Both Paramount Pictures and Sony Pictures have agreed to co-finance the Tintin movie series that will be directed by both Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson.
Universal originally backed out of being involved in the first installment that Spielberg will direct, which led Paramount to back the movie with a $135 million backend for the two gross participants.
The movie is expected to be completed in time for a 2010 bow.
Robotech movie a go
It’s confirmed. Robotech, the classic Japanese anime, is going to be remade in Hollywood. Talented scriptwriter Lawrence Kasdan has reportedly been hired to write the script for the adaptation. Producing the movie will be Akiva Goldsman and Chuck Roven, along with Toby Maguire (Yes, THAT Toby Maguire) and Drew Crevello.
For those of you who don’t remember Robotech, it was a 1980s anime from Tatsunoko Productions. The series is actually three Japanese series combined,which was a way for Harmony Gold USA to show episodes on a daily basis.
Movie Review: Horton Hears a Who
Dr. Seuss has held off on having his works put to film. It took years and years of courting from Hollywood until his widow finally relented and gave us the first Dr. Seuss movie – How The Grinch Stole Christmas.
It’s been years since that first movie and we’ve actually only seen a couple of adaptations. There’s the Grinch (which was slightly okay), and The Cat in The Hat (which was not okay). The third Seuss adaptation, and the first Seuss related material since 2003’s Cat… sees Jim Carrey returning again to what could probably be the best Seuss movie to date.
Horton Hears a Who is a funny and endearing film that successfully translates the whimsy, comedy and good naturedness of Dr. Seuss beloved works.
Carrey plays Horton, a fun-loving elephant who accidentally discovers a miniscule world that resides in a dandelion populated by Whos. The Mayor of Who-ville is played by Steve Carrell.
I think what makes this movie work compared to the other Seuss movies is the fact that this is the first one that went the animation route. It is ironic that computer generated characters were more successful in life to the book. The way the book was translated into film was a big success, the illustrations served as a great jump off point for the characters and you see that the distinctive Seuss style was not abandoned entirely. In fact, it was more enhanced without veering too far away from the established looks that children have grown accustomed.
Jim Carrey decided to bring a more understated performance to the movie this time around. In fact, it was so staid that I kind of miss the chaotic energy that he usually brings to his comedies. Steve Carrell, on the other hand, seems to have been bitten by the Carrey bug. He is over the top here and just plain whacko. He obviously had a lot of fun voicing the mayor. In fact, he serves as the real focus for this movie. And Who-ville was the perfect backdrop in which he could play with his character and show how much of a talented comedian he is.
Carol Burnett was a great foil as the main villain this movie. She brought just the right amount of menace without being over the top and too scary. She intrinsically knew that kids are going to watch this movie. Slightly more disturbing was Vlad, the creepy vulture voiced by Will Arnett. He was a scary sight but his delivery and his moments on screen were pure comedy. It was actually quite surprising that Vlad was even declared by my son as his most favorite character in the movie. As a parent, the monkeys were far more creepy for me. There was just something strange and a little bit scary with how they looked while giving that creepy smile.
Horton Hears a Who is a great tale about tolerance and the movie showed that even with Hollywood’s penchant to look at movies as products, here is one movie that never lost sight of its goal of being a good children’s movie.
Rating: A-
Highlander: the Search for Vengeance – Review
When I heard they were making an animated Highlander feature film, I was relatively unimpressed. Highlander has had a very…”rocky” film and television history, to be polite, so I was expecting some more uninspired tripe along the lines of the ill-conceived and short-lived Highlander: the Animated Series. What I got was something completely unexpected: an animated film ripe with memorable characters, engaging storylines, mind-blowing fight scenes and drop-dead gorgeous animation. “Highlander: the Search for Vengeance” should be on every animation fan’s shelf, regardless of whether they give a damn about the Highlander franchise or not.
Colin MacLeod (Alistair Abell) is a Highlander: an immortal swordsman doomed to walk the Earth until all of his kind have slain one another. Centuries ago, MacLeod saw his beloved wife, Moya, crucified by a Roman General and fellow Highlander, Marcus Octavius. And so began a centuries-long rivalry that has lasted into the distant future. In a post-apocalyptic world, Colin has found Marcus ruling over a decimated Manhattan from his golden tower. Colin is joined by a group of rebels who need to stop Marcus from unleashing a virus that will murder thousands. However, their lives are immaterial to him, as Colin cares only for vengeance.
Yeah, I know, a Highlander in a post-apocalyptic future reeks of “Highlander II: the Quickening”, and the mere mention of that title might be enough to frighten off any decent Highlander fan in the audience. Well, let me just say, “Highlander: the Search for Vengeance” is everything “Highlander II” should have been. You know, good.
As far as continuity goes, I’m not the biggest Highlander buff in the world, so I’m not exactly sure how or even if it works into the established Highlander timeline, and I really don’t care. Whether you know everything about Highlander or nothing about Highlander, it doesn’t matter. This movie is a stand-alone tale which nicely recaps the Highlander mythos and holds up by itself, isolated from the rest of the franchise. It is very friendly to new-comers or just casual fans like myself, but is chalk-full of enough references and…just…Highlandery stuff to appease even the staunchest fanboy.
I think the most important place to start is the animation. When I bought the DVD I was entirely expecting something nice but cheap-looking, like the “Ultimate Avengers” animated films. Straight-to-video animation is usually good but never impressive. Well, let me say something so important I’m writing it in bold text: this movie should have been released in theaters. The animation is provided by Madhouse Studios, the same people who have given us “Ninja Scroll”, “Vampire Hinter D: Bloodlust”, “Perfect Blue” and HBO’s Spawn the Animated Series. On top of that, the animation was directed by the celebrated and endlessly talented Yoshiaki Kawajiri, the director of “Ninja Scroll”, “Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust” and “Wicked City”. So if you’ve seen just one of the films mentioned, you should know to expect some heart-pounding fight sequences and brilliantly innovative “camera” work. The animation in this film is so absolutely breath-taking it boggles the mind that it went straight to video. This movie has all the hard work and technical achievements of a big-budget theatrical animated film.
So if you haven’t guessed by now, “Highlander: the Search for Vengeance” is a collaboration between the United States and Japan. It was written by David Abramowitz, who might be best known to you Highlander fans as the guy who wrote Highlander: the Series and Highlander: the Raven. So needless to say, this guy knows his Highlander stuff. The story of Colin and Marcus as they battle through the ages is fantastic and epic. You loathe Marcus for his Hitler-esque desire to prune humanity into his vision of a master race, but you loathe Colin almost as much for being such a cold-hearted and single-minded zombie. There are other memorable characters in the film, as well. I wasn’t expecting to like Delilah, the prostitute rebel with a heart of gold, but Abramowitz actually works her character into something exceptional. Her sacrifice at the end of the film is especially moving. Then there’s possibly my favorite character, Amergan, the disembodied spirit of a Druid Priest who has haunted Colin across the centuries. He provides some of the comic relief and is personified expertly by Scott McNeil, one of the most prolific and popular voice actors in the industry. But he provides more than just well-timed wise-cracks, he’s actually out to try and coerce Colin from the dead end path of vengeance. I especially enjoyed his little revelation at the end which snaps Colin out of it.
“Highlander: the Search for Vengeance” is bound to be overlooked by the general public, what with Highlander not being the money-making machine it once was. Still, anyone who enjoys animated action films, and really, anybody who enjoys action films period should get a real kick out of this. Definitely one of the best releases of the year and it’s a real shame it wasn’t shown on the big screen.
Grade: A-
Final Transformers One Sheet Revealed
This is the final Transformers One Sheet – I don’t know if any movie in history has had so many posters that all look almost exactly the same…
via Coming Soon