Classic "Star Trek" Cover Recreated

The latest issue of Empire is about to hit the streets and it will feature exclusive images and interviews from the new "Star Trek". Not only that, its cover will have a recreation of the classic Star Trek image of Kirk and Spock.

Based on the two photos above, I think that Chris Pine is much 'prettier' compared to William Shatner. Zachary Quinto, on the other hand is perfect as a younger Leonard Nimoy. In the new "Star Trek", the captain’s standard yellow shirt is replaced with black instead.

For more on the movie, get the latest issue of Empire magazine now. I just wish they pay me for writing that. Damn!

Source: Empire

Malaysia's First Martial Arts Movie

"Kinta" is Malaysia's first martial arts movie featuring local wushu champions and action choreography from Hong Kong veteran Chin Kar-lok.

Directed by C.L. Hor, "Kinta" is set in the 1880's and centers on a tin rush in Malaysia’s Kinta Valley where Chinese immigrants poured in to seek their fortunes.

The film stars former national wushu champion Robin Ho, Michael Chin, Kuan Jun-Fei and Shawn Lee; together with world champion taichi exponent David Bao from China.

Since this is Malaysia's very first martial arts movie, I'm certainly looking forward to watching it. It will be interesting to see how good a local martial arts production could be. Kindly visit Kinta's official blog for more info.

"Kinta" opens in Malaysia on December 4, 2008.

Official "Iron Man 2" and "The Avengers" Updates

Marvel Studios has just released official production updates for "Iron Man 2" and "The Avengers". Here is the full article:

Robert Downey, Jr. and Jon Favreau Suit Up For Marvel Studios' "The Avengers" and "Iron Man 2"

As part of his four picture deal with Marvel Studios, Robert Downey Jr. is appearing as Tony Stark in "The Avengers" motion picture, as well as reprising his starring role as the larger-than-life leading character in "Iron Man 2." Jon Favreau will return to direct the sequel to the blockbuster "Iron Man," which to date has grossed over $578 million worldwide, as well as executive produce "The Avengers."

Academy Award® nominee Downey was most recently seen in the summer comedy blockbuster "Tropic Thunder" starring opposite Ben Stiller and Jack Black. Before "Iron Man," he was best known for his film roles in "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang," "Wonder Boys" and "Chaplin," the film for which he was nominated for an Oscar®.

In addition to directing the first "Iron Man," Favreau has previously directed "Elf," "Zathura: A Space Adventure" and "Made." He is also well known for writing and starring in "Swingers." He will next be seen acting in "Four Christmasses," "I Love You Man" and "Couples Retreat."

Don Cheadle Will Star as Rhodey in "Iron Man 2"

Marvel Studios is pleased today to confirm that an agreement has been finalized with award-winning actor Don Cheadle to take on the role of Colonel James "Rhodey" Rhodes in Marvel's "Iron Man 2" due in theatres on May 7, 2010. In casting Cheadle, Marvel replaces Terrence Howard who appeared in the role of Rhodey in Iron Man.

Cheadle is also signed on to perform the same role in "The Avengers" and subsequent installments of the "Iron Man" franchise.

"We are very excited about working with the extraordinarily talented Don Cheadle as we expand the role of Rhodey in 'Iron Man 2.' It has already become apparent as we prep the movie for production, that the dynamic between Robert and Don will take 'Iron Man 2' to new heights," said Kevin Feige, President of Marvel Studios.

Cheadle is best known for his Oscar® nominated lead performance in "Hotel Rwanda" as well as his role as Basher Tarr in the "Ocean's" franchise, "Crash" and "Swordfish."

Based on Marvel's iconic Super Hero, "Iron Man 2" continues the story of this summer's box office blockbuster IRON MAN, the first feature film produced independently by Marvel Studios. "Iron Man 2" will be produced by Marvel Studios' President, Kevin Feige, and executive produced by Louis D'Esposito, Jon Favreau, Stan Lee, David Maisel and Denis Stewart.

In a movie event, "The Avengers" will bring together the super hero team of Marvel Comics characters for the first time ever, including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, the Hulk and more, as they are forced to band together to battle the biggest foe they've ever faced.

The highly anticipated sequel to "Iron Man" will be released in theatres on May 7, 2010 and "The Avengers" will be released July 15, 2011. Both films will be distributed by Paramount Pictures.

Source: Marvel News

"Heroes" Imitation?

Speaking of February 6, 2009, "Push" is also scheduled for release on the same date. The movie involves a group of young American expatriates with telekinetic, telepathic, and clairvoyant abilities, hiding from a U.S. government agency referred to as "The Division." They must use their different talents and band together for a final job enabling them to escape the agency forever.

"Push' is directed by Paul McGuigan and stars Chris Evans, Dakota Fanning, Camilla Belle and Djimon Hounsou.

A group of individuals with special powers going against a government agency? This sounds too similar to the TV series "Heroes" if you ask me. However, based on the trailer "Push" should offer more action and CG eye-candy. Let's hope the movie doesn't suck though.

"Fanboys" Release Date Pushed Back (Again)

I felt a disturbance in the Force. The release date for "Fanboys" has been pushed back (yet again) to February 6, 2009. The final cut of the film was screened in San Diego at Comic-Con on July 24, 2008. It was announced there that "Fanboys" will be released to theatres on September 19, 2008. On Sep 4, 2008 the release date was pushed back to November 26, 2008.

The move only reinforce the rampant speculation inside the industry that the movie's distributor, The Weinstein Company is running low on cash. On the pushing back of "Fanboys", the studio chairman, Harvey Weinstein reasoned that it has to be done so they "can do a major promotion with Comcast, who's arranging for a big advertising tie-in" for them on the film.

The story of "Fanboys" takes place in 1998 and Star Wars fanboys across the globe eagerly await the release of "Episode I: The Phantom Menace". Four friends decides to undertake a road trip across the country to break into George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch and steal an early print of the film. Their reason: one of them is suffering from cancer and wishes to see the film before his death. Along their road trip, they encounter bizarre bikers, a crazy pimp, a deranged group of trekkies and William Shatner.

If the movie's release date gets pushed back again, I swear I will break into the production company and steal the film myself. Or maybe not.

Source: The Weinstein Company & L.A. Times

New "Harry Potter" Teaser Is Here

The international teaser for "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" is now available online. Check it out for a first-look of what to expect from the upcoming movie.

In "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", Harry obtains a Potions book which used to be belong to the very mysterious Half-Blood Prince. Harry finds that the Half-Blood Prince's ancient scribbles are written along the margins of almost every page, giving Harry advice on how to improve greatly on his Potions work, and also teaching him a few helpful (and dangerous) spells along the way. Amidst this, Harry is starting private lessons with Professor Dumbledore, during which Harry learns the dark secrets of Voldemort's past, hoping that they could use these secrets to find a way to defeat him. In the end, Harry and Dumbledore discover the horrible dark magic that Voldemort has been able to use, leading to a startling revelation.

The release of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" has been pushed back from November 21, 2008 to July 17, 2009.

New "Watchmen" Trailer Released

The new "Watchmen" trailer made its world premiere during the Spike TV 2008 Scream Awards last Wednesday. The trailer is really kick-ass and I can't wait for the movie to be released.

"Watchmen" is based on the 12-part DC Comics series written by Alan Moore and featuring art by Dave Gibbons. The story is set in an alternate 1985 where superheroes exist, Richard Nixon is still president, and tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union are at an all-time high. The vigilante Rorschach is investigating the murder of a former hero and uncovers a plot to discredit and murder various heroes. Rorschach discovers a far wider-ranging conspiracy involving his colleagues' past which could completely change the course of history.

"Watchmen" is scheduled for release March 6, 2009.

"Notorious" Full Trailer

"Notorious" is an upcoming biographical film about the life of hip hop star Notorious B.I.G. (a.k.a. Christopher Wallace), who came straight out of Brooklyn to take the world of rap music by storm. Below is a list of the movie's main cast:-

Jamal Woolard as The Notorious B.I.G.
Angela Bassett as Voletta Wallace
Anthony Mackie as Tupac Shakur
Derek Luke as Sean "Puffy" Combs
Naturi Naughton as Lil Kim
Antonique Smith as Faith Evans

"Notorious" will hit theatres on January 16, 2009.

"Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans" Trailer

"Underworld: Rise of the Lycans" is a prequel set prior to "Underworld" (2003) and will trace the origins of the centuries old war between the Death Dealers (vampires) and Lycans (werewolves).

In the Dark Ages, a young Lycan named Lucian rallies the werewolves to rise up against Viktor, the cruel vampire king who has enslaved them. The Lycans have to battle against the Death Dealer army in their struggle for freedom.

Len Wiseman won't be returning to the director's chair this time around. This movie will be directed by Patrick Tatopoulos instead. Tatopoulos designed the creature effects for the previous two "Underworld" movies.

"Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans" is scheduled for release January 23, 2009.

Terrence Howard On Being Recast in "Iron Man 2"

Last week it was reported that Don Cheadle will be replacing Terrence Howard as Jim Rhodes aka War Machine in "Iron Man 2". Marvel has no comment, but according to The Hollywood Reporter, negotiations with Howard fell through over financial differences, among other reasons.

However, speaking to NPR's Scott Simon, Howard has this to say about the recast:

"It was the surprise of a lifetime. There was no explanation. [The contract] just…up and vanished. I read something in the trades implicating that it was about money or something, but apparently the contracts that we write and sign aren’t worth the paper that they’re printed on, sometimes. Promises aren’t kept, and good faith negotiations aren’t always held up."

Hmm... the plot thickens. All this drama surrounding the entire mess smells fishy. Who should we believe? I guess we'll have to wait for further development to the story and decide for ourselves.

I have nothing against Cheadle, in fact I think he is a fine actor. But having a different actor playing Jim Rhodes/War Machine in the sequel is just not the same. Remember the scene in "Iron Man" where Howard's character looks at a silver armor and says "Next time, baby"? Comic book geeks everywhere went nuts over this scene. The scene loses its fun if a different person wears the silver armor "next time".

Sources: The Hollywood Reporter & CHUD

"Max Payne" Movie Review

Director: John Moore

Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Beau Bridges, Ludacris, Chris O'Donnell, Amaury Nolasco, Olga Kurylenko

I'm a big fan of the Max Payne video game, so I can't tell you how much I have anticipated the release of this movie. Unfortunately, I left the theatre last night feeling very disappointed.

The video game was released in 2001 and became an instant hit. The game was heavily inspired by the cinematography of John Woo movies and "The Matrix". The game play revolves around "bullet time" whereby when triggered, time slows down to such an extent that the movements of bullets can be seen by the naked eye — it is a form of slow motion. The player, although his movement is also slowed, is still able to aim and react in real time, providing a unique advantage over enemies.

As you can tell, "bullet time" plays an important role in the video game. In fact, its the only reason why the game was so popular in the first place. Oddly enough, "bullet time" was only used in just two scenes throughout the entire movie. And to top it off, Max only fired one shot in each scene. Holy crap! What the hell happened to the slow-mo gun battles? The "film noir" feel of the game is also lacking in the movie mainly because the voice-over narration by Max is missing. On the other hand, the visual effects involving the Valkyries were quite stunning. I'm sure the director spent a lot of time to get everything to look right but at the same time neglected to develop a coherent storyline. As an adaptation, "Max Payne" is very different from source material in pretty much every aspect and doesn't capture the style and energy of the game at all.

IMHO, the best person to direct the "Max Payne" movie is John Woo, the man himself. If done right, this movie could be just as good as John Woo classics such as "Hard Boiled", "The Killer" or maybe "Face/Off". Instead, we get John Moore who turns "Max Payne" into a forgettable, mediocre film. Casual moviegoers who have no knowledge of the game will find "Max Payne" an average movie with some mindless action scenes linked together by an incoherent storyline. For fans of the game, this movie is simply disappointing.

Score: 5/10

Latest Update on "Star Trek" Movie

The new full-length trailer for "Star Trek" will be shown before the James Bond movie, "Quantum of Solace", which will open on November 14. TrekMovie.com's current poll results shows that 45% of Trek fans will watch ‘any movie’ or ‘almost any movie’ just to catch a glimpse of the trailer. Many Trek fans went to see "Cloverfield" in its record-breaking opening weekend, just to be the first to see the Star Trek teaser trailer. The same is likely to be true for Trek fans headed to see the new Bond film to see the first theatrical trailer.

The latest issue of Entertainment Weekly has an exclusive cover story on the new "Star Trek" movie. The article includes the latest photos from the movie, behind the scene info and interviews with the casts and crew. Check out the online version of the article by clicking on here.

"Star Trek" is scheduled to open on May 8th, 2009.


Sources: TrekMovie.com & Entertaiment Weekly

Jean-Claude Van Damme Is Back!

JCVD is directed and co-written by Mabrouk El Mechri, in which actor Jean-Claude Van Damme plays himself.

Between his tax problems and legal battles with his wife for the custody of their daughter, these are hard times for Jean-Claude Van Damme who finds that even Steven Seagal has pinched a movie role from him! He returns to the country of his birth to seek the peace and tranquility he can no longer enjoy in the United States. Jet lagged, he loses his cool while seeking a post-office wire transfer of euros, only to find he has stumbled into an in-progress heist for which he'll be blamed by the cops.

The last Van Damme movie I watched was "Universal Soldier: The Return" way back in 1999. All his movies after that were direct-to-videos, which caused me to lose interest. In this movie, Van Damme is portraying "himself" as a sympathetic, aging "I'm too old for this shit" action movie star which makes him likable. I can't believe I'm saying this but based on the 2 trailers, this movie actually looks promising and is surprisingly funny. Is this a sign that the end of the world is near?

The French-speaking, English subtitled film, first screened at the Cannes Film Festival '08, and then opened the Midnight Madness Screenings at the Toronto International Film Festivals in 2008. JCVD will be opening in the United States, in New York City, on November 7, 2008.

New "Resident Evil: Degeneration" Trailer

This is not a video game. I repeat, this is not a video game. "Resident Evil: Degeneration" is the first full-length CG animation feature based upon the Resident Evil series of video games. It is a co-production of CAPCOM and Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan. The movie will feature Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield together for the first time since Resident Evil 2 made its debut on Playstation One way back in 1998.

The movie takes place seven years after the "Umbrella Incident" in Raccoon City. The Umbrella Corporation has dissolved, and it seems that the nightmare behind the zombie plague may be over. Until one peaceful afternoon when one zombie appears in an airport, and it looks like the disaster may have started all over again.

"Resident Evil: Degeneration" will make its theatrical debut in Japan on October 18, 2008.

Donnie Yen is "Ip Man"

Donnie Yen will be starring in "Ip Man", a biographical martial arts film loosely based on the life of Yip Man, the martial arts master of Bruce Lee, and the first to teach the Chinese martial art of Wing Chun openly.

Directed by Wilson Yip, the film stars Donnie Yen in the titular role and co-stars Simon Yam. The film's fight will be choreographed by Sammo Hung. Yip Man's two sons and several Wing Chun practitioners will also appear in the film. Yip Chun, Ip Man's eldest son served as a consultant for the film.

"Ip Man" is slated for a December 18, 2008 release in Hong Kong.

New "Dragonball" Teaser

A teaser has been released to provide fans a first look at the upcoming live-action "Dragonball" movie. The movie is directed by James Wong. Justin Chatwin stars as Goku while Chow Yun-Fat plays Master Roshi.

Maybe it's just me but I just don't like the idea of a white dude playing Goku. From the teaser, the movie feels too much like The Bulletproof Monk only with more CGI. Word of advise: keep your fingers crossed that this movie won't suck.

"Dragonball" is adapted from the manga created by Akira Toriyama which follows the adventures of Son Goku from his childhood through middle age as he trains in martial arts and explores the world in search of the seven mystical objects known as the Dragon Balls. The live-action movie will focus mostly on The King Piccolo Saga.

"Dragonball" is set for release on April 10, 2009.

The Green Hornet Movie Announced

This might be old news to some but it was announced on September 19th, 2008 that Seth Rogen and Stephen Chow will star in Columbia Pictures' upcoming movie, "The Green Hornet".

Stephen Chow will be directing the movie while the screenplay will be written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. Rogen will star as Britt Reid/The Green Hornet and Chow will co-star as Kato.

"The Green Hornet" first originated as a radio series on WXYZ (a local Detroit station) from 1936 to 1952. ABC then adapted "The Green Hornet" to television on 1966. The television series starred Van Williams as The Green Hornet and introduced martial arts master Bruce Lee to American audiences as Kato. In spite of considerable interest in Lee, the show was cancelled after only one season.

"The Green Hornet" is set for release June 25th, 2010.


Source: Sony Pictures