Teaser Trailer: "A Nightmare on Elm Street"

The first teaser trailer for the remake of the classic slasher film "A Nightmare on Elm Street" has appeared online. The upcoming horror film is directed by Samuel Bayer and stars Jackie Earle Haley, Rooney Mara, Kyle Gallner, Katie Cassidy and Thomas Dekker.

"A Nightmare on Elm Street" is scheduled for release in the US on April 30, 2010.

Movie Review: "The Beast Stalker"

Director: Dante Lam
Cast: Nicholas Tse, Nick Cheung, Zhang Jingchu, Miao Pu, Liu Kai-Chi, Philip Keung

"The Beast Stalker" opens with Sergeant Tong (Nicholas Tse) in a car chase with wanted criminal, Cheung Yat-Tung (Philip Keung), but the pursuit ends in a car crash involving four vehicles. Recovering from the crash, Tong is still able to stop Cheung by firing at his escaping vehicle. However, at the same time, he unintentionally shoots a young girl, daughter of public prosecutor, Ann Ko (Zhang Jingchu). The young girl later dies from the bullet wounds.

Three months later, Cheung is about to stand trial and the case's prosecutor is none other that Ann Ko. What are the odds? Cheung's men then hires Hung (Nick Cheung) to kidnap Ann's other daughter, Ling to blackmail her into dropping the case. Tong witnessed Ling being kidnapped and will stop at nothing to save her to redeem himself. A cat-and-mouse game between Tong and Hung ensues.

In my opinion, "The Beast Stalker" is among the best films to come out of Hong Kong last year, together with "Ip Man" and "Red Cliff". The action sequences in the film are pretty solid and tense. Credits also have to be given to director Dante Lam for balancing the action sequences with equally effective character moments. The character development allows the audience to feel and understand what motivates the characters to do what they are doing.

Nicholas Tse's portrayal of Sergeant Tong, a cop who is filled with pain and guilt is remarkably effective and believable. However, I felt that he may have overacted a tiny little bit at times. Nick Cheung proves that he is more suitable playing darker characters. His portrayal of the kidnapper/hitman Hung is both menacing and sympathetic at the same time. I felt that his character is the most interesting in the entire film. He is neither good nor evil, and is simply doing what he does to earn money to look after his bedridden wife.

One complaint I have the way the film reveals how everyone is connected to each other. The coincidence that ties all the characters together is highly questionable and IMHO will only happen in a movie. But that's just me nitpicking.

But overall, "The Beast Stalker" is a tense and satisfying police thriller and has all the elements of a well-made film. Recommended if you're a fan of Hong Kong films.

Score: 8/10

More Featurettes Of Isaac Florentine’s "Ninja"

Two more behind-the-scenes featurettes of Isaac Florentine’s upcoming martial arts film"Ninja" is now online. The film stars Scott Adkins, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Mika Hijii, Todd Jensen and Togo Igawa.

"Ninja" is about a westerner named Casey, studying Ninjutsu in Japan, who is asked by the Sensei to return to New York to protect the legendary Yoroi Bitsu, an armored chest that contains the weapons of the last Koga Ninja.

"Ninja" is scheduled for release in Malaysia on October 22, 2009. There is still no word on a US release date.

Related posts:
7 Minute Featurette Of Isaac Florentine’s "Ninja"
Behind The Scenes Featurettes: Isaac Florentine’s "Ninja"

New Trailer For "The Twilight Saga: New Moon"

Here's the new trailer for the upcoming film "The Twilight Saga: New Moon". The film is directed by Chris Weitz and stars Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner.

In the second installment of Stephenie Meyer's phenomenally successful Twilight series, the romance between mortal and vampire soars to a new level as Bella Swan delves deeper into the mysteries of the supernatural world she yearns to become part of - only to find herself in greater peril than ever before.

"The Twilight Saga: New Moon" is scheduled for release in the US on November 20, 2009.

Official website: www.newmoonthemovie.com

Movie Trailer: "A Christmas Carol"

The trailer for Robert Zemeckis' "A Christmas Carol" has been released. The film is produced through the process of performance capture, a technique Zemeckis used in his two previous films "The Polar Express" and "Beowulf".

The film is an adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1843 story of the same name and features the voices of Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Cary Elwes, Colin Firth, Bob Hoskins and Robin Wright Penn.

"A Christmas Carol" is scheduled for release in the US on November 6, 2009.

7 Minute Featurette Of Isaac Florentine’s "Ninja"

A new behind-the-scenes featurette for Isaac Florentine’s upcoming martial arts flick "Ninja" has been released online. The film stars Scott Adkins, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Mika Hijii, Todd Jensen and Togo Igawa.

"Ninja" is about a westerner named Casey, studying Ninjutsu in Japan, who is asked by the Sensei to return to New York to protect the legendary Yoroi Bitsu, an armored chest that contains the weapons of the last Koga Ninja.

"Ninja" is scheduled for release in Malaysia on October 22, 2009. There is still no word on a US release date.

Related post:
Behind The Scenes Featurettes: Isaac Florentine’s "Ninja"

Widescreen vs Fullscreen

I came across this video in www.slashfilm.com and thought I should share it with you guys. I know there's a lot of people out there who still doesn't know the difference between widescreen and fullscreen movies and I hope the video above will help to clear things out.

Teaser Trailer: "Confucius"

The teaser trailer for Mei Hu's upcoming biopic on Chinese philosopher Confucius has hit the web. The trailer does not have any dialogue but is absolutely beautiful to watch. The film, simply titled "Confucius", stars Chow Yun-Fat, Xun Zhou, Yi Lu and Lu Yao.

Confucius (551 BC – 479 BC) was an ancient Chinese philosopher whose teachings and philosophy have deeply influenced the Chinese, as well as those in other Asian countries.

"Confucius" is expected to be released in spring 2010.

Movie Trailer: "Defendor"

The theatrical trailer for Peter Stebbings' "Defendor" is now online. The film stars Woody Harrelson, Kat Dennings, Elias Koteas and Sandra Oh.

The film is about Arthur Poppington (Woody Harrelson), a delusional man who patrols the streets at night as the superhero Defendor. He does not have any powers and fights crime with his courage, determination, and uh, lime juice.

"Defendor" is expected to be released later this year.

Behind The Scenes Featurettes: Isaac Florentine’s "Ninja"

Five behind-the-scenes featurettes for Isaac Florentine’s upcoming martial arts flick "Ninja" has been released on YouTube. Each featurette reveals new footage from the film as well as interviews with cast members and the director. The film stars Scott Adkins, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Mika Hijii, Todd Jensen and Togo Igawa.

This film is not to be confused with James McTeigue's upcoming "Ninja Assassin" starring South Korean pop star Rain.

"Ninja" is about a westerner named Casey, studying Ninjutsu in Japan, who is asked by the Sensei to return to New York to protect the legendary Yoroi Bitsu, an armored chest that contains the weapons of the last Koga Ninja. Check out the embedded videos below:-

"Ninja" is scheduled for release in Malaysia on October 22, 2009. There is still no word on a US release date.

Behind The Scenes Featurette: "Fantastic Mr. Fox"

A brand new behind the scenes featurette for Wes Anderson's "Fantastic Mr. Fox" has just been released by Apple and it shows us just how freaking hard it is to make a stop-motion animation film.

"Fantastic Mr. Fox" is based on Roald Dahl's book of the same name and features the voices of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Jarvis Cocker, Owen Wilson and Willem Dafoe.

The film is about Mr. Fox and his family who live under a hill, along with Badger, Rabbit, and Weasel. Every night, Mr. Fox steals a meal from one of the three crooked farmers - Boggis, Bunce and Bean. One day, the three farmers decided to band together to kill Mr. Fox and his family.

"Fantastic Mr. Fox" is scheduled for release in the US on November 13, 2009 and in Malaysia on November 19, 2009.


Related post: Movie Trailer: "Fantastic Mr. Fox"

Disney To Acquire Marvel Entertainment for $4 Billion

Disney has agreed to acquire Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion in cash and stock. This deal will give Disney ownership of more than 5,000 of Marvel characters, such as Spider-Man, Iron Man and the X-Men.

“We believe that adding Marvel to Disney’s unique portfolio of brands provides significant opportunities for long-term growth and value creation,” Robert A. Iger, chief executive of Disney said in a statement announcing the deal.

This is one of the Disney's largest acquisitions in recent history since buying Pixar for $7.4 billion in 2006.

Reactions from Marvel fans are mostly mixed. Some expressed excitement while others condemned the purchase of Marvel by the family-friendly Disney.

Marvel Comics' editor-in-chief Joe Quesada reassured comics fans about the deal by tweeting this in Twitter:-

"If you’re familiar with the Disney/Pixar relationship, then you’ll understand why this is a new dawn for Marvel and the comics industry”.

Source: Disney Press Release

Movie Review: "JCVD"

Director: Mabrouk El Mechri
Cast: Jean-Claude Van Damme, François Damiens, Zinedine Soualem

"JCVD" is unlike any movie Jean-Claude Van Damme has ever starred in before. The film is a fictional biopic where Van Damme plays himself and is portrayed as a down-and-out action star. He is out of money, his agent cannot find him a decent production and he just lost the child custody battle for his daughter. He then returns to his hometown of Brussels, Belgium where he is caught in the middle of a post office heist. Due to a series of misunderstandings, the police believes that Van Damme is the one responsible for heist.

This is by far the most fascinating Van Damme film I've ever watched. The film successfully combines comedy with drama and features very little action. In fact, the only action in the film is the 3-minutes-long opening scene which was captured in a single shot.

The film's highlight is Van Damme's acting ability. I can't believe I'm saying this, but Van Damme can actually act! Some may argue that he is not really acting because he is only playing himself, but in this film we get to see another side of Van Damme we've never seen before. One particular scene to look out for is when Van Damme breaks down as he prays to God and looks back on his life's accomplishments. It also helps that the film's dialogue is in Van Damme's native language of French, which allows him to act more naturally. For his performance in this film, Van Damme was nominated for Best Actor alongside Sean Penn and Mickey Rourke at the 2008 Toronto Film Critics Association Awards. Impressive.

"JCVD" is funny, heartfelt and unconventional. This film reinvents Jean-Claude Van Damme and proves that he can act. I highly recommend it.

Score: 8.5/10


Related post: Jean-Claude Van Damme Is Back!