW.com

Thanks,
Wot Fans

20 November 2010

I've made my list.... and I've checked it once or twice

So after being directly inspired by my friend Chris, I have created one of those lists of things to do in a certain amount of time.  Mostly, they are along the lines of 88 In 888.  Mine is very similar, in that its titled 61* Things To Do Before I Am 30.  As my 27th birthday approaches in less than a week, I thought this would be a good time to get the list out there.  I will not be starting any of these until Thursday, and will then have three years to complete as much as I can.

Its not a race, I know this.  Its about experiencing as much as I can.  Doing as much as I can.  Will I complete all of it?  Probably not.  But the adventure in trying will be well worth it.

13 November 2010

Remakes Everywhere Part 5

Part 5!

Also, here is a refresher on my abbreviations:
NN - Not Needed
NS - Never Saw the original
NP - Make it Now Please

50 Upcoming Movie Remakes

36. Poltergeist - NS

37. An American Werewolf in London - NS.  I could see how this is going to be remade with all the other horror properties getting an update.

38. Drop Dead Fred - NN/1/2 NS.  My wife loves this movie.  I've seen half of it and that was more than enough.  The fact that Russell Brand is starring as the titular character (admittedly he is the best choice) gives me an automatic hell no to this movie.

39. F/X - NS

40. Honey, I shrunk the kids - NN.  No, No, No, Hell No, No, Never.  I liked this movie as is, and I think it works because they used models and camera trickery to have it work.  I can almost guarantee that there will be much use of CGI, and I think that will take away from the movie.

41. Meatballs - NS

42. Robocop - I've very meh about this.  The original was ok.  Is it in need of a remake?  Possibly, but only if they make it as violent as the original.  The only way I will accept this is if the film makers say 'fuck it' and go straight for the NC-17 rating.  That's right, the original cut was so violent they gave it a NC-17.

43. Romancing the Stone - NN.  Another classic staple of the 80s that should just stay there.

44. Suspicion - NS  Will Smith + Alfred Hitckock story = YES PLEASE!

45. Fletch - NP  Chevy Chase is classic in this, but its definitely a movie that could be made again.  But, first the planets need to align for this to get going.  Cause, as the above website mentions, its in development hell.


Ok, so that is apparently not 50.  I must have mis-counted at some point.  Meh.  Rest assured as I see these or hear more about them, I will revisit the list for any changed opinions, thoughts on the finished product, or to list the (possibly) missing 5.

11 November 2010

Remakes Everywhere - Special Edition

EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it!

So, as you may or may not know, we are being treated to a Spider-Man reboot a mere 10 years (8 as of this writing) after the original starring Toby Maguire (no relation to Jerry).

THIS is the problem I have with re-makes and re-boots.  10 years, and you are already looking on remaking the original?  Absurd!  Vile!  NN!  NN? Really?  Maybe not....

Lets think about this.  Marvel has recently been going gung ho in tying its movie properties together.  (See Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Avengers, Capitan America).  So for the sake of argument I am going to say that this is their attempt to tie Spider-Man into the new movie universe.  Which would be awesome considering at one point Spider-Man was a member of the Avengers.  So, from that viewpoint it makes sense.  As well as how it makes sense for them to tell an origin story for the X-Men.  But that's for a different post.

Now I'd like to address the casting so far.

I don't really know anything about the actors playing Peter Parker or Gwen Stacy.  Its the other three I am interested in.

1 - Sally Field as Aunt May.  An interesting choice.  Not an actress I would have ever thought to see in a super hero movie.

2 - Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben.  Now this choice made me sit up and pay attention.  I'm a big fan of, well pretty much the whole Sheen/Estevez family.  At this point I went, 'damn, they got a heavyweight to star'.  Especially with what happens to Uncle Ben.  The I remembered that Sir Anthony Hopkins is playing Odin in Thor, and this was no longer strange

3 - Some guy playing Dr. Curt Conners aka The Lizard.  About fracking time!!!!!  Stupid Sony only dangled this fruit in front of us for three movies, and I'd like to see how they manage to make this a believable villain.

So, I know this was rambling, not really having a point.  That said, I am now interested in what a reboot of a series that is not even a teenager has to offer us.

04 November 2010

Remakes Everywhere Part 4

Part 4!


Also, here is a refresher on my abbreviations:
NN - Not Needed
NS - Never Saw the original
NP - Make it Now Please


50 Upcoming Movie Remakes

26. Pet Semetary - NS.  Given how prolific Stephen King is, I would think that they would have found another of his books to turn into a movie.  (I'm looking at you 'Bag of Bones')  If we want to redo any of his properties, I nominate 'IT' or 'The Stand'... TV miniseries that deserve the HBO/Showtime treatment

27. Yellow Submarine - NS/NN  This needs to stay where it belongs... the 60s

28. Heavy Metal - NS.  Jack Black is attached to star.  Why don't they just make a movie out of that video game Jack Black was the star of a year or so ago.  From what I understand, its basically the same kind of thing.

29. Dune - NS (but I read the book)  *sigh*  This is perennially one of the films that will never be filmed right, or so they say.  We've had one theatrical release, and one Sci... oops SyFy miniseries.  Possibly needed, but I'm not sure.  I may need to watch the original theatrical release, then decide.

30. My Fair Lady - NS

31. Akira - Ok, I've seen Akira (or at least most of it)  I know this is a treasure in the Anime world.  I'm not a big fan of Anime, but even I know you should not mess with this movie.  However, the link above says that the original movie only covered a portion of the source material, and that this new one would be live action.  I'm still thinking no.  If it started animated, keep it that way.

32. The Birds - NN.  No.  Fail.  Do not remake any of Hitchcock's movies.  At least don't remake any more.

33. Escape From New York - NS/NN  Again, a 80s movie that needs to stay where it belongs.

34. The Phantom Toolbooth - NS

35. The Orphanage - NS  But with The Big Bang Theory's Kaley Cuoco starring, I'll go see it.